PRIVACY POLICY FOR AUTOPAUSE - DISABLE AUTOPLAY FOR YOUTUBE™
Last Updated: October 2026
1. INTRODUCTION & CORE PRIVACY COMMITMENT
AutoPause - Disable Autoplay for YouTube™ ("the Extension") is committed to total user privacy, transparency, and data minimization. Our extension is engineered from the ground up on a strict local-first, zero-telemetry architecture.
• We DO NOT collect, store, transmit, or monetize any personal data.
• We DO NOT track your browsing history, searches, watch history, or visited pages.
• We DO NOT communicate with any external servers, third-party analytics services, or advertising networks.
• 100% of all video detection, playback control, and preference storage occurs strictly locally inside your web browser on your personal computer.
2. WHAT INFORMATION WE PROCESS AND HOW
The Extension operates strictly on the client side:
• User Preferences: Your chosen settings (such as master toggle state, Pause vs. Stop mode, Up-Next blocking, and Smart Tab Focus) are saved locally on your device via the Chrome Storage API.
• Local Counter: An integer counter tracking the number of videos automatically paused and estimated data saved is updated locally on your device. This data never leaves your browser and can be reset at any time.
• Video Player Events: The extension listens to HTML5 video play events on YouTube pages solely to apply your chosen pause/stop preference before user interaction occurs. No metadata about the video title, channel, or content is extracted or stored.
3. DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF BROWSER PERMISSIONS
To deliver seamless autoplay prevention without compromising your browser security, the Extension requests the following minimal permissions:
• storage:
Used solely to store your extension preferences (active state, Pause/Stop mode, Up-Next autoplay toggle, and local statistics) in your browser's local storage (`chrome.storage.local`). No sensitive or personal information is ever written to storage.
• Host Permissions (*://*.youtube.com/* and *://*.youtube-nocookie.com/*):
Allows the extension's content script to run exclusively on YouTube watch pages, channel pages, and embedded YouTube video players. This permission is required so that the extension can detect the HTML5 `<video>` player element, intercept automated playback triggers, and cancel unwanted "Up Next" autoplay countdowns.
4. ARE ALL OF THESE PERMISSIONS DEFINITELY NEEDED?
YES. Every permission requested by the Extension has been vetted for absolute necessity under the Principle of Least Privilege:
1. Can the extension work without "storage"?
No. Without the `storage` permission, the extension would forget your preferences (e.g., whether you chose Pause Mode or Stop Mode, or enabled Smart Tab Focus) every time you close your browser or navigate to a new tab.
2. Can the extension work without host permissions on YouTube?
No. To intercept YouTube's player events and pause an autostarting video, the extension must be able to interact with the YouTube DOM. Restricting the host permissions strictly to `*://*.youtube.com/*` and `*://*.youtube-nocookie.com/*` guarantees that the extension has zero access to any other websites, banks, email, or personal pages.
3. Were broader permissions avoided?
YES, ABSOLUTELY:
• We DO NOT request `<all_urls>` or broad web access.
• We DO NOT request `webRequest` or `declarativeNetRequest`.
• We DO NOT request `tabs` permission (which would expose URLs across all tabs).
• We DO NOT request `cookies` or user identity permissions.
• We DO NOT use remote code or external scripts.
By limiting our permissions to just local storage and specific YouTube domains, AutoPause maintains the smallest possible security footprint and complies fully with Google Chrome Web Store's Single Purpose and Minimal Permissions policies.
5. DATA RETENTION AND DELETION
All preferences and local counter values remain stored exclusively on your local device for as long as the extension is installed. If you uninstall the extension from Chrome, all associated local storage data is automatically purged by the browser.
6. THIRD-PARTY DATA TRANSFERS
We do not sell, trade, license, or transfer any user data to third parties. We do not use third-party software development kits (SDKs), analytics trackers (like Google Analytics), or ad networks.
7. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
Should this policy be updated in future releases, modifications will be posted with an updated revision date. Any changes will continue to uphold our fundamental principle of zero telemetry and total user privacy.
8. CONTACT
If you have any questions or feedback regarding this privacy policy or the extension's operation, please reach out via the official Chrome Web Store developer contact form or the user documentation page.