# Privacy Policy — YouTube Thumbnail Scraper
**Effective date:** 25 April 2026
**Last updated:** 25 April 2026
This Privacy Policy describes how the **YouTube Thumbnail Scraper** Chrome extension ("the Extension", "we", "our") handles information when you use it.
We have built this Extension with privacy as a default. The short version: **we do not collect, store, transmit, sell, or share any personal data.** Everything happens locally in your browser.
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## 1. Who we are
The Extension is published by an independent developer ("we"). It is provided free of charge for personal research and productivity use. Contact: **infodotfik@gmail.com**.
## 2. What the Extension does
The Extension reads the publicly visible video tiles on a YouTube page you are actively viewing in your own browser (search results, channel uploads, playlists, home feed, trending, etc.) and lets you:
- Export the metadata (video ID, title, channel, duration, views, publish date, video URL, thumbnail URL) as a CSV file saved to your local Downloads folder.
- Download the thumbnail images (JPG) from YouTube's public image CDN (`i.ytimg.com`) to your local Downloads folder.
## 3. Data we collect
**None.** We do not collect, transmit, log, or store any personal data on any server. We do not operate any backend service. We do not have analytics, telemetry, crash reporters, advertising SDKs, or third-party trackers embedded in the Extension.
## 4. Data the Extension reads locally
To perform its single purpose, the Extension reads the following from the active YouTube tab (only when you click the extension icon and press "Scrape Page"):
- The DOM of the currently open `youtube.com` or `m.youtube.com` page
- Public video metadata visible on that page (title, channel name, duration, view count, publish date, video URL, thumbnail URL)
- The page title and page URL of the active tab
This data:
- **Stays inside your browser.**
- Is **not transmitted to us** or any third party.
- Is **not stored persistently**. It is held in Chrome's `chrome.storage.session` only while the browser session is active and is automatically cleared when you close the browser, change the tab's URL, or click "Clear Cache".
## 5. Files saved to your computer
When you click "Export CSV" or "Download Thumbnails", the Extension uses the standard Chrome `downloads` API to save files to your local Downloads folder. These files are stored on your device only. The Extension does not upload them anywhere.
## 6. Network requests
The Extension makes network requests **only** to:
- `https://i.ytimg.com/*` — YouTube's public thumbnail CDN, to download the thumbnail JPG files you requested.
No other domain receives any traffic from the Extension. No request is made to any server we control.
## 7. Permissions and why we need them
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `activeTab` | Read the YouTube page you are currently viewing when you click the extension icon. |
| `scripting` | Inject the content script that reads video tiles from the active tab's DOM. |
| `downloads` | Save the CSV report and thumbnail JPG files to your local Downloads folder. |
| `storage` | Temporarily remember scraped results per-tab in session storage so the popup retains state if accidentally closed. Cleared automatically. |
| `host_permissions: youtube.com, ytimg.com` | Read tiles from YouTube and download thumbnails from YouTube's image CDN. |
We do not request any permission beyond what is strictly required for the Extension's single purpose.
## 8. Cookies, tracking, analytics
The Extension does not set cookies. The Extension does not use Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Sentry, Amplitude, or any other analytics or tracking service.
## 9. Third-party services
The only third party involved is **YouTube / Google**, because the Extension reads YouTube pages and downloads images from YouTube's CDN. Your interaction with YouTube is governed by [Google's Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [YouTube's Terms of Service](https://www.youtube.com/t/terms). The Extension itself does not communicate with Google's APIs and does not require a Google account.
## 10. Children's privacy
The Extension is not directed to children under 13. It does not knowingly collect any data from anyone, including children.
## 11. Data sharing and selling
We do **not** sell, rent, lease, transfer, or share any user data with any third party. There is no user data on our side to share — none is collected.
We do not use or transfer user data for purposes unrelated to the Extension's single purpose. We do not use or transfer user data to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes. We do not use user data to train AI or machine-learning models.
## 12. Data security
Because no data leaves your browser, there is no transmission to secure. The session-storage cache used by the Extension is sandboxed by Chrome to your browser profile and is wiped when the session ends.
## 13. Your rights
Since we do not collect or store any personal data, there is nothing to access, correct, export, or delete on our side. To clear all locally cached scrape results inside the Extension at any time, click the **Clear Cache** button in the popup, or simply uninstall the Extension.
## 14. Copyright and acceptable use
Thumbnails downloaded by the Extension are the property of their respective copyright holders. The Extension is intended for personal research, analysis, and educational use. You are responsible for complying with applicable copyright law and YouTube's Terms of Service when reusing any downloaded content.
## 15. Changes to this policy
If this policy ever changes, the updated version will be published at the same URL with a new "Last updated" date. Material changes will be reflected in the Chrome Web Store listing.
## 16. Contact
For any privacy questions, concerns, or requests:
**Email:** infodotfik@gmail.com
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*This Extension is open source. You can audit every line of code that runs in your browser.*