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PRIVACY POLICY - Internet Archive & Wayback Downloader
Last Updated: October 2026
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1. INTRODUCTION & CORE PRIVACY COMMITMENT
This extension ("Internet Archive & Wayback Downloader") is designed with a strict "privacy-by-default" and "data-minimization" philosophy.
We believe that tools for digital preservation and web research must respect user privacy at all times.
- We DO NOT collect, harvest, track, profile, or sell any personal information.
- We DO NOT run remote tracking scripts, analytics SDKs, advertising beacons, or third-party cookies.
- All history records and user preferences remain 100% on your local device.
2. WHAT DATA IS ACCESSED & HOW IT IS USED
- Webpage URLs: When you click the extension popup or use a context menu action, the URL of the active webpage is accessed temporarily via the 'activeTab' permission solely to:
(a) submit it to the Wayback Machine save service, or
(b) query the official Internet Archive Wayback availability API to display historical snapshots.
The extension never monitors or records your background browsing activity on other tabs or windows.
- Local History Log: When you preserve a page, open a snapshot, or download a book, the URL, title, and timestamp are stored locally in your browser's 'chrome.storage.local'. This data never leaves your computer and is never transmitted to any server owned by the developers. You can search, export, or completely erase this history at any time with a single click.
- User Preferences: Your UI theme preference (dark/light) is stored locally in 'chrome.storage.local'.
3. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES & NETWORK REQUESTS
When using the extension's archival and download features, the extension interacts directly and solely with official Internet Archive and Wayback Machine endpoints:
- https://web.archive.org (to trigger saves, view calendar matrices, and query CDX snapshot indexes)
- https://archive.org (to check snapshot availability and retrieve metadata for public book downloads)
Any communication with Archive.org and the Wayback Machine is governed by the Internet Archive's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (https://archive.org/about/terms.php).
4. DATA RETENTION AND DELETION
All recorded history is stored locally within Chrome. You have complete ownership and control over this data:
- You can delete individual entries in the History tab.
- You can clear all history immediately by clicking "Clear" in the History tab.
- Uninstalling the extension immediately and automatically wipes all associated local storage data from your device.
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PERMISSION AUDIT & MINIMALISM ANALYSIS:
"Are all these permissions strictly necessary?"
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A common question for security-conscious users and Chrome Web Store reviewers is whether each declared permission is truly necessary and whether anything can be trimmed. Here is an honest, technical audit:
1. 'activeTab' vs 'tabs' / '<all_urls>'
- Why it is used: When you click the extension icon on a webpage, the extension needs to know the URL of that page so you can archive it or look up past snapshots.
- Is it strictly necessary? YES. Without it, the extension cannot know which URL you want to save or inspect.
- Why it is minimal: Many poorly written archiver extensions request broad permissions like '<all_urls>' or 'tabs', which trigger scary Chrome warnings such as "Read and change all your data on all websites" and "Read your browsing history". In contrast, 'activeTab' is the gold standard of least privilege. It grants temporary, scoped access ONLY to the active tab, ONLY at the exact moment you click the extension action or invoke a context menu item. It cannot spy on background tabs or passive browsing.
2. 'storage'
- Why it is used: To remember your theme preference (Dark/Light mode) and maintain the local History tab (records of pages you saved or downloaded).
- Is it strictly necessary? YES, for the history and settings functionality.
- Why it is minimal: It uses 'chrome.storage.local', which stays strictly inside your browser sandbox on your local machine. It does not synchronize or broadcast data to external servers.
3. 'contextMenus'
- Why it is used: To offer right-click shortcuts ("Save to Wayback Machine", "Open in Wayback Machine", "Search on Archive.org") on pages, links, and selected text.
- Is it strictly necessary? It is necessary for right-click functionality. It is completely safe as it only registers menu items within the browser UI.
4. Host Permissions: '*://web.archive.org/*' and '*://archive.org/*'
- Why it is used: In Manifest V3, extensions must declare host permissions in order to make 'fetch()' API calls to external services. The extension needs to query:
(a) 'https://archive.org/wayback/available?url=...' (checks if snapshots exist)
(b) 'https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=...' (fetches recent snapshot timestamps)
(c) 'https://archive.org/metadata/...' (retrieves direct PDF and eBook download links for Archive.org items)
- Is it strictly necessary? YES. Without these host permissions, Chrome would block the popup from communicating with the Wayback Machine and Archive.org APIs due to Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) security policies.
- Why it is minimal: The extension scopes its host permissions ONLY to the two official Archive.org domains ('web.archive.org' and 'archive.org'). It does NOT ask for broad access to any other website on the internet.
5. Content Script on '*://*.archive.org/*'
- Why it is used: To detect book and media pages on Archive.org, and provide users with a clean, in-page direct "Download PDF / Books" button without having to dig through Archive.org's complex sidebar menus.
- Is it strictly necessary? It is necessary specifically for the on-page PDF Book Finder feature.
- Why it is minimal: It runs exclusively on 'archive.org' domains and never injects code into any other website you visit.
SUMMARY:
Every permission requested by this extension directly serves a core user-facing feature. No unnecessary, extraneous, or high-risk permissions (such as '<all_urls>', 'webRequest', 'cookies', or 'management') are requested. This ensures maximum user security, zero bloat, and smooth compliance with Google Chrome Web Store review guidelines.
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CONTACT & DEVELOPER INQUIRIES
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If you have any questions or feedback regarding this extension or this privacy policy, please reach out via the official Chrome Web Store developer support channel.