ArcaRead — Privacy Policy

What data ArcaRead accesses

To apply the bionic-reading effect, the extension runs a content script on every page you visit. That script reads text nodes in the DOM so it can bold the first half of each word. It does not transmit any of that text, to the author or to anyone else.

What data ArcaRead stores, and where

• Your settings (slider values, per-site overrides, dyslexia preferences) live in chrome.storage.sync. They are synchronised across devices you sign into with the same Chrome account via Google's standard sync mechanism. ArcaRead itself does not see or receive any of that data.
• Reading-time analytics (minutes read per day, total words processed, words-per-minute estimate) live in chrome.storage.local. That is on this machine only — never synced, never sent anywhere. You can clear them any time from the popup.
• The article you ask Reader to open is stashed briefly in chrome.storage.session (a tab-scoped, browser-session-lifetime store) so the Reader page can load it. It is removed immediately after the Reader reads it.

AI summaries

The Summarize button in Reader uses Chrome's built-in on-device Gemini Nano model. Your article text is passed to the model locally; nothing leaves your computer. If on-device AI is not available on your browser or machine, the button shows a clear "not available" message — there is no network fallback and no data is sent to any remote AI service.

PDF handling

When you opt in to Open PDFs in reader, the extension fetches the PDF bytes from the URL you navigated to and renders them locally via PDF.js. The PDF fetch comes from your browser, to the PDF's original host. No third party sees the fetch.

Permissions, and why

• storage — persists your settings and reading analytics in the Chrome storage areas described above.
• activeTab — sends an "extract article" message to the current tab when you click "Open in Reader".
• scripting — injects the content script on demand into tabs that existed before the extension loaded, so Open in Reader works without a page refresh.
• webNavigation — detects navigations to .pdf URLs so the opt-in PDF reader toggle can redirect them to the bundled reader page.
• host_permissions: <all_urls> — the bionic-reading effect is applied by walking text nodes on every page you visit. This permission is what lets the content script run there. No page content is ever transmitted off the device.

Third-party services

None. ArcaRead does not integrate any third-party analytics, telemetry, advertising, or crash-reporting service.

Children's privacy

ArcaRead is a reading-aid tool with no account, no login, and no data collection. It is suitable for use by children subject to their parent's or guardian's judgement about web use in general.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be committed to the source repository and the "Last updated" date at the top of this page will change. No mechanism exists for us to notify you individually because we do not have any way to reach you.

Contact

Questions, concerns, or bug reports: open an issue on the GitHub repository.