Privacy Policy

Overview

FlashShare ("the Extension") is a Chrome browser extension that allows you to share YouTube videos, timestamps, and personal notes directly with friends — all without leaving the YouTube player. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and how we protect it.

Last updated: June 10, 2026

Information We Collect

Personally Identifiable Information

• Email address — collected via Google OAuth sign-in. Used exclusively to authenticate your account, identify you to your friends, and route shared videos to the correct recipient.
• Display name & profile photo — retrieved from your Google account to personalize the extension's UI (e.g., showing your avatar next to shared videos).

Authentication Information

• Google OAuth token — a secure, temporary access token generated through the Chrome Identity API (chrome.identity.getAuthToken). This token is used to authenticate your requests to our Firebase database. It is never stored permanently or transmitted to any third party.

User-Generated Content

• YouTube video URLs & titles — the URL and title of the video you choose to share.
• Timestamps — the specific moment in the video you choose to share.
• Personal notes & messages — any text message you attach when sharing a video with a friend.

Locally Cached Data

• Friends list & auth token — cached locally on your device using Chrome's chrome.storage API to ensure the extension loads quickly. This data never leaves your browser unless you initiate a share action.

How We Use Your Data

All collected data is used exclusively to provide the core functionality of the extension:

• Authentication: To securely sign you in and verify your identity when sending or receiving videos.
• Video Sharing: To route shared videos, timestamps, and notes from the sender to the intended recipient.
• Friends Management: To maintain your private list of contacts so you can quickly select who to share with.
• Notifications: To alert you in real-time when a friend shares a new video with you.
• Inbox: To display your received and sent video history within the extension.

Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored securely in Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore), a trusted cloud platform operated by Google. All data in transit is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS.

• All network requests to Firebase use HTTPS encryption.
• Authentication is handled through Google's OAuth 2.0 protocol — we never see or store your Google password.
• Access to your data in Firebase is restricted by security rules that ensure only authenticated users can read or write their own data.
• Your OAuth token is stored temporarily in Chrome's local storage (sandboxed to the extension) and refreshed automatically by Chrome.

Data We Do Not Collect

FlashShare is designed with privacy at its core. We explicitly do not collect:

• Browsing history or web activity
• Financial or payment information
• Health information
• Location data (GPS, IP-based, or otherwise)
• Keystroke logging or mouse tracking
• Data from any website other than youtube.com

Third-Party Services

FlashShare relies on the following third-party services to operate:

• Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore) — used to store shared videos, contacts, and user profiles. Firebase is governed by Google's Terms of Service.
• Google OAuth / Chrome Identity API — used for secure authentication. Governed by Google's Privacy Policy.

We do not integrate any advertising SDKs, analytics trackers, or other third-party data collection tools.

Chrome Permissions & Why We Need Them

• activeTab: To securely access the current YouTube tab and read the video title and timestamp when you click the "Share" button.
• scripting: To inject our custom UI (the Share dialog and Inbox panel) directly into the YouTube video player interface.
• identity: To authenticate you via Google OAuth so you can securely access your friends list and send/receive videos.
• storage: To cache your authentication token and friends list locally, ensuring the extension loads instantly.
• notifications: To alert you in real-time when a friend shares a new YouTube video with you.
• alarms: To run a lightweight background check that periodically looks for new incoming shared videos.
• Host permission (youtube.com): To inject our "Share" button directly into the YouTube player control bar and to read the active video's URL and metadata.

Data Sharing & Transfers

• We do not sell or transfer user data to third parties, outside of the approved use cases.
• 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.

The only "transfer" of data that occurs is when you choose to share a video with a friend — the video URL, timestamp, and your note are sent to that friend's inbox in our Firebase database.

Your Rights

You have full control over your data at all times:

• Access & Deletion: You can request a copy of your data or ask for its deletion at any time by emailing us.
• Uninstall: Uninstalling the extension from Chrome immediately removes all locally cached data (tokens, friends list) from your browser.
• Revoke Access: You can revoke FlashShare's access to your Google account at any time via Google Account Permissions.

Children's Privacy

FlashShare is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please reach out:

• Email: support@flashshare.app