Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 15, 2026

YouTube Study Notes Pro is built local-first. The shortest possible version of this policy: the extension reads the caption track of the YouTube video you are watching, builds a study pack on your machine, and stores it in your browser. Nothing leaves your browser unless you click Export or Upgrade to Pro.

The single, plain-English version: we never sell your data, we never train models on it, and we never upload your study packs without your explicit click.

1. What the extension reads

YouTube Study Notes Pro reads four things, and only when you explicitly trigger a study pack:

The URL and title of the YouTube video you are watching on a youtube.com tab.
The public caption track URL embedded in YouTube's own player response on the watch page. This is the same caption data your in-page YouTube captions use.
The caption text itself, fetched anonymously from YouTube's public timedtext endpoint when you click Create study pack.
Your own settings (note style, generate flashcards / quiz toggles, default export format) saved locally.

2. What the extension stores

Everything stays in your browser's chrome.storage.local on your machine:

Your settings.
The study packs you generate, including the transcript, outline, flashcards, quiz, saved moments, and your notes.
A device ID (random, unguessable) used to verify your Pro plan against our license server. The device ID is not tied to your email or any personal information.
A counter of how many free packs you have used this week, to enforce the free-tier quota.

3. What leaves your machine

3.1 Public caption track fetch (every pack)

When you click Create study pack, the extension fetches the caption track directly from YouTube's public timedtext endpoint. This is the same anonymous request your browser makes when you turn captions on in the YouTube player. We never proxy it through our servers.

3.2 License verification (once a day)

Once per 24 hours, the extension calls https://peakproductivity.online/youtube-study-notes-pro/api/check-license with your device ID to confirm whether you have an active Pro plan. We do not send the URL of the video you are watching, the transcript, or any of your notes.

3.3 Anonymous growth events (best-effort)

The extension may send anonymous growth events (e.g., first_open, first_action, activation, paywall_hit, checkout_start) to https://peakproductivity.online/api/growth/event. These events include only the event name, your device ID, the extension version, and a timestamp. They never include the video URL, the transcript, or your notes.

3.4 You-initiated downloads and copy-to-clipboard

Markdown, Anki CSV, JSON, and the print-to-PDF flow all run entirely in your browser. The Markdown / CSV / JSON files are saved to your local Downloads folder via the browser's downloads API. The print-to-PDF flow opens a new tab with a print-styled version of your pack and invokes your browser's native print dialog. None of these flows upload anything to our servers.

4. What the extension does NOT do

We do not require an account, email, password, or Google sign-in to use the free plan.
We do not upload your study packs, transcripts, or notes anywhere.
We do not include third-party analytics SDKs, advertising trackers, or fingerprinting libraries.
We do not modify YouTube's own UI controls. The optional floating widget lives in a closed Shadow DOM on its own host element.
We do not load any remote code. The bundle is lint-checked on every build, and the build fails on any <script src="https://..."> or remote import().

5. Permissions explained

storage , save your settings, study packs, device ID, and license cache, all on your machine.
activeTab , read the active YouTube tab's URL and metadata only when you click the toolbar icon.
downloads , save exports to your Downloads folder when you click Download.
host_permission https://*.youtube.com/* , read the caption track URL on YouTube watch pages and fetch the public caption text.
host_permission https://peakproductivity.online/* , license-check the Pro plan and send anonymous growth events.

The extension does NOT request <all_urls>, scripting, tabCapture, or any other broad permission.

6. Pro subscriptions

If you upgrade to Pro, the checkout is processed by Stripe. Your payment information goes to Stripe directly , we never see your card. Stripe sends our server a webhook with your subscription status and the email you used; we record only the subscription state and the email, both tied to your device ID. You can email support@peakproductivity.online at any time to request deletion of this record.

7. Children

YouTube Study Notes Pro is a general-audience study tool. We do not knowingly collect any personal information from anyone, including children. The extension functions identically for all users and does not require an account.

8. Changes to this policy

If we materially change what data the extension reads, stores, or transmits, we will publish a new version of this page with a fresh "Last updated" date and call it out in the extension's welcome and changelog. Cosmetic changes (rewording, fixing typos) do not require a version bump.

9. Contact

Privacy questions, deletion requests, or anything that does not fit in the categories above , email support@peakproductivity.online.