Reader Assist extensionAdd to Chrome
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Reader Assist Extension — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-10-03

This policy describes how the Reader Assist Extension (the Chrome extension) handles your data. It covers the extension only and is separate from the privacy policy of any other product at textassistant.io.

Summary

  • While Reader Assist is switched on, it reads the visible text of the pages you open so it can apply the reading aids you turned on.
  • For syllable marking, Reader Assist sends individual words, never whole sentences or pages, to our server, which splits them into syllables with the help of OpenAI.
  • Reader Assist sends anonymous usage events and error reports to PostHog, an analytics service hosted in the EU. They never include the text you read or the addresses of the pages you visit.
  • This website counts visits with PostHog too, without cookies or browser storage.
  • We do not collect your name, email address or browsing history. The extension has no account or login. We do not sell your data or share it with advertisers.

What Reader Assist sends, and why

Words, for syllable marking

When syllable marking is on, Reader Assist collects the words on the page, removes duplicates, and looks each one up in a cache on your device first. That cache holds the language’s most common words, which Reader Assist downloads from our server ahead of time, and every word it has marked before. Only the words it can’t find there are sent to our API at https://api.textassistant.io, together with the page’s language. The language is found by Chrome’s built-in language detection, which reads the start of the page’s text on your device; that text is not sent anywhere. Words are sent as a list, without the sentences they came from. Only words written in the Latin, Cyrillic or Greek alphabets are sent.

Our server splits the words into syllables using OpenAI’s API and keeps the result in a shared word cache so the same word doesn’t have to be processed again. The cache stores each word, its language and its syllables. It is not linked to you or to your installation.

Vowel-consonant marking, typography and the reading ruler work entirely in your browser and send no text anywhere.

Installation record

The first time Reader Assist runs, it registers with our server and receives a random token, which is stored in chrome.storage.local on your device and sent with each request to authenticate it. Our server stores the token together with the extension version, your operating system type (for example MacIntel or Win32), and when the installation was first registered and last used. The token is not tied to a person or account.

Analytics and error reports

Reader Assist sends usage events to PostHog (hosted in the EU) under a random ID that is created on your device and not tied to you. The events record things like when Reader Assist is installed or updated, when the welcome page after installing is shown, whether its video is played and whether the icon gets pinned, when the settings are opened, when Reader Assist is turned on or off, which marking style you choose, and how a page was marked: the page’s language as detected (and the language the page itself declares, if it differs), how many words were found, how many came from the cache, how long it took, and any errors. They never include the text of the page or its address. PostHog, like any web service, receives your IP address when an event is sent.

Visits to this website

The Reader Assist pages on this website (the start page and this privacy page) record visits with PostHog: which page was viewed, the page you came from, clicks on the page (such as “Add to Chrome”), when you left, your browser and device type, and an approximate location (country and city) worked out from your IP address. They set no cookies and store nothing in your browser. To count unique visitors, PostHog derives a daily visitor ID on its servers, so visits on different days are not linked to each other. PostHog, like any web service, receives your IP address.

When you remove Reader Assist

When you remove the extension, Chrome opens a short goodbye page on our server. That visit records an “uninstalled” event with your random analytics ID, so we can see how many people stop using Reader Assist.

Server logs

When a request to our server fails, we log its details for security, abuse prevention and debugging: IP address, browser user-agent, the requested address and the response status. If some words can’t be processed, those words may appear in the error log. For successful requests we log only counts, such as how many words were processed, without your IP address. Our server also uses your IP address to limit how often new installations can register.

What stays on your device

  • Your settings are stored in chrome.storage.sync, so they follow your Chrome profile across devices. They are not sent to our server, although turning Reader Assist on or off and changing the marking style are recorded as analytics events (see above).
  • The local word cache, the installation token and the random analytics ID are stored in chrome.storage.local.
  • The light or dark choice for the settings panel is stored in the extension’s own local storage.

What we do not collect

  • Your name, email address, or any account information.
  • Your browsing history, the addresses of the pages you visit, or referrers.
  • Anything you type. Reader Assist skips form fields, text boxes and other editable areas, and never reads or sends their content.

Who processes the data

We do not sell, rent or share extension data with advertisers. We use these service providers to run Reader Assist:

  • OpenAI splits words into syllables. Under OpenAI’s API terms, data sent through the API is not used to train its models and may be kept for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring.
  • PostHog (EU) stores the analytics events, error logs and website visit statistics.
  • Heroku runs our API, Hetzner hosts our database, and Scaleway stores its backups.

How long we keep data

  • Words in the server’s word cache: up to one year after the word was first cached.
  • Installation records: until you ask us to delete them.
  • Analytics events, error logs and website visit statistics: for as long as PostHog retains event data for our account.
  • Temporary log files on the API server: cleared at least once a day.
  • Database backups: a rolling set covering the last few weeks.

Permissions and why Reader Assist needs them

  • storage — save your settings, the installation token, the analytics ID and the local word cache.
  • unlimitedStorage — let the local word cache grow beyond Chrome’s default limit, so words you have already marked are not sent again.
  • activeTab, tabs, scripting — add the reading aids to the pages you open, including tabs that were already open when you installed Reader Assist.
  • host_permissions: <all_urls> — apply the reading aids on any website you visit.

Your choices

  • Turn Reader Assist off at any time with the on/off switch in its settings (the Reader Assist icon in Chrome’s toolbar). To keep marking but send no words, choose Vowel-consonant marking instead of Syllables.
  • Removing the extension from chrome://extensions deletes your settings, the installation token, the analytics ID and the local word cache from your device.
  • To have your installation record or analytics events deleted, contact us at the address below.

Contact

Questions or requests: haalind@gmail.com

Changes

We may update this policy as the extension evolves. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.