Google Sign-out Button Blocker Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 October 2026
Last updated: 1 October 2026
Applies to: Google Sign-out Button Blocker version 1.0.1 and later

View on the Chrome Web Store All Chrome extensions

Summary

The Extension hides sign-out and log-out controls on Google and YouTube pages to help prevent accidental sign-outs, and all of its processing takes place in Google Chrome on your device.
It stores only two settings, whether protection is on and when a 10-minute pause ends, in Chrome’s extension storage on your device. It does not use Chrome Sync.
To find sign-out controls, it checks link addresses, labels and text of page elements on Google and YouTube pages, including Google and YouTube frames embedded on other websites, in memory and discards them immediately. It does not read the values of form fields, such as passwords, or cookies, and it keeps no page content or browsing history.
The Extension makes no network requests of its own and sends nothing to the Developer or to anyone else. The Developer operates no server, account system, analytics or advertising for it and does not sell any information.
Visiting the Developer’s Ko-fi page or emailing feedback happens only if you choose to do so. If you send an email, the Developer receives your email address and whatever you choose to include.
You can turn protection off or pause it in the Extension’s pop-up, and uninstalling the Extension deletes its stored settings.

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) is issued by That Developer Steven (the “Developer”, “we”, “us” or “our”), an independent software developer based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It applies to the Google Sign-out Button Blocker extension for Google Chrome (the “Extension”). In this Policy, “you” and “your” refer to the person who installs or uses the Extension, and “Personal Data” means information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

The Extension helps prevent accidental sign-outs by visually hiding sign-out and log-out controls on Google and YouTube pages. On Google pages, while protection is active, it also cancels a click on a direct Google account sign-out link. You can turn protection on or off, or pause it for 10 minutes, from the Extension’s pop-up.

This Policy explains what information the Extension handles, why it does so, where that information is kept and the choices available to you. By installing or using the Extension, you acknowledge this Policy.

2. Scope of This Policy

This Policy applies to the Extension as distributed through the Chrome Web Store, version 1.0.1 and later versions until this Policy is updated.

It does not apply to the Google and YouTube websites on which the Extension works, to other websites that embed Google or YouTube content, to Google Chrome itself, or to any third-party service you reach through a link in the Extension, such as Ko-fi or your email provider. Those are governed by their own terms and privacy policies, including the Google Privacy Policy.

3. Information the Extension Processes

The Extension processes a small amount of information on your device to find and hide sign-out controls and remember your settings. This is different from collection by the Developer: the information in the first seven rows of the table below never leaves your browser, because the Extension sends nothing to the Developer or to any other server, and the Developer cannot access it. The Developer receives information only if you decide to send an email yourself (last row of the table).

Information processed by the Extension
Category	What it includes	Purpose	Where it is kept	Retention
Extension settings	Two values: enabled (whether sign-out hiding is on; on by default) and disableUntil (the time at which a 10-minute pause ends, or 0 when protection is not paused).	Remember whether protection is on, off or paused, show the pause countdown and resume protection automatically when the pause ends.	Chrome’s extension storage on your device (chrome.storage.local).	Until you change them in the pop-up or uninstall the Extension. Existing values are kept unchanged when the Extension or Chrome is updated.
Page elements on Google and YouTube	On YouTube pages and frames: link addresses, labels, titles and text of links, buttons, menu items and similar controls anywhere on the page. On Google pages and frames (including any frame inside a Google page): link addresses only and, in the main Google page, the label, title, image alternative text and text of the element you click (or activate with Enter or Space) or of the nearest enclosing labelled element or button, to check whether it opens the account menu. That text may include other page content or text you have typed into an editable area; it is only compared with a short list of account-related words. The values of form fields, such as passwords, are never read.	Identify sign-out and log-out controls so that they can be hidden, including in menus that appear later.	Memory only; not stored.	Discarded as soon as each check is complete.
Clicks and key presses on Google pages	Click events in Google pages and frames (including any frame inside a Google page), and click and key-press events in the main Google page. For a key press, the Extension first checks only whether the key was Enter or Space and ignores all other keys; for Enter or Space it then checks the focused element as described in the previous row. It does not log or store keystrokes or typed text and never reads form field values, including on Google sign-in pages. These events are not monitored on YouTube pages.	Cancel a click on a direct Google account sign-out link, and re-check the account menu after you open it.	Memory only; not stored.	Discarded after each event.
Page and frame addresses	The address of the page or frame in which the Extension’s script runs and, for embedded frames, the origins of the pages that contain them. For a Google or YouTube frame embedded on another website, this includes that website’s origin.	Confirm that the page or frame belongs to Google or YouTube, choose the correct rule and resolve relative link addresses.	Memory only, within that page or frame; not stored.	Held only while the page or frame is open and discarded when it is closed or reloaded. No browsing history is kept.
Tab and frame identifiers	When a setting changes, the open Google and YouTube tabs and their frames; when you change a setting in the pop-up, or the open pop-up clears an expired pause, also the active tab of the current window and its frames, whatever website it shows. Chrome includes tab addresses, titles and frame addresses in this information, but the Extension uses only the numeric tab and frame identifiers.	Deliver the updated on, off or pause state to every supported page and frame.	Memory only; not stored.	Discarded after each update.
Internal settings messages	A message containing only the two settings values, sent from the Extension’s background service worker and pop-up to the Extension’s own scripts running in your tabs.	Apply a settings change immediately in open pages.	Inside your browser only.	Discarded after delivery.
Page markers	A style element (identified as gsb-blocker-style) and the attributes data-gsb-active and data-gsb-blocked, added to Google and YouTube pages and frames. They contain no Personal Data.	Visually hide matching controls without deleting anything from the page, and show them again when protection is off or paused.	In the open page only.	The hiding attributes are removed when protection is turned off or paused. Nothing remains after the page is closed.
Feedback email (optional)	If you click “Send Feedback by Email”, your email application opens a message to the Developer with a pre-filled subject. If you send it, the Developer receives your email address, the display name set in your email account and anything you include. The Feedback screen suggests details such as your browser and version, the website where the issue happened, steps to reproduce it and, if helpful, screenshots or screen recordings.	Read and reply to your message and investigate the issue you report.	Sent by your own email provider to the Developer’s inbox; the Extension stores nothing.	No fixed retention period, and emails are not deleted automatically. You may ask us at any time to delete your email, and we will delete it from the Developer’s mailbox unless the law requires us to keep it.

The Extension does not collect, store or transmit:

any account, registration or sign-in details, or your name or email address (other than in an email you choose to send);
passwords or other form field values, or a record of your keystrokes or typed text, including on Google sign-in pages;
cookies, which the Extension neither reads nor sets;
a record of the pages, searches, emails, documents or videos you view; any page text or link address it examines is checked in memory and immediately discarded;
payment information, location, device identifiers, or analytics or advertising identifiers; or
usage statistics, crash reports, telemetry or activity logs.

4. How Information Is Used

Information processed by the Extension is used only to provide the Extension’s features to you, namely to:

find and hide sign-out and log-out controls on Google and YouTube pages, including in menus that appear after a page has loaded;
cancel a click on a direct Google account sign-out link while protection is active;
remember whether protection is on or paused, show the pause countdown and resume protection automatically when a pause ends; and
apply a settings change to all open Google and YouTube pages and their frames.

If you email us, we use the information in your email only to read and reply to it and to investigate and fix the issue you report.

The Extension does not profile you, does not display or target advertising, does not sell information and does not use information to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes. Because the information processed by the Extension never reaches the Developer, neither the Developer nor anyone acting for the Developer can see it.

5. Where Information Is Stored and How It Is Protected

The Extension’s only persistent storage is Chrome’s extension storage on your device (chrome.storage.local), which holds the two settings described above. The Extension does not use chrome.storage.sync, so these settings are not synchronized through Google Chrome Sync. It does not store anything in the cookies, local storage or other storage of the websites you visit.

All other processing takes place in memory within your browser. The markers the Extension adds to Google and YouTube pages and frames are part of the open page, so the website’s own scripts could detect them and infer that the Extension is installed or which controls it is hiding. The markers contain no Personal Data, and the Extension sends nothing to those websites.

The Developer operates no server, database, analytics service or account system for the Extension. All of the Extension’s code is packaged with it: it does not load remote code and does not use eval or similar mechanisms to run code from elsewhere.

The Extension does not encrypt its settings itself; they are protected by the security of Chrome and your operating system. Please keep Chrome up to date and protect your device and browser profile with a password or screen lock. No method of storage or processing is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Third-Party Websites and Services

The Extension does not send any information to the Developer or to any other server. Its code makes no network requests: it contacts no analytics, advertising or tracking services, loads no remote scripts, fonts or images, and sends no requests to Google, YouTube or any other website. It does not reload pages, open pages in the background or change your Google sign-in state. The Extension relates to other services only as follows:

Google and YouTube. The Extension works inside pages that Google and YouTube deliver to your browser, including Google and YouTube frames embedded on other websites, such as embedded YouTube videos and Google reCAPTCHA, Maps or Sign-In frames. It only examines and adjusts what is already in the page and sends no data to these services. Your use of them is governed by the Google Privacy Policy.
Chrome Web Store updates. Chrome automatically checks the Chrome Web Store for updates to installed extensions. This is a standard Chrome function, not code in the Extension; Chrome may send standard update-check information, such as the Extension’s identifier and version, to Google, but no Extension settings or page data.
Ko-fi (optional). The “Donate” button opens the Developer’s Ko-fi page, https://ko-fi.com/developersteven, in a new tab, only when you click it. The Extension passes no information to Ko-fi; as with any website you visit, Ko-fi receives the information your browser normally sends, and anything you do there, including any donation, is governed by Ko-fi’s own terms and privacy policy.
Email feedback (optional). The “Send Feedback by Email” button opens your email application with a new message to ThatDeveloperSteven138@gmail.com and the subject “Google Sign-out Button Blocker feedback”. The Extension adds no page data, logs or diagnostic information, and nothing is sent unless you send the message yourself.

Opening these links is always your choice. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of third-party services, and we encourage you to read their policies.

8. Browser Permissions

The Extension requests only the permissions listed below. When you install the Extension, Chrome describes these permissions in its own words; for example, it describes the tabs and webNavigation permissions as allowing the Extension to “Read your browsing history”, because they give access to the addresses of open tabs and frames. The Extension uses them only as described in the table.

Permissions requested by the Extension
Permission	Why the Extension needs it
storage	Save the two settings (on or off, and the time a pause ends) in Chrome’s extension storage on your device, and detect changes so that the pop-up, the background service worker and open pages stay in step.
tabs	Find open Google and YouTube tabs and, when you change a setting in the pop-up or the open pop-up clears an expired pause, the active tab of the current window, whatever website it shows, so that a settings change can be delivered to them. Chrome then also returns each tab’s address and title, but the Extension uses only the numeric tab identifier and does not store or send addresses or titles.
webNavigation	List the frames in those tabs so that a settings change reaches every frame. Chrome returns each frame’s address, but the Extension uses only the numeric frame identifier.
Host access to google.com and all its subdomains (://google.com/, ://.google.com/*)	Run the Extension’s script on Google pages, including accounts.google.com sign-in pages, to hide direct sign-out links, cancel clicks on them and re-check the account menu after you open it, and identify Google tabs when a setting changes.
Host access to youtube.com and all its subdomains (://youtube.com/, ://.youtube.com/*)	Run the Extension’s script on YouTube pages to hide sign-out controls, and identify YouTube tabs when a setting changes.
Content script on the same four address patterns, in all frames and in blank (about:blank) frames inside matching pages	Apply protection inside frames as well as the main page. The script also runs in Google or YouTube frames embedded on other websites, with the same on-device processing; it checks the embedding page’s origin only to choose the applicable rule.

The Extension does not request access to all websites, or the cookies, history, downloads or identity permissions. Although Chrome describes the tabs and webNavigation permissions as reading your browsing history, the Extension does not read, keep or send a history of the pages you visit. Country-specific Google domains (such as google.com.hk or google.co.uk), gmail.com and youtube-nocookie.com are not covered by its address patterns.

9. Data Retention and Deletion

The Extension keeps information only as follows:

Settings remain in Chrome’s extension storage on your device until you change them in the pop-up or uninstall the Extension. After a pause ends, the stored end time is reset to 0 while the pop-up is open or the next time you open it, and it is replaced or reset when you next change a setting; until then the expired time may remain stored, but it has no effect.
Page elements, events, addresses, tab or frame identifiers and page markers exist only in memory or in the open page and are discarded when each check or update is complete or the page is closed. No history is kept.
Feedback emails are kept in the Developer’s mailbox without a fixed retention period and are not deleted automatically. We will delete an email from the Developer’s mailbox on request unless the law requires us to keep it.

To delete all data stored by the Extension:

Open chrome://extensions in Chrome.
Find Google Sign-out Button Blocker and click “Remove”.
Confirm the removal. Chrome deletes the Extension’s settings from its extension storage on your device.

The Extension has no separate reset button. Turning protection off or pausing it changes the stored settings but does not delete them. Because the Extension does not use Chrome Sync, there is no synchronized copy to delete from your Google Account. To ask us to delete an email you have sent, contact us at ThatDeveloperSteven138@gmail.com.

10. Your Rights and Choices

You control the Extension’s data directly on your device. At any time you can:

turn protection on or off with the “Hide sign-out buttons” switch in the pop-up;
pause protection for 10 minutes with “Disable for 10 minutes”, or end a pause early with “Enable now”;
turn the Extension off at chrome://extensions without removing it; or
uninstall the Extension, which removes its stored settings.

Depending on where you live, data protection laws may give you rights of access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection and data portability in relation to your Personal Data. These laws include the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union and European Economic Area, the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) of Hong Kong. Because the Developer does not hold the information the Extension processes, you exercise these rights by managing that information in your browser as described above. For an email you have sent us, you may ask us for access, correction or deletion. You may also contact us with any privacy request or question, and we will respond within a reasonable time.

Depending on where you live, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

11. Children’s Privacy

The Extension is a general-audience tool and is not directed to children under 13, or under the minimum age required in your country. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children. Because the Extension does not transmit data to the Developer, no such data is received through it. If you believe that a child has sent us Personal Data, for example by email, please contact us and we will delete it.

12. Chrome Web Store User Data Policy

The use of information received or processed by the Extension adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

In particular, information processed by the Extension:

is used only to provide the Extension’s single purpose described in its store listing, which is hiding sign-out controls on Google and YouTube pages to help prevent accidental sign-outs;
is not transferred to anyone, except as described in this Policy;
is not used for personalized advertising;
is not used to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes; and
is not read by any human, because it never leaves your device. The Developer reads only emails that you choose to send.

This is consistent with the Extension’s Chrome Web Store privacy disclosure, which states: “The developer has disclosed that it will not collect or use your data.” The Extension’s processing takes place on your device and none of it is collected by the Developer. An email you choose to send us is a direct communication from you, not data collected by the Extension.

13. International Users

The Developer is based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Extension processes information locally on your device, wherever you are, and transfers nothing to the Developer, so no international transfer of the Extension’s data to the Developer takes place. The Extension does not use Chrome Sync and makes no cross-border transfer of its own.

If you email us, your message is delivered through your email provider and Google’s Gmail service, which may process it in other countries under their own policies, and it is received by the Developer in Hong Kong.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy when the Extension, its features or applicable law change. When we do, we will change the “Last updated” date shown on this page. We will highlight material changes on this page and, where appropriate, in the Extension’s Chrome Web Store listing or release notes. If you continue to use the Extension after the effective date of an updated Policy, you acknowledge the updated Policy. Earlier versions of this Policy are available on request.

15. Contact

If you have any questions, requests or concerns about this Policy or the Extension’s privacy practices, please contact us:

Email: ThatDeveloperSteven138@gmail.com
Website: https://www.thatdevelopersteven.com

We aim to reply within 30 days. This Policy is published at https://www.thatdevelopersteven.com/chrome-extension/Google-Sign-Out-Button-Blocker/Privacy-Policy.