Website Auto Refresh Privacy Policy

Effective date: 1 October 2026
Last updated: 1 October 2026
Applies to: Website Auto Refresh version 1.1.0 and later

View on the Chrome Web Store All Chrome extensions

Summary

The Extension reloads browser tabs you select at intervals you set and, if you turn them on, detects page changes, watches for a keyword and clicks positions you choose. All of its processing takes place in Google Chrome on your device.
It keeps per-tab settings and status, including your keyword, click positions and a short page summary (a fingerprint, a length and up to 200 words from the page title, address and text), in Chrome’s extension storage on your device. It does not use Chrome Sync.
Change detection, keyword detection and automatic clicking work on a website only after you allow the Extension to access it. Basic refreshing needs no website access.
The Extension sends nothing to the Developer or to anyone else, and the Developer operates no server, analytics or advertising for it. Refreshes and automatic clicks do make your browser send ordinary requests, including your IP address and that website’s cookies, to the websites you chose.
Closing a tab normally deletes its records, you can withdraw website access in Chrome at any time, and uninstalling the Extension deletes all of its stored data.

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 Website Auto Refresh 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 reloads open tabs that you select at an interval you set. For each tab you can also turn on change detection, which compares the page before and after each refresh; keyword detection, which stops the tab’s other automations and plays a short bell when a word or phrase you choose appears; and automatic clicking of positions you pick on the page.

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 1.1.0 and later versions until this Policy is updated.

It does not apply to the websites you choose to refresh, monitor or click with the Extension, to Google Chrome itself, or to any other third-party service. Those websites and services are governed by their own terms and privacy policies. Google Chrome is governed by the Google Privacy Policy.

3. Information the Extension Processes

The Extension processes information on your device so that it can carry out the automations you set up for each tab. This is different from collection by the Developer: the Extension does not send any of the information described below to the Developer or to any other server, and the Developer has no means of accessing it. Settings and status are kept separately for each tab and are identified by the tab’s numeric identifier in Chrome, not by a website address. The Extension gives the Developer no information about you; the Developer receives information from you only if you choose to contact us, for example by email.

Information processed by the Extension
Category	What it includes	Purpose	Where it is kept	Retention
Per-tab settings	For each tab: whether auto refresh, change detection, keyword detection and automatic clicking are on; the refresh interval; the keyword you enter (also copied into the tab’s status when it is found); and how often the click sequence repeats and the delay between clicks.	Apply and display the automations you set up for that tab.	Chrome’s extension storage on your device (chrome.storage.local).	Until the tab is closed or you uninstall the Extension. Turning a feature off or using Stop keeps the values. See Data Retention and Deletion for exceptions.
Click positions	Positions within the visible area of the page, which you pick on the page or type in the pop-up, in click order, plus the last position attempted and whether that click succeeded.	Click the positions in order and show the result.	Chrome’s extension storage on your device; the progress of a running sequence in Chrome’s session storage for extensions (chrome.storage.session).	As for per-tab settings.
Page content (only with change or keyword detection, on websites you have allowed)	The page title, the full address (including any path and query string, such as search terms) and up to 200,000 characters of page text, read in memory. Page text is normally the displayed text; if none is available, the Extension uses the page’s underlying text, which can include hidden text. It may include personal information shown on the page. From this the Extension derives a fingerprint (hash), the text length, up to 200 distinct lowercase words and numbers (title and address words first, then page words) and whether your keyword is present.	Report whether the page changed after a refresh, and detect your keyword.	Raw text: memory only, never stored. Derived summary: Chrome’s extension storage on your device, in the tab’s status.	Raw text is discarded after each check. The summary is replaced at each check; see Data Retention and Deletion.
Open tabs	The identifier, title, full address and active state of every open tab, including the file path of local files open in Chrome.	Let you choose which tabs to automate.	Memory only.	Discarded after use.
Session tab link	When you open the pop-up or use its actions, the tab concerned (on opening, the active tab) is linked to the current browser session with its identifier, the time and its full address at that moment, even if you never turn on a feature. No feature uses the stored address.	Keep automations attached to the correct tabs and restore them if Chrome restarts the Extension’s background process.	Chrome’s session storage for extensions, which Chrome keeps in memory.	Until the browser session ends, the Extension is disabled, reloaded or updated, or the tab is closed.
Automation status	For each automated tab: refresh times, results and errors; whether automations are paused or need reactivation; whether website access is missing, including the website that needs it (which can be a different website if you navigate the tab elsewhere); click results and progress; and change-detection results and times.	Run, pause, resume and recover automations, and show their state in the pop-up and on the toolbar icon.	Chrome’s extension storage on your device; short-lived progress data in Chrome’s session storage for extensions.	As for per-tab settings; session data as for the session tab link.
Other preferences	The pop-up language you choose from 10 languages (nothing is stored until you choose one, and your browser’s language is not read), and an internal true or false flag recording a one-time settings migration.	Show the Extension in your language and avoid repeating the migration.	Chrome’s extension storage on your device.	Language: until you change it or uninstall the Extension. Migration flag: until you uninstall the Extension.
Refresh schedules and website access	One repeating Chrome alarm for each auto-refreshed tab, and the websites (for example, https://example.com/*) that you have allowed the Extension to access.	Reload tabs on time, and allow page reading and clicking only on websites you approved.	Chrome’s alarm and permission settings on your device.	Alarms: until refreshing stops or the tab is closed. Website access: until you withdraw it in Chrome or uninstall the Extension; closing a tab does not withdraw it.
Position picker overlay	A temporary layer added to the page while you pick positions, with numbered markers and buttons. It records where you click on the layer and moves a marker with your pointer; it responds only to the Esc key and does not record other keystrokes.	Let you choose click positions on the page.	In the open page only.	Removed when you finish or cancel picking.

The Extension does not collect, store or transmit:

account or sign-in details, or your name or email address;
cookies, which it neither reads nor sets;
the full text of pages, which is read in memory but never stored, since only the summary described above is kept;
your Chrome browsing history, which the Extension does not access; it reads only the tabs that are currently open and stores only the addresses and words described above;
keystrokes, payment information, location, device identifiers, or analytics or advertising identifiers; or
usage statistics, crash reports, telemetry or remote logs.

4. How Information Is Used

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

list your open tabs so that you can choose which ones to automate;
reload the selected tabs on schedule, or immediately when you click Run now;
report whether a page has changed after a refresh;
when your keyword appears, stop the tab’s auto refresh, change detection and automatic clicking and play a short bell, while keyword detection stays on;
click your chosen positions in order, on schedule or when you click Test sequence now;
show each tab’s state in the pop-up and an “ON” badge on the toolbar icon; and
pause features that lack website access, and restore automations if Chrome restarts the Extension’s background process during the same browser session.

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, no person working for the Developer can see it.

5. Where Information Is Stored and How It Is Protected

Lasting information is kept in Chrome’s extension storage on your device (chrome.storage.local), which is saved in your Chrome profile. Session information is kept in Chrome’s session storage for extensions (chrome.storage.session), which Chrome holds in memory and clears when the browser restarts or the Extension is disabled, reloaded or updated. The Extension does not use chrome.storage.sync, so nothing is synchronized through Google Chrome Sync, and it stores nothing in the cookies or storage of the websites you visit.

The Developer operates no server, database, analytics service or account system for the Extension. The Extension loads no remote code, does not use eval or similar mechanisms, and adds only its own packaged scripts to tabs you have selected, on websites you have allowed.

Automations belong to a tab, not to a website. If you navigate an automated tab elsewhere, auto refresh keeps reloading the new page. Change detection, keyword detection and automatic clicking continue there only if you have already allowed that website; otherwise they are paused.

Effects on websites. Automatic clicks act like your own clicks and can follow links, submit forms or confirm orders, so choose positions carefully. Websites can tell that the clicks were generated by software, and while you pick positions, a website’s scripts could detect the picker overlay and the markers on it. Apart from these clicks and the reloads described in Third-Party Websites and Services, the Extension passes no information to the website.

Incognito windows. Chrome runs extensions in Incognito windows only if you allow it on the Extension’s details page. If you do, Incognito tabs can also appear in the tab list, and settings and status for an automated Incognito tab are kept in the same extension storage on your device as those of other tabs.

The Extension does not encrypt its stored information itself; it is protected by the security of Chrome and your operating system. Anyone who can use your Chrome profile can open the pop-up and see the tabs, settings and status it shows. 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 of its own and loads no remote scripts, fonts, images or sounds; the keyword bell is generated on your device. Some features do cause your browser to communicate with websites you have chosen:

Websites you refresh. Each refresh, whether scheduled or started with Run now, makes your browser request the page again as a manual reload would, sending your IP address, request headers and that website’s cookies, so the request uses your existing session on that website. The website can see and record these visits under its own policy. Reloading a local file involves no website.
Websites you click automatically. If a click lands on a link, button or form, the website’s own code may load another page or send a request, such as submitting a form or placing an order, with your existing session. The Extension adds no information of its own.
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.

The Extension’s pop-up contains no links to external websites, donation pages, forms or social media services. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of the websites you use with the Extension, and we encourage you to read their policies.

8. Browser Permissions

The Extension requests only the permissions listed below. Chrome shows the required permissions at installation and asks separately before granting access to any website.

Permissions requested by the Extension
Permission	Why the Extension needs it
storage	Save per-tab settings, status and preferences in Chrome’s extension storage on your device, and session data in Chrome’s session storage for extensions.
tabs	List open tabs with their titles and addresses so that you can choose which to automate; reload them; communicate with the Extension’s page script; and detect when a tab finishes loading or is closed. Chrome describes this permission at installation as reading your browsing history, because it reveals the addresses and titles of open tabs; the Extension does not access Chrome’s history. Basic refreshing needs no other access.
alarms	Schedule each tab’s repeating refresh.
scripting	Add the Extension’s own packaged script to a selected tab, only when a feature that reads or clicks the page needs it and only on a website you have allowed.
offscreen	Play the keyword bell, generated on your device, from a hidden Extension page. No audio files are downloaded.
Optional host access to http:/// and https:///, requested only for specific websites	Read page content, show the position picker and click on a website you choose. Chrome asks for your approval for the website of each selected tab (for example, https://example.com/*; one request can list several websites if you selected several tabs) when you turn on or run a feature that needs it: change detection, keyword detection, automatic clicking, the picker, Test sequence now, Run now or Resume. You can withdraw access at any time in Chrome.
Toolbar icon (no separate permission)	Show an “ON” badge for tabs with active automations and the toolbar title in your chosen language.

The Extension does not request access to all websites at installation, or the cookies, history, downloads, notifications or identity permissions. It has no automatically running page scripts, exposes no files to websites and accepts no messages from websites or other extensions. Change detection, keyword detection and automatic clicking cannot run on local files, because the Extension does not request file access.

9. Data Retention and Deletion

The retention period for each kind of information is shown in the table under Information the Extension Processes. In addition:

Records left after Chrome closes. If Chrome closes while an automated tab is still open, Chrome may not report that the tab was closed, so its records can remain. They are not reactivated automatically, but if a tab in a later session receives the same numeric identifier, the pop-up may show the earlier settings, such as the keyword, intervals and click positions, for that unrelated tab, marked as needing reactivation, and Resume would reactivate them. Such records are deleted when a tab with that identifier is closed, or when you uninstall the Extension.
Page summaries are cleared when you turn off both change detection and keyword detection in the pop-up, or use Stop all. Keyword detection stays on after a keyword match stops the tab’s other automations, so the summary keeps being updated on each page load in that tab until you turn keyword detection off.

To stop automations or delete data:

To stop automations without deleting their settings, use Stop refresh, Stop clicking or Stop all in the pop-up.
To delete a tab’s records, close the tab.
To withdraw website access, open chrome://extensions, click “Details” for Website Auto Refresh and change its site access. Features that read or click pages are then paused, while basic refreshing continues.
To delete all data, open chrome://extensions, click “Remove” for Website Auto Refresh and confirm. Chrome deletes the Extension’s stored and session data, its alarms and its website access.

The Extension has no separate “delete all data” button. Because it 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:

choose which tabs to automate, turn each feature on or off, and edit or clear your keyword and click positions in the pop-up;
pause, resume or stop automations with the buttons in the pop-up;
decline or withdraw website access in Chrome;
turn the Extension off at chrome://extensions without removing it; or
uninstall the Extension, which removes its stored data.

Depending on where you live, data protection laws such as the EU/EEA and UK General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) of Hong Kong may give you rights of access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection and portability. 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 to give you access to it, correct it or delete it. You may also contact us with any request or question about your privacy, and we will respond within a reasonable time.

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 refreshing the tabs you select and, if you choose, detecting page changes or keywords and clicking positions you pick;
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 the Extension does not transmit it to the Developer or to anyone else. The Developer reads only emails that you choose to send.

The Extension’s Chrome Web Store privacy disclosure states that it handles “User activity” and “Website content”, and certifies that this data is not sold to third parties outside approved use cases, is not used or transferred for purposes unrelated to the Extension’s core functionality and is not used or transferred to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes. This Policy describes that information in more detail, including the titles and addresses of open tabs that the Extension reads so that you can choose which tabs to automate. The Extension handles all of this information on your device only to provide its features, and none of it is collected by or transmitted to the Developer.

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.

When the Extension reloads or clicks a page, your browser communicates directly with that website’s servers, which may be located in other countries, just as it would if you did so yourself. 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/Website-Auto-Refresh/Privacy-Policy.