PRIVACY POLICY
YouTube Search History Hider Privacy Policy
Summary
- The Extension hides the suggestions in YouTube’s search dropdown on www.youtube.com that it detects as your past searches. It changes only what your browser displays and never deletes or changes your YouTube or Google search history.
- To decide what to hide, the Extension reads the text, labels and icons of the search suggestions temporarily in memory. This information is never saved, logged or sent anywhere.
- The only thing the Extension saves is one on/off setting in Chrome’s extension sync storage, and only after you first change it. If Chrome Sync is turned on, Google may synchronize that setting across the Chrome browsers signed in to your Google Account.
- The Extension makes no network requests of its own, and the Developer collects no data through it. There are no accounts, analytics, advertising or tracking, and no data is sold.
- The Donate (Ko-fi) and Discord buttons open those websites only when you click them, and their own privacy policies apply.
- You can turn hiding off in the Extension’s popup or remove the Extension at any time at chrome://extensions. If Chrome Sync is on, a synchronized copy of the setting may also be held with your Google Account’s Chrome sync data; “Data Retention and Deletion” explains how to remove it.
1. Introduction
That Developer Steven (the “Developer”, “we”, “us” or “our”), an independent software developer based in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, publishes the YouTube Search History Hider extension for Google Chrome (the “Extension”). This privacy policy (the “Policy”) applies to the Extension.
The Extension hides, on www.youtube.com, the suggestions in YouTube’s search dropdown that it detects as your past searches. This can help, for example, when you share your screen or present. The Extension changes only what is displayed in your browser. It does not delete or change the search history held in your Google Account. A single switch in the popup turns hiding on or off.
This Policy explains what information the Extension handles, why it handles it, where that information is kept and the choices available to you. In this Policy, “Personal Data” means information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. The Extension is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by YouTube or Google. 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 1.2.1 and later versions until this Policy is updated.
The Extension runs only on pages at https://www.youtube.com/ that are open as the main page of a browser tab. It does not run on m.youtube.com, music.youtube.com, YouTube addresses without “www”, youtube-nocookie.com, or YouTube videos embedded in other websites.
This Policy does not apply to YouTube, to your Google Account, to Google Chrome itself, to the Chrome Web Store, or to any third-party service you reach through a link in the Extension, such as Ko-fi or Discord. Those services are governed by their own terms and privacy policies.
3. Information the Extension Processes
Processing on your device means that the Extension reads or keeps information inside your own Chrome browser so that its features work. Collection by the Developer means that information is sent to, and received by, the Developer. The Extension processes a small amount of information on your device, as set out below. The Developer does not collect any information through the Extension: the Extension makes no network requests of its own and sends nothing to the Developer.
| Category | What it includes | Purpose | Where it is kept | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hide search history setting | A single on/off value named “enabled” that records whether the “Hide search history” switch is on. Hiding is on by default. This default is built into the Extension, and nothing is saved until you first change the switch. | To remember your choice and apply it to YouTube pages. | Chrome’s extension sync storage (chrome.storage.sync) in your browser. If Chrome Sync is on, Google may also synchronize it through your Google Account (see “Where Information Is Stored and How It Is Protected”). | Until you remove the Extension. Changing the switch replaces the saved value; it does not delete it. A copy synchronized through Chrome Sync is subject to Google’s handling (see “Data Retention and Deletion”). |
| Search suggestion content | The visible text, accessibility labels (aria-labels), class names, button labels and icon shapes of the items in YouTube’s search dropdown. This can include your past search queries and the autocomplete suggestions YouTube shows for what you are typing. | To decide whether each suggestion looks like a past-search item that should be hidden. | Temporarily in memory, inside the YouTube tab, while hiding is on. | Not retained. The values are read during each check and are never saved, logged or sent anywhere. |
| Page structure on YouTube | The element types (tag names) and class names that identify list and suggestion elements anywhere on the YouTube page, including inside the page’s self-contained components (shadow DOM), and the element types of the elements that contain them. The page is scanned again each time its content changes. The Extension does not read the text or labels of elements outside the search box. | To locate YouTube’s search box so that only items inside the search dropdown are considered. | Temporarily in memory, inside the YouTube tab, while hiding is on. | Not retained. |
| Your YouTube and Google search history | The search history that YouTube and Google keep in your account. | None. The Extension only hides matching items on the page. It does not copy, export, delete or change your history, and it never clicks YouTube’s “Remove” buttons. | Not kept by the Extension. Your history remains in your Google Account under Google’s control. | Not applicable. |
| Links you choose to open | The fixed web addresses of the Developer’s Ko-fi page and Discord community. The Extension adds no information about you to these addresses. | To open the page you selected in a new tab when you click Donate or Discord. | Not kept by the Extension. The website you open receives your browser’s ordinary request (see “Third-Party Websites and Services”). | Determined by Ko-fi or Discord under their own policies. |
When the Extension finds a suggestion that looks like a past search, it sets three display properties on that item (display: none, visibility: hidden and pointer-events: none) so that the item is neither shown nor clickable. Apart from these display settings, it does not add elements, markers, overlays or other content to YouTube pages, and it does not change any other part of the page.
Detection is based on signs such as the class name YouTube uses for personalized suggestions, a “Remove” button, a clock icon, or words such as “history” or “recent”. The Extension may therefore miss some past-search items, and it may also hide ordinary suggestions that contain such words. Hiding begins only after a YouTube page’s initial content has loaded and the Extension has read its setting. Please do not rely on the Extension as your only safeguard when the privacy of your search history matters, for example during screen sharing.
The Extension does not collect, store or transmit:
- account or sign-in information: the Extension has no account or registration of its own and does not access your Google or YouTube account details;
- names, email addresses, telephone numbers or other contact details;
- passwords, cookies, session tokens or other credentials: the Extension does not read or set cookies, and does not use the YouTube page’s local storage, session storage or IndexedDB;
- payment information: any donation you choose to make is handled by Ko-fi and its payment providers, not by the Extension;
- location data;
- analytics, telemetry, crash reports, advertising identifiers or any other tracking data;
- your browsing history: the Extension runs only on www.youtube.com and does not record which pages or videos you visit there;
- any copy of your search queries or search history.
4. How Information Is Used
Information processed by the Extension is used only to provide the Extension’s features to you, namely:
- to detect past-search suggestions in YouTube’s search dropdown and hide them from view;
- to remember whether you have turned hiding on or off, and to apply that choice to YouTube pages, including open YouTube tabs when you turn hiding on;
- to open the Ko-fi or Discord page in a new tab when you click the corresponding button.
The Extension does not use any information for profiling, advertising, marketing or analytics. We do not sell information, and it is not used to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes. The Developer does not read, review or have access to the information the Extension processes, because that information never reaches the Developer.
5. Where Information Is Stored and How It Is Protected
The only information the Extension saves is the “Hide search history” setting described above. It is saved in chrome.storage.sync, which is Chrome’s extension storage in your browser profile, with the option of synchronization. Nothing is saved until you first change the switch.
If you are signed in to Chrome and Chrome Sync is turned on, Chrome may, depending on your sync choices, synchronize this setting across the Chrome browsers signed in to the same Google Account. In that case Google stores and processes the setting as part of your synchronized Chrome data under the Google Privacy Policy. If Chrome Sync is off, the setting stays in your browser on your device.
Information read from YouTube’s search dropdown is held only temporarily in memory and is never written to storage. The Developer does not operate any server, database or account system for the Extension, and the Extension does not send information to the Developer.
The Extension is designed to minimize the information it handles. It requests only the “storage” permission and access to www.youtube.com, runs only code packaged with it, and makes no network requests of its own. The Extension does not encrypt the stored setting itself, so anyone who can use your Chrome profile may be able to see whether hiding is turned on or off. No method of storage is completely secure, so please protect your device, operating-system account and Chrome profile, for example by using a screen lock and keeping Chrome up to date.
6. Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell, rent, trade or share Personal Data. Because the Developer does not receive any information from the Extension, we have no such information to disclose to third parties, including advertisers, data brokers or public authorities.
The only way the Extension’s stored setting can leave your device is through Chrome Sync, if you have turned it on. That synchronization is a Google service provided under Google’s terms. The Developer does not control it and cannot access the synchronized data.
If you email us, we use your message only to respond to you, and we do not sell or share it, except where we are required to disclose it by applicable law. The Developer’s email address is a Gmail address, so your message is also processed by Google under the Google Privacy Policy, and by your own email provider under its policies.
7. Third-Party Websites and Services
The Extension does not send any information to the Developer or to any other server. It makes no network requests of its own and loads no remote scripts, stylesheets, fonts or images. Its popup uses only files packaged with the Extension. Any synchronization of the Extension’s setting through Chrome Sync is carried out by Google Chrome, not by the Extension, as described below.
YouTube. The Extension works only within the YouTube page that is already loaded in your tab. It does not send requests to YouTube, does not use your YouTube session to send anything, and does not reload pages. YouTube and Google process information about your use of YouTube under their own terms and privacy policies, whether or not the Extension is installed. The Extension’s display changes are made inside the YouTube page in your browser. YouTube’s own code also runs in that page and may be able to detect those changes, but the Extension itself does not report them to YouTube or to anyone else.
Google Chrome Sync. If you have turned on Chrome Sync, Google may synchronize the Extension’s on/off setting as described in “Where Information Is Stored and How It Is Protected”.
Chrome Web Store. Installation and automatic updates of the Extension are delivered by Google through the Chrome Web Store under Google’s own terms and policies. The Developer does not control this process.
Links you choose to open. The Extension’s popup contains two buttons that open external websites in a new tab:
- Donate opens the Developer’s Ko-fi page at https://ko-fi.com/developersteven.
- Discord opens an invitation to the Developer’s Discord community at https://discord.gg/YhAdK9dpAV.
These pages open only when you click the button, and the Extension adds no information about you to their fixed addresses. Your browser then sends that website the ordinary information that accompanies any web visit, such as your IP address, browser details and any cookies you already have for it. Ko-fi and Discord process this information, and anything you choose to provide there (such as payment details, a donation message or a Discord post), under their own terms and privacy policies. Information you choose to share on those services may be visible to the Developer as the operator of the Ko-fi page or Discord community.
The Support view in the popup shows troubleshooting tips stored within the Extension and does not connect to any website.
8. Browser Permissions
The Extension requests only the browser permissions needed for its features. You can review them at any time by opening chrome://extensions and selecting Details for the Extension.
| Permission | Why the Extension needs it |
|---|---|
| storage | To save and read the single “Hide search history” setting in chrome.storage.sync, and to let the Extension notice when that setting changes, so that open YouTube pages start hiding, or stop further hiding, when you change it. |
| host access to https://www.youtube.com/* | Declared so that the Extension can operate on www.youtube.com pages. The Extension does not use this access to make network requests, to read cookies or to interact with any other website. |
| content script on https://www.youtube.com/* | Runs the Extension’s packaged script on www.youtube.com pages (in the main page of a tab only) to find and hide past-search suggestions in the search dropdown. |
| Opening links in a new tab (chrome.tabs.create, no permission required) | Opens the Ko-fi or Discord page when you click Donate or Discord. This does not require, and the Extension does not request, the “tabs” permission. |
The Extension does not request permissions such as “tabs”, “cookies”, “history”, “scripting”, “identity” or “webRequest”, and it has no access to websites other than www.youtube.com.
9. Data Retention and Deletion
The Extension keeps information only for as long as it is needed:
- Hide search history setting: kept until you remove the Extension. Changing the switch replaces the saved value but does not delete it. If you have never changed the switch, nothing is stored.
- Search suggestion content and page structure: never retained. These values are read in memory during each check and then discarded.
- Hidden suggestions: the display changes exist only in the open page and are not saved. While hiding is on, they are applied again each time a YouTube page loads. Turning the switch off stops further hiding, but items already hidden on an open page stay hidden until you reload the page or YouTube replaces those items.
- Your YouTube and Google search history: not affected by the Extension. It remains in your Google Account until you manage or delete it through Google’s own settings.
To stop the Extension or delete the information it stores:
- To stop hiding, open the Extension’s popup, turn off the “Hide search history” switch, and reload any open YouTube pages. The Extension has no separate reset or export button, because it stores only this one setting.
- To remove the Extension, go to chrome://extensions, find YouTube Search History Hider and select Remove. This stops all processing by the Extension. Chrome’s documentation states that an extension’s local storage is cleared when the extension is removed, and that its sync storage behaves like local storage when Chrome Sync is off. If Chrome Sync is off, removing the Extension therefore also removes its stored setting.
- If Chrome Sync is or was turned on, a copy of the setting may also be held in the Chrome data synchronized to your Google Account. The Developer cannot access that copy and cannot confirm whether Google deletes it when the Extension is removed. If you want to be certain it is removed, you can delete your synchronized Chrome data through Chrome’s sync settings or your Google Account. Please note that this deletes all Chrome data synchronized to your account, not only this setting.
- To delete your actual search history, use the history controls in your Google Account or on YouTube. The Extension cannot do this for you.
10. Your Rights and Choices
You control the information the Extension handles directly on your device. You may turn hiding on or off, change your Chrome Sync settings or remove the Extension at any time.
Depending on where you live, data protection laws may give you rights of access, correction, deletion, restriction of processing, objection and data portability in relation to your Personal Data. These laws include Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation) in the European Union and the European Economic Area, the UK General Data Protection Regulation together with the Data Protection Act 2018 in the United Kingdom, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) of Hong Kong.
Because the Developer does not hold any information from the Extension, these rights are exercised by managing the data in your browser, as described in “Data Retention and Deletion”. If you have emailed us, you may ask us to access, correct or delete that correspondence. Information you provide through Ko-fi or Discord is held by those services under their own policies, and you may contact us about any such information that is visible to us. You may also contact us at ThatDeveloperSteven138@gmail.com with any request or question, and we will respond within a reasonable time. Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection or privacy authority, such as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong.
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 information to the Developer, no such data is received through the Extension. If you have concerns about a child’s use of the Extension, please contact us at ThatDeveloperSteven138@gmail.com.
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 or improve the single purpose described in the Extension’s Chrome Web Store listing, which is hiding search-history suggestions in YouTube’s search dropdown;
- is not transferred to anyone, except through Chrome Sync when you have turned it on, as described in this Policy;
- is not used or transferred for personalized advertising;
- is not used or transferred to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes;
- is not read by the Developer or by any other person on the Developer’s behalf, because it is never transmitted to the Developer.
The privacy section of the Extension’s Chrome Web Store listing states: “The developer has disclosed that it will not collect or use your data.” This is consistent with this Policy: the Developer does not collect, receive or use any information from the Extension. The on-device processing set out in this Policy is carried out by the Extension within your browser, only to provide its features. Synchronization through Chrome Sync, where you have turned it on, is performed by Google and does not give the Developer access to the data.
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 located, and no information is transferred to the Developer in Hong Kong or elsewhere. The Extension itself makes no cross-border transfers. If you use Chrome Sync, Google may store and process the synchronized setting in other countries under its own policies. If you email us, your message is delivered through your email provider and Google’s Gmail service, which may process it in other countries, and 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 of this Policy. Material changes will be highlighted on this page and, where appropriate, in the Extension’s Chrome Web Store listing or release notes. Your continued use of the Extension after the effective date of an updated Policy means that 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, please contact us:
We aim to reply within 30 days. If you contact us by email, we receive your email address and the contents of your message and use them only to respond to you. We keep this correspondence only for as long as reasonably necessary to deal with your request, and you may ask us to delete it.
This Policy is published at https://www.thatdevelopersteven.com/chrome-extension/YouTube-Search-History-Hider/Privacy-Policy