In one sentence: this extension collects nothing, sends nothing anywhere, and
keeps every setting on your own device or your own synced Chrome account.
What data is stored, and where
| Data | Where it lives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Enabled / disabled toggle | chrome.storage.sync |
Remembers whether the extension is active |
| Drop delay / restore delay | chrome.storage.sync |
Your configured timing preferences |
| Running total of estimated data saved | chrome.storage.sync |
Shown on the dashboard and popup |
chrome.storage.sync is a standard Chrome API. Its contents sync only
across Chrome browsers signed into your own Google account. This extension makes
no network requests of its own, so none of this data is ever transmitted to us
or to any third party.
What this extension does not do
- It does not read, log, or transmit your YouTube viewing history, video titles, search queries, or any other browsing content.
- It does not use analytics, telemetry, or crash-reporting services.
- It does not communicate with any server operated by the developer.
- It does not share data with advertisers or any other third party.
- It does not sell data. There is no data to sell.
Permissions, and why each one is needed
- storage — saves the settings and totals described above, locally or synced to your own account.
- notifications — shows a desktop notification when video quality is dropped or restored, so you know it happened even if you're on another tab.
- activeTab — used only when you click "Test Drop" in the popup, to message the YouTube tab you're currently viewing. No access to any other tabs, and no access beyond that single user-initiated action.
- Content script on youtube.com — needed to detect when a tab becomes hidden or visible, and to interact with YouTube's own on-page quality settings menu. There is no official API for changing playback quality, so the extension drives the same menu you would click through by hand.
Changes to this policy
If a future version changes what data is collected or how it's used, this page will be updated and the extension's version notes will call out the change explicitly.
Contact
Questions about this policy can be raised as an issue in the project's repository.
Independent project notice: Smart Data Saver for YouTube is an
independent, unofficial project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or
sponsored by YouTube or Google. "YouTube" is a trademark of Google LLC.