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Privacy Policy — YouTube GIF Comments

Last updated: October 17, 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how the YouTube GIF Comments Chrome extension ("the Extension"), developed by Dan River, handles information when you use it. The Extension allows you to search for GIFs via Tenor, attach them to YouTube comments, and manage a personal favourites list — all without any data ever leaving your device to a server we operate.

2. Information We Collect

The Extension does not collect, store, or transmit any personal information to any server we operate. Specifically:

  • We do not collect your name, email address, or any account information.
  • We do not store your YouTube watch history, comment history, or browsing activity.
  • We do not track which GIFs you search for, view, or post.
  • We do not identify you as an individual in any way.

3. Data Stored Locally on Your Device

The Extension stores the following data exclusively in your browser's local extension storage (chrome.storage.local). This data never leaves your device and is never transmitted to us or any third party:

  • GIF favourites — a list of GIFs you have starred in the picker, including their Tenor IDs, preview URLs, dimensions, and titles.
  • Saved GIFs — locally saved GIF data associated with specific YouTube videos, used to display GIF overlays on comments you have posted.
  • Hide GIFs preference — a boolean toggle controlling whether GIF images in YouTube comments are hidden.
  • Tenor API keys — anonymous API keys obtained directly from Tenor's public website, used to power GIF search. These keys are not personal and are cycled automatically.
  • Session flags — short-lived timestamps used to track when a Tenor GIF creation session was initiated (automatically expire within 10 minutes).

You can clear all locally stored data at any time by removing the Extension from your browser.

4. How the Extension Works

The Extension operates entirely within your browser. Its core functions are:

  • GIF search — when you search for a GIF, the Extension sends a request from your browser directly to the Tenor API (tenor.com). No data passes through any server we operate.
  • GIF comments — when you post a GIF comment, the Extension modifies the comment submission request directly within your browser, supplying a Tenor GIF ID. The request is sent to YouTube's servers using your own session credentials. We never see or intercept this request.
  • GIF overlay rendering — the Extension injects a small script into YouTube pages to display GIF images inline in comments. This runs entirely on your device.
  • Hide GIFs — when enabled, the Extension uses Chrome's declarativeNetRequest API to block YouTube's GIF image URLs, preventing them from loading. No browsing data is shared with us as a result of this feature.

5. Third-Party Services

The Extension interacts with the following third-party services on your behalf:

  • Tenor (Google LLC) — GIF search results and media are fetched directly from tenor.com and media.tenor.com. By using the GIF search feature, you are also subject to Tenor's Terms of Service and Google's Privacy Policy.
  • Google LLC (YouTube) — when you post a GIF comment, the Extension submits a modified comment request directly from your browser to YouTube's internal API (youtube.com/youtubei), using your own authenticated YouTube session. No intermediary server owned by us is involved. By using this Extension on YouTube, you are also bound by YouTube's Terms of Service and Google's Privacy Policy.

6. Data Sharing, Transfer, and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share any user data with any third parties.

The only entities that receive data as a result of using this Extension are Tenor and YouTube/Google, as described in Section 5. This data flows directly from your browser to their servers — we do not act as an intermediary, and we do not receive copies of this data.

We do not use any data for advertising, analytics, profiling, or any purpose beyond enabling the core features of the Extension.

7. Data Protection Mechanisms

The following protections are built into the Extension:

  • HTTPS only — all requests to Tenor and YouTube APIs are made over HTTPS, ensuring data is encrypted in transit.
  • Local storage only — all Extension data (favourites, preferences, API keys) is stored exclusively in chrome.storage.local on your device. It is never transmitted to our servers or any third party.
  • No server-side processing — the Extension operates entirely client-side. No user data is processed or stored on any server we operate.
  • Minimal data retention — saved GIF overlay data associated with a video is automatically discarded after 7 days. No data is held indefinitely.
  • No analytics or tracking — the Extension does not include any analytics SDK, error-reporting service, or telemetry of any kind.

8. Permissions

The Extension requests the following browser permissions, each used solely to provide core functionality:

  • Access to youtube.com — to inject the GIF picker button into YouTube comment boxes and to intercept and modify GIF comment submissions from within your browser.
  • Access to tenor.com — to fetch GIF search results and media directly from Tenor's servers.
  • Storage — to save your GIF favourites, preferences, and temporary session data locally in your browser.
  • Scripting — to inject content scripts into open YouTube tabs when the Extension is first installed or updated.
  • Tabs & Windows — to open the Tenor GIF Maker page and the built-in GIF editor in new tabs.
  • declarativeNetRequest — to optionally block YouTube's GIF image URLs when the "Hide GIFs on YouTube" toggle is enabled.
  • webNavigation — to detect YouTube page navigation events so the GIF picker state can be reset correctly when you move between videos.
  • Alarms — to schedule periodic tasks such as cleaning up expired local GIF data.

9. Data Retention

Since we collect no personal data on our servers, there is nothing for us to retain or delete. All data stored by the Extension lives on your device and can be cleared at any time by removing the Extension from your browser. GIF overlay data tied to specific videos expires automatically after 7 days.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected by an updated date at the top of this page.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at danrdcontact@gmail.com.