By platform

Privacy Policy Generator for Chrome Extensions

Written for Chrome Web Store review: the limited use policy, host permissions and the data-use disclosures.

Generate your privacy policy Read the privacy policy guide

A browser extension privacy policy has one job before all others: say clearly what the extension can see and whether any of it leaves the device. Chrome Web Store review reads it against your manifest permissions and your data-use disclosure, and users read it because an extension can see everything they browse.

Browser extensions are held to a stricter standard than most software because of what they can see. An extension with host permissions can read every page the user visits, and the Chrome Web Store user data policy requires a privacy policy whenever an extension handles personal or sensitive user data - which host permissions alone effectively guarantee.

The Limited Use requirements are the part that catches developers out. Data collected may only be used for the user-facing feature that justified collecting it. Selling it, transferring it for advertising, or using it for creditworthiness or lending is prohibited outright, and human review of the data requires specific circumstances.

The store listing also requires a data-use disclosure and a certification that your handling matches it. As with Apple’s nutrition labels, review compares the disclosure, the manifest permissions and the privacy policy against each other.

What a privacy policy for a browser extension has to cover

Every permission requested and the specific feature that justifies it
Whether data stays in local storage or is transmitted, stated unambiguously
Browsing activity and page content: what is read, what is retained, and for how long
Analytics inside the extension and how it is scoped away from URLs and page content
A Limited Use statement confirming data is not sold or transferred for advertising

How a browser extension actually moves personal data

Page content read under host permissions

An extension with broad host access can see page contents including form fields, which is the most sensitive category a store reviewer looks for.

Browsing activity

URLs and navigation history, which are personal data and are specifically called out in the store policy.

Local versus remote storage

Whether data stays in chrome.storage.local or is synced to your servers is the single most important disclosure in an extension policy.

Analytics inside the extension

Event tracking from a context that can see everything the user browses, which needs unusually careful scoping.

Authentication and account linking

OAuth tokens and account identifiers where the extension connects to a service.

Sync across devices

chrome.storage.sync moves data through Google’s infrastructure to the user’s other devices.

Third parties the draft will ask you about

Google (Chrome Web Store, storage.sync) · your own backend · Sentry · PostHog or Amplitude · Stripe for paid extensions

The rules that apply

Chrome Web Store User Data Policy

A privacy policy is required for any extension handling personal or sensitive user data, and must be posted in the developer dashboard.

Limited Use requirements

Data may only be used for the disclosed user-facing feature. Selling it or transferring it for advertising or credit assessment is prohibited.

Minimum permissions

Requesting broader host permissions than the feature needs is a rejection reason, and each permission needs a justification in the listing.

Data-use disclosure and certification

The store listing declares what is collected and certifies that handling matches the disclosure.

Remote code restrictions

Manifest V3 prohibits executing remotely hosted code, which constrains how analytics and feature flags can be implemented.

What the generated privacy policy contains

Identity and contact details of the controller
Your legal entity, trading name, registered address and a working contact route - plus a representative or DPO where one is required.
Categories of personal data and their sources
What you collect directly, what you observe automatically, and what you receive from third parties such as payment providers or ad platforms.
Purposes and lawful basis, purpose by purpose
A table that pairs each processing purpose with its lawful basis rather than listing all six bases and hoping one fits.
Recipients and sub-processors
The categories of recipient, and for the ones that matter to users - payment, hosting, analytics, support - the named provider.
International transfers and their safeguards
Where data leaves its home jurisdiction, and the mechanism relied on: adequacy, standard contractual clauses, the UK addendum or IDTA.
Retention periods per data category
Concrete periods or the criteria used to set them, which is what regulators ask for first when a complaint lands.
Rights and how to exercise them
Access, rectification, erasure, portability, objection and restriction, with the actual route to make a request and the deadline you work to.
Complaints and supervisory authority
The regulator a user can escalate to, named, with a link - not a generic "your local authority".

Getting through Chrome Web Store review

Cut permissions to the minimum the feature needs
And write the justification for each one before submitting.
State plainly whether data leaves the device
One sentence near the top of the policy answers most reviewer and user concerns.
Scope analytics so it cannot capture URLs or page content
And say so explicitly.
Complete the data-use disclosure from the policy
So the two cannot diverge.
Host the policy at a stable public URL
Entered in the developer dashboard and linked from the extension itself.

Where this usually goes wrong

Requesting broad host permissions "just in case"

Minimum permissions is an enforced requirement, and over-broad access is a common rejection.

Not saying whether data leaves the device

This is the first question a reviewer and a privacy-conscious user both ask.

Analytics that captures URLs

Browsing history is sensitive under the store policy, and capturing it inside an analytics event is easy to do accidentally.

A disclosure that does not match the manifest

Review compares permissions, the data-use disclosure and the policy.

Transferring data for advertising

Prohibited by Limited Use, regardless of consent.

A privacy policy URL that is not publicly reachable

It must resolve without a login, and reviewers check.

Frequently asked questions

Does my Chrome extension need a privacy policy?

If it handles personal or sensitive user data, yes - and requesting host permissions effectively puts you in that category. The policy URL goes in the developer dashboard.

What are the Limited Use requirements?

Data collected may only be used for the user-facing feature disclosed to the user. Selling it, transferring it for advertising, or using it for creditworthiness or lending is prohibited, and human review is restricted to specific circumstances.

Can I run analytics in an extension?

Yes, with care. Scope it so it cannot capture URLs or page content, disclose it in the policy and the data-use declaration, and remember that Manifest V3 prohibits executing remotely hosted code.

Is a privacy policy legally required?

If you process personal data, in almost every market yes. GDPR and UK GDPR require the disclosure at the point of collection, CCPA/CPRA requires a notice at collection plus an annually reviewed policy, and app stores and payment processors require a public policy URL before they will list or onboard you.

Can I copy another company’s privacy policy?

It is both a copyright problem and a compliance problem. A copied policy describes someone else’s data flows, processors and retention periods, so it is inaccurate the moment you publish it - and an inaccurate transparency notice is itself a breach of GDPR Article 13.

How often does a privacy policy need updating?

Whenever your processing changes - a new analytics tool, a new payment provider, a new market - and as a backstop, review it annually. CPRA makes the twelve-month review explicit.

Does PolicifyAI give legal advice?

No. PolicifyAI is a technology provider, not a law firm. The output is a structured, jurisdiction-aware draft that a qualified adviser should review before you rely on it.