Privacy Policy
Who we are
Word Explainer is a Chrome extension developed by Word Explainer. For questions or concerns about this privacy policy, contact us at privacy@word-explainer.app.
What data we handle
When you use Word Explainer, the extension collects and processes:
- The word or short phrase you highlight (maximum 100 characters, enforced by the backend).
We explicitly do NOT collect:
- Page content beyond the highlighted text
- Browsing history
- IP-based geolocation (beyond what our backend sees in the HTTP request)
- Cookies
- User accounts or authentication data
- Analytics or usage tracking
How data is used
The highlighted text you select is sent from the extension to our backend server. The backend forwards your text to one of several AI providers to generate an explanation in the same language as your selected text. The explanation is returned to your browser and displayed in a popup.
We do not use your data for training models, user profiling, advertising, or any purpose other than generating and returning the explanation you requested.
Who data is shared with
To generate explanations, we share the text you highlight with third-party AI providers. Which provider handles a given request depends on availability and rate limits at the time of the request. The current set of providers our backend uses is:
| Provider | Purpose | Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Groq | generate the explanation | Groq privacy policy |
| Cerebras | generate the explanation | Cerebras privacy policy |
| Scaleway | generate the explanation | Scaleway privacy policy |
| DeepInfra | generate the explanation | DeepInfra privacy policy |
| Novita AI | generate the explanation | Novita AI privacy policy |
| Google (Gemini API) | generate the explanation | Google (Gemini API) privacy policy |
Which provider handles a given request depends on availability and rate limits at the time of the request. The list above is the current set of providers used by the backend.
Each provider's handling of the text we send is governed by that provider's own privacy policy, linked above. We do not send any other information about you or the page you are reading.
Hosting and infrastructure
Our backend is hosted on Railway ( privacy policy).
Our backend logs request metadata (timestamp, provider used, response time, error codes) for debugging and performance monitoring. The text of the highlighted word is never logged or stored in our server logs.
How long data is kept
The highlighted text is not stored by our backend after the explanation is generated and returned to your browser. Each provider's data retention policy governs how long (if at all) they retain data sent to their API — refer to the provider privacy policies linked above.
Local storage
Word Explainer caches explanations locally on your device using Chrome'schrome.storage.local API. This cache improves performance by avoiding duplicate requests for the same word. The cache is stored entirely on your device and is never transmitted to our servers.
You can clear the cache at any time by:
- Using the "Clear cache" option in the extension's popup menu, or
- Removing the extension (which deletes all local data).
User rights
Because we do not store your highlighted text or any account data, there is no persistent user data for us to delete or export. If you want to stop using the service:
- Disable per-site: Click the extension icon and toggle "Disable on this site" to prevent the extension from activating on specific websites.
- Disable entirely: Disable the extension in Chrome's extension settings (
chrome://extensions). - Uninstall: Remove the extension to delete all local cached data.
For questions about how a specific AI provider handles your data, contact that provider directly using the privacy policy links in the table above.
Children
Word Explainer is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the European Union). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has used this extension and shared data with us, contact us at privacy@word-explainer.app.
Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. The URL of this policy (https://word-explainer.app/privacy) will remain stable — we will not move or remove it.
Material changes (such as adding new data collection practices or new third-party providers) will also update the "Effective date." We recommend reviewing this policy periodically.
Contact
For questions, concerns, or requests related to this privacy policy, contact us at:
Email: privacy@word-explainer.app