Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 25, 2024

            Privacy-First Commitment: Emoji Translator is designed with your privacy as a top priority. All text translation happens locally in your browser using on-device AI models. Your selected text never leaves your device for emoji translation purposes.
        

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Emoji Translator ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects your information when you use our Chrome extension and related services (collectively, the "Service").

By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information Stored Locally (Browser Storage)

The following data is stored locally in your browser using Chrome's storage API and is never transmitted to our servers:

Install ID: A unique identifier generated when you install the extension (timestamp + random number) used solely for subscription verification
Usage Data: Daily counters tracking your emoji translation and gloss lookup usage for enforcing free plan limits
Favorites: Your saved emoji translations (up to 200 items)
Language Preferences: Your selected languages for daily language packs
Translation Cache: Cached English translations (glosses) to improve performance and reduce API calls
Model Cache Flags: Settings indicating whether AI models have been downloaded and cached
Subscription Status Cache: Temporary cache (5 minutes) of your Pro subscription status to reduce server requests

2.2 Information Sent to Our Servers

We collect minimal information through our servers:

Install ID: Sent when checking subscription status or initiating upgrades
Subscription Data: Information received from Paddle (our payment processor) including customer ID, subscription ID, and subscription status

Important: Your selected text for emoji translation is NOT sent to our servers. All emoji translation processing happens locally in your browser.

2.3 Information Sent to Third Parties

The Service may send limited data to the following third-party services:

Paddle (Payment Processor)

What is sent: Your install ID (when initiating checkout), payment information you provide to Paddle
Purpose: To process subscription payments
Privacy Policy: https://www.paddle.com/legal/privacy

LibreTranslate (Optional Translation Service)

What is sent: Phrase text that you explicitly request to translate to English by clicking the gloss button
Purpose: To provide English translations of emoji-translated phrases
When: Only when you actively click to request an English translation of a phrase
Note: This is optional functionality that you control

2.4 Information We Do NOT Collect

We do not collect:

Your browsing history or URLs of pages you visit
The text you select for emoji translation (this stays local)
Your personal identification information (name, email, address) unless you provide it for support
Tracking cookies or analytics data
Device fingerprints or detailed system information
Location data

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

Data Type	Purpose
Install ID	To verify your subscription status and manage entitlements
Usage Data (Local)	To enforce daily limits for free plan users
Favorites (Local)	To store and display your saved emoji translations
Language Preferences (Local)	To customize daily language packs to your preferences
Subscription Data	To activate and manage Pro plan access

4. Data Processing and Storage

4.1 Local Processing

Emoji Translator uses on-device AI models to process your text:

Gemma 3 270M: AI model for emoji translation (runs locally via MediaPipe)
Qwen2 1.5B: AI model for phrase extraction and English translation (runs locally via WebLLM)
UDPipe: Grammar parsing for text analysis (runs locally via WebAssembly)
SAT (Semantic Audio Tokenization): Sentence detection (runs locally)

These models are downloaded once and cached in your browser for offline use. Your text is processed entirely on your device using WebGPU acceleration.

4.2 Server Storage

We store the following on our servers:

Subscription Entitlements: A mapping of install IDs to subscription status, stored in a JSON file on our server
Retention: Subscription data is retained for the duration of your subscription plus 1 year for accounting purposes

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your information to third parties. We may share information only in the following circumstances:

With Paddle: Install ID is shared with our payment processor to manage subscriptions
Legal Requirements: If required by law, court order, or governmental authority
Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (users will be notified)
With Your Consent: Any other sharing will be done with your explicit permission

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information:

HTTPS: All communication with our servers uses encrypted connections
Webhook Verification: Paddle webhooks are verified using HMAC-SHA256 signatures
Minimal Data Collection: We collect only what is necessary for the Service to function
Local Processing: Sensitive text data never leaves your device
No Password Storage: We do not store passwords or payment information (handled by Paddle)

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights and Choices

7.1 Access and Control

You have the following rights regarding your information:

Access: Request a copy of the subscription data we store for your install ID
Deletion: Request deletion of your subscription data (will result in loss of Pro access)
Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
Opt-Out: Stop using the Service at any time by uninstalling the extension

7.2 Managing Local Data

You can manage locally stored data through:

Clear Favorites: Delete individual favorites from the side panel
Clear Cache: Use Chrome's extension storage management to clear cached data
Uninstall: Uninstalling the extension removes all locally stored data

7.3 GDPR Rights (EU Users)

If you are located in the European Union, you have additional rights under GDPR:

Right to data portability
Right to restrict processing
Right to object to processing
Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

7.4 CCPA Rights (California Users)

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:

Right to know what personal information is collected
Right to know if personal information is sold or disclosed
Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information)
Right to deletion
Right to non-discrimination for exercising CCPA rights

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for users under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that we have collected information from a child under 13, we will delete it immediately. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be processed in countries other than your own. These countries may have data protection laws different from your jurisdiction. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to our servers and Paddle's servers, which may be located in different countries.

10. Chrome Web Store Permissions

The extension requests the following Chrome permissions:

contextMenus: To add "Emoji Translate Selection" to the right-click menu
storage: To save favorites, preferences, and usage data locally
sidePanel: To display the side panel library
offscreen: To run AI models in a background worker for better performance
scripting: To inject the translation interface into web pages
activeTab: To access selected text on the current tab when you use the context menu

These permissions are used solely for the functionality described and not for tracking or data collection.

11. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with:

Paddle: Payment processing (Privacy Policy)
LibreTranslate: Optional translation service for English glosses

These services have their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes:

We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top
For material changes, we will notify you through the extension or via email (for Pro users)
Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy

13. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us:

Email: support@example.com

For data subject requests (access, deletion, correction), please include:

Your install ID (found in the extension)
Description of your request
Proof of identity if required for verification

We will respond to verified requests within 30 days.

14. Transparency Commitment

We are committed to transparency about our data practices:

We collect minimal data necessary for the Service
We do not use tracking or analytics tools
We do not sell or share data for advertising purposes
We process sensitive text data locally on your device
We use open-source or well-documented AI models

By using Emoji Translator, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.