Privacy Policy.

Last updated: 16 August 2026

Keep the Thread is a local-first browser extension. It has no accounts, no application server, and no analytics. We do not collect, receive, store, sell, or share any of your data — the extension is designed so that we could not even if we wanted to.

What the extension stores, and where

When you explicitly save a page, the extension stores the page URL, a readable copy of its content, an optional screenshot of the visible area, your notes, tags, and threads. All of this lives in your browser’s local storage (IndexedDB) on your device. Deleting the extension, or clearing its site data, deletes this library. You can export and re-import your library as a file at any time from the extension itself.

Network requests the extension makes

Hugging Face (huggingface.co): the extension's AI features — summaries, and search that understands meaning rather than exact words — each rely on an AI file that is downloaded once from Hugging Face and kept by your browser, the way an offline dictionary would be. Only those downloads occur; none of your saved content is uploaded, and the summarizing and searching happen on your computer. Meaning-based search can be turned off in Library settings.
Sites you saved: the extension may load favicons directly from the sites of pages you chose to save, and of pages your briefs recommend reading next.
There are no other network requests. AI summarization and search run entirely on your device.

Features that hand data to third parties — only when you ask

“Ask AI”: if you choose to open a thread in Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity, the text of that thread is placed into that site’s chat box in a new tab. Nothing is sent until you choose to send it there, and their privacy policies apply to what you submit.
“Email me this”: opens your own mail client with the recap text pre-filled.
Dictation: if you use voice notes, Chrome’s built-in speech recognition is used; depending on your Chrome configuration, Google may process that audio.
Your own AI key (optional): in Library settings you can connect your own Claude or OpenAI account for deeper summaries. If you do, summaries — created automatically for new saves, and whenever you ask — send the relevant saved pages directly from your browser to that provider under your key and their privacy terms, never through any server of ours. Briefs may also run web searches on the provider's side to verify links and research your open questions. The key is stored only on your device, and removing it in settings ends this entirely.

Permissions, in plain words

activeTab + scripting: read the page you are looking at, only at the moment you click save.
storage / unlimitedStorage: keep your library on your device.
contextMenus: the right-click “Save to Keep the Thread” item.
alarms + notifications: the optional Friday “your week on the internet” notification, generated locally. It can be turned off in Library settings.

Changes and contact

If this policy ever changes in a way that matters, the change will be visible in the extension’s listing and on this page with a new date. Questions: [email protected].