Hootly.ai is designed with privacy as a core principle. Your conversations and API keys stay on your device. We only collect anonymous, aggregated usage analytics (which you can disable).
Data Collection
We collect minimal, anonymous usage data to improve the extension:
- ✅ Anonymous usage analytics via Plausible (privacy-focused, no cookies)
- ❌ No personal information
- ❌ No tracking cookies
- ❌ No third-party tracking scripts
Analytics Details
We use Plausible Analytics, which:
- Does not use cookies
- Does not collect personal data
- Does not track across sites
- Is GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant
- Can be disabled in extension settings
Analytics help us understand which features are used and identify issues. No conversation content, API keys, or personal data is ever collected.
Data Storage
All data is stored locally in your browser using the browser's built-in storage API:
- API keys
- Conversation history
- Settings and preferences
- Custom personas
This data never leaves your device except when making API calls to your chosen LLM provider.
API Communications
When you send a message, Hootly.ai communicates directly with your selected AI provider:
| Provider | Endpoint |
|---|---|
| Claude (Anthropic) | api.anthropic.com |
| OpenAI | api.openai.com |
| Google Gemini | generativelanguage.googleapis.com |
| OpenRouter | openrouter.ai |
Your API key and messages are sent directly to these providers. We do not proxy, log, or intercept this traffic. Please review each provider's privacy policy for how they handle your data.
Page Context
When you use the "include page context" feature, selected text or page content is:
- Read from the current webpage
- Sent directly to your chosen AI provider
- Never stored or transmitted elsewhere
Third-Party Services
The extension does not load any external resources.
Open Source
Hootly.ai is open source under AGPL-3.0. You can audit the code at:
github.com/filidorwiese/hootly.ai
Changes
If this policy changes, we will update the "Last updated" date. Significant changes will be noted in the changelog.
Contact
Questions? Open an issue on GitHub.