Who we are

SkipWatch (“we”, “us”) provides a web app at skip.watch and a Chromium extension that turn YouTube videos into readable articles and structured facts. This policy describes what data we collect, why, who we share it with, and your rights. For a postal address or other operator details, contact privacy@skip.watch.

Data we collect

• Account data: email address, name, password hash (if you register with email/password), or Google account identifiers (Google user id, email, name, profile photo URL) when you sign in with Google.
• Session and auth tokens: session tokens used to keep you signed in on the web app. When you use the extension and sign in on skip.watch, a content script on skip.watch reads the bearer token (skipwatch_token) from browser local storage and syncs it into extension local storage (and clears it on sign-out) so the extension can call our API on your behalf. The token is used only for SkipWatch API requests and is not sent to third parties.
• Device identifiers: an anonymous web cookie (sw_device_id) and, for the extension, a locally generated device UUID used for quota and API requests.
• Video and content data: YouTube video IDs and URLs, titles, channel names/IDs, duration, publish dates, preferred languages, full subtitle text, AI-generated articles and metadata, and search queries you run on the site.
• Usage and billing records: article/video consumption counters, unlock/quota records, and Stripe customer/subscription identifiers (payment card details are handled by Stripe, not stored by us).
• Web browsing activity: YouTube URLs and video IDs for videos you choose to analyze (not your general browsing history outside those videos).
• User activity: watch history, favorites, and in-panel or on-site search queries when signed in.
• Preferences: UI language preference (cookie and/or extension storage).

We do not use third-party analytics or advertising SDKs, and we do not send marketing email campaigns.

How we use data

• Authenticate you and maintain sessions
• Fetch or receive subtitle text and generate articles/facts
• Enforce free/pro quotas and sell subscriptions or credit packs via Stripe
• Power search (including embeddings of queries and video content)
• Operate and improve the SkipWatch product and keep it secure

Lawful basis (GDPR Art. 6)

• Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)): providing your account, video analysis, search, billing, and support.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): securing the service, preventing abuse, and improving reliability — balanced against your rights.

Sharing and processors

We share personal data with service providers only as needed to run the product:

• Google: OAuth sign-in; Google Identity Services on the sign-in page; Gemini models that process subtitle text and related content to generate articles and embeddings.
• Stripe: billing and subscription payment processing.
• YouTube: the extension may call YouTube APIs/pages in your browser (including marking a video as watched). That interaction stays on YouTube’s side; we do not send your YouTube login cookies to SkipWatch servers.

Our servers may fetch public YouTube subtitles through a third-party API using only the public video URL and our own API credentials. We do not send your account email, cookies, or device identifiers with that request.

We do not sell your personal data.

International transfers

Google and Stripe may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, we rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and/or EU Standard Contractual Clauses (2021), and maintain SCC readiness if DPF adequacy is challenged.

Chrome extension user data

SkipWatch’s use of information received from Chrome extensions adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We collect and transmit user data only to provide the features described in this policy (YouTube video analysis, account sync, quota, and billing). We do not sell user data, transfer it for advertising, or use it for purposes unrelated to those features.

Cookies and local storage

• sw_device_id — httpOnly cookie for anonymous quota on the web
• Phoenix session cookie — signed session for authenticated web requests
• skipwatch_token — bearer token in browser local storage
• preferred_language — language preference cookie
• Extension storage: device UUID, auth token, panel state, and related UI state

Chromium extension

The SkipWatch Chromium extension can read video metadata and subtitle text from YouTube pages you choose to analyze, then submit that data (including full subtitle text) to the SkipWatch API together with your extension device id and, if signed in, your auth token. After you sign in on skip.watch, a content script on that site syncs your bearer token from browser storage into extension storage; the token is cleared from extension storage when you sign out. Panel state is kept in extension session storage.

Optional “mark watched” updates YouTube watch state in your browser only — the extension modifies YouTube page DOM client-side after you finish reading a video. This is enabled by default; you can turn it off anytime in Chrome → Extensions → SkipWatch → Extension options. YouTube session cookies stay on your device and are not uploaded to SkipWatch servers.

Retention

We keep account, video, article, and billing records while your account is active and as needed to provide the service. After you delete your account, we delete or anonymise personal data in our primary systems within 30 days, except where we must retain billing records for legal obligations (typically up to 7 years). Backups are purged on a rolling schedule within 90 days.

Your rights and contact

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export personal data, or to object to certain processing. Signed-in users can download or delete their account from Profile. You can also contact privacy@skip.watch for privacy requests.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in your country of residence, workplace, or where an alleged infringement occurred (GDPR Art. 77).

Children

SkipWatch is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16.

Changes

We may update this policy as the product changes. The effective date at the top will be revised when material changes are published.