Visual Swipe File is a Chrome extension that captures live, interactive sections of websites you visit and saves them to a personal reference library. This policy explains what data the extension handles, where it is stored, and what it never does.
What data the extension stores
Visual Swipe File stores the following data to provide its core functionality:
- Capture content — the HTML and CSS of website sections you choose to capture, stored as self-contained snapshots. This includes inlined fonts, images, and computed styles from the captured element.
- Capture metadata — the title you give a capture, the source URL and page title, the date and time captured, the file size, and the auto-detected pattern type (e.g. Navigation, Pricing, Hero).
- Extracted colour palette — up to 8 colour hex values extracted from the computed CSS of each capture. No pixel data or image content beyond what is part of the captured element's styling.
- Tags and collections — any tags you add to captures and any collections you create to organise them.
- Library settings — your filter preferences and display settings within the extension panel.
Where data is stored
All capture content and metadata is stored exclusively using chrome.storage.local — Chrome's built-in browser storage that keeps data on your device only. This data is never transmitted to any server, third party, or external service on the Free tier.
Data persists until you delete individual captures, clear your library, or uninstall the extension. Uninstalling the extension permanently deletes all stored data.
What the extension reads from web pages
When you trigger a capture on a website, the extension reads the following from the current page:
- The HTML structure of the element you selected
- The CSS stylesheets associated with the page (including external stylesheets, fetched to resolve styles)
- Fonts, images, and SVGs referenced by the captured element (fetched and converted to base64 for self-contained storage)
- The computed colour values of elements within the captured section
The extension does not read page content beyond the element you explicitly select for capture. It does not read form inputs, passwords, personal information, or any content outside the captured section. It does not monitor your browsing activity or track which pages you visit.
Host permissions explained
Visual Swipe File requests access to all URLs (<all_urls>). This is required because captures can be triggered on any website, and creating a self-contained capture requires fetching external stylesheets and assets from whatever domain hosts them. Without this permission, captures would lose their styling and fonts.
This permission is only exercised when you actively trigger a capture — the extension does not access any URL in the background or without your explicit action.
What the extension does not do
- Does not read, store, or transmit page content beyond the element you explicitly capture
- Does not monitor your browsing history or track visited pages
- Does not read form inputs, passwords, or personal information on any page
- Does not use analytics, crash reporting, or usage telemetry of any kind
- Does not display advertising
- Does not sell or share any data with third parties
- Does not require an account or email address to use
- Does not transmit capture content to any external server on the Free tier
Permissions explained
- activeTab — required to access the current page's DOM and inject the capture selector when you trigger a capture
- scripting — required to inject the capture interface into the active page on your explicit request
- storage — required to save captures and library data locally on your device
- sidePanel — required to display the capture library panel alongside any webpage
- contextMenus — required to add the right-click "Save to Visual Swipe File" option when browsing
- host_permissions <all_urls> — required to fetch external stylesheets and assets from any domain in order to create fully self-contained captures that render correctly without a network connection
Children's privacy
Visual Swipe File is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect any information from children.
Changes to this policy
If the extension is updated in a way that changes how data is handled, this policy will be updated and the version date at the top of this page will change. Significant changes will be noted in the Chrome Web Store update release notes.
Contact
Questions about this policy can be raised via the extension's support page on the Chrome Web Store, or by contacting the developer at the email address listed in the store listing.