Privacy Policy

Introduction

TrickleType ("we", "our", or "us") is built to keep your writing to yourself. This Privacy Policy explains exactly what the extension sends, when, and to whom, and names every third party involved.

In short

When TrickleType types in your browser, your text never leaves your device. Your text goes to our server only if you choose Cloud typing, and it is deleted when that run ends.

• •No analytics, no tracking scripts, no advertising.
• •Free use needs no account. Pro is unlocked with a licence key.
• •Each data flow below happens only when you use that feature.

Typing in your browser (the default)

All text processing and pacing happens locally in Chrome. The extension sends simulated keystrokes to the Google Doc open in your tab.

• •Your draft, the typing plan and your progress are stored only in Chrome's local extension storage on your device.
• •No server is involved in typing. Your words are not uploaded, logged or transmitted.
• •While a run is typing, TrickleType asks Chrome to keep the computer awake and to keep the Doc tab loaded. Both are released when the run pauses or ends.

Pro licence

If you buy Pro, you activate it by pasting a licence key into the extension.

• •What is sent: the licence key and a random install identifier created on your device. It is sent when you activate, and about once a day after that to check the licence is still valid.
• •Where it goes: our licence server at license.tailsgate.com (Cloudflare Workers), which checks the key with Freemius.
• •Payments are handled by Freemius, our payment processor and merchant of record. Freemius collects your name, email and payment details at checkout under its own privacy policy. We never see your card details.
• •Your document text and drafts are never part of this.

Student and teacher discount

On tailsgate.com/trickletype/pro you can verify a school email address to get the discount. This happens on the website, not in the extension.

• •What is sent: the school email address you enter, and whether you are a student or a teacher.
• •We email a one-time code to that address using Resend, our email provider. The code is stored only as a hash and expires after 15 minutes.
• •We keep a hash of the verified email address, so one discount maps to one address. We do not keep the email address itself.
• •If your school's domain isn't recognised, you can ask for a manual review. Your email, school name and note are then emailed to us so we can check them.

Cloud typing (optional)

Cloud typing types into your Google Doc from our server through the Google Docs API, so a run can continue with Chrome closed. It is off unless you connect a Google account and start a cloud run.

• •Google sign-in: you share your email address and grant TrickleType access only to the files you use with it (scope: drive.file). TrickleType cannot see or open any other file in your Google Drive. Google sends our server an access token and a refresh token. They are encrypted and stored on Cloudflare for up to 30 days, and are used only to type the runs you start.
• •Choosing a Doc: the first time you use a Doc, Google's file picker opens and you select that Doc. Selecting it is what lets TrickleType type in it. The picker is run by Google; TrickleType receives only the ID of the Doc you selected.
• •What is sent for a run: the draft text, its typing plan, the chosen duration and the ID of the Doc you pasted. They are stored in a Cloudflare Durable Object for that run only.
• •TrickleType only reads the end position of the document you chose and adds text there. It does not read the rest of your document, and it does not open any other files.
• •When a run finishes, is stopped or fails, the draft, the typing plan and that run's copy of your tokens are deleted straight away. A short summary (status and character count) is kept for 24 hours, then deleted.
• •Limits: to keep cloud typing to three runs at once and 100,000 words a month per licence, we keep a hash of your licence key with that month's cloud word count, and for the one free cloud run, a record that your Google account has used it (by Google's account ID, not your email). No text is kept. The word count is deleted after 40 days, the free-run record after about a year.
• •Disconnecting Google in the extension revokes the tokens with Google and deletes them from our server. You can also remove access at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
• •TrickleType's use of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. The data is used only to type your runs. It is not sold, used for advertising, or used to train AI models, and no person reads it.

Welcome questions

When you install TrickleType, it asks a few optional questions (what you are writing, how long a run should take, whether your laptop stays open, typos). Your answers set the extension's defaults.

• •What is sent: the answers you tap, where you answered them (welcome page or side panel) and the extension version. No identifier, no email, and never your text.
• •They are added to anonymous daily counts on our server (Cloudflare), so we know which features matter. Your IP address is not stored.

Uninstall Survey

If you remove TrickleType, Chrome opens a short optional feedback page on tailsgate.com. Answering is entirely voluntary; closing the tab sends no answer.

• •What is sent when the page opens: the extension version you had, and a random identifier generated on your device at install. That identifier is not linked to you, your Google account or your documents.
• •What is sent if you answer: the reason you tap, plus anything you choose to type in the optional comment box.
• •Your IP address is not stored. It is hashed and truncated so duplicate submissions can be spotted, and the original address is never retained.
• •Your document text is never part of this.

Who processes data for us

These processors handle data only for the features described above:

• •Cloudflare (Workers, KV, Durable Objects): hosts the licence server, the cloud typing server and the uninstall survey.
• •Freemius: payments, licences and receipts for Pro.
• •Resend: sends the school verification codes and the review emails.
• •Google: the Docs API, used for cloud typing only, with your permission.

Third-Party Content

The welcome page shown when you install TrickleType offers a short tutorial video.

• •The video is hosted on YouTube (youtube-nocookie.com) and embedded through a page on tailsgate.com. Nothing is requested from YouTube or Google unless you press play; until then, no connection is made.
• •If you press play, YouTube receives the request and its own privacy policy applies.

Permissions Explained

The extension asks for these permissions:

• •activeTab & sidePanel: show the panel alongside your work and find the Doc you're typing into.
• •docs.google.com: send simulated keystrokes to the document editor.
• •scripting: load the typing script into a Google Doc tab that was already open before the extension was installed or updated.
• •storage: save your session, settings, daily word count, licence key and install identifier locally.
• •alarms: check a Pro licence about once a day.
• •power: keep the computer from going to sleep while a run is typing (the screen can still turn off).

Data retention and deletion

Local data stays in Chrome until you remove the extension. Server-side data is kept for as long as each section above says. To delete anything we hold, such as a school-email record or cloud tokens, email [email protected].

Changes to This Privacy Policy

If we change what TrickleType sends or to whom, we will update this page and change the date at the top.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or TrickleType's security, please contact us at [email protected].