This page covers what the Highlite browser extension and the get-highlite.app website do with your data. The short version: your annotations never leave your computer. The extension sends us anonymous usage stats. If you sign up for Pro, we keep your account details. And a screenshot only goes somewhere when you send it there yourself.
1. Your annotations stay on your device
Sticky notes, text boxes, highlights, drawings, arrows and shapes are all saved in your browser, on your computer. Each page's annotations are filed under that page's address, so the extension can show them again when you come back.
They are never sent to our servers, so we can't read them. The page address is only used locally, to find the right annotations; we don't track which pages you visit.
You can wipe a page with the reset button. Uninstalling the extension deletes everything. If you export your annotations as Markdown or JSON, the file is saved on your computer, or the text copied to your clipboard, and nowhere else.
The extension also keeps its own settings on your device: toolbar preferences, recent colors, where you are in the onboarding, your sign-in session, your Slack connection, and the webhook and Discord destinations you set up.
2. Anonymous usage stats
The Chrome and Edge versions of the extension send us anonymous events so we can see which features people actually use. The Firefox version sends nothing.
Here is what an event can tell us:
the type of annotation you created, edited, moved, recolored or deleted ("sticky note", "highlight"), but not what you wrote or drew;
which features you used: tools, colors, sizes, undo and redo, reset, the laser pointer, screenshots and where you sent them, JSON import and export, the onboarding, the Pro paywall, signing in;
when the extension was installed or updated, and when a session starts and ends;
the extension's version, your browser language, which store you installed it from, and the week you installed it (for example "2026-W22");
a rough category for the page address, like "has a #fragment", but never the address itself.
Every event also carries an installation ID. It's a random number the extension picks when you install it. It isn't based on you, your computer or your account. We use it to count how many installs are still active after a week or a month. It disappears when you uninstall.
The stats never include what you annotate, the addresses or content of the pages you visit, your cursor position, your webhook or Discord settings, your name or your email.
We process these events with Aptabase, an analytics service built for privacy. It doesn't use cookies or follow you across websites. Your IP address reaches Aptabase with each event, as it does with any web request; Aptabase uses it to work out your country and then drops it.
3. Your account and Pro subscription
You don't need an account to annotate. If you sign in to get Pro, we store your email address, the name and profile picture your sign-in method gives us (Google, or an email link), and whether your subscription is active. The extension asks our server for your plan so it knows which features to unlock.
Payments go through Stripe. We never see your card number. We only keep the Stripe references we need to manage your subscription.
4. Screenshots you send
A screenshot leaves your browser only when you send it, and only to the place you pick.
If you download it or copy it to the clipboard, it stays on your computer. If you send it to Slack, it's uploaded to the workspace and channel you chose. Connecting Slack goes through our server once, to finish the sign-in; after that, screenshots go from your browser straight to Slack.
Discord and webhooks work the same way: your browser sends the screenshot directly to the Discord webhook or URL you configured, and our servers never see it. The page address and title are only added if you turn on "Include the page URL and title".
After that, the screenshot is in that service's hands, under its own privacy policy. A screenshot shows whatever was on the page, so have a look before you send it.
5. Who else is involved
Aptabase, for the anonymous usage stats from Chrome and Edge.
Google, for signing in, and Google Analytics for visits to this website.
Stripe, for payments and subscriptions.
Vercel, which hosts this website and its server, and counts visits with Vercel Web Analytics.
Slack and Discord, only when you send them a screenshot.
We don't sell your data or use it for advertising, and we don't use it for anything unrelated to Highlite. The extension has no ads.
6. This website
get-highlite.app uses cookies to keep you signed in, and Google Analytics to count visits to the website. Google Analytics only sets cookies if you click "Accept" on the cookie banner. If you decline or ignore the banner, it still sends cookie-free pings (page address, browser type, and the IP address Google receives with any request) that Google uses to estimate traffic, without storing anything on your device. Google Analytics doesn't run inside the extension.
We also count visits with Vercel Web Analytics, which doesn't use cookies or store anything on your device. It records the page address, referrer, browser, device type and country, and identifies a visitor only by a hash of the request that is discarded after 24 hours, so it can't follow you across days or websites.
7. How long we keep things, and deleting them
Annotations and settings stay on your device until you reset them or uninstall the extension. We keep your account and subscription details for as long as you have an account. Ask us to delete it whenever you like and we will; Stripe may have to keep billing records for longer because the law requires it. Usage stats are anonymous and we only look at them in aggregate.
8. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update this page and the date at the top. For bigger changes we may also send you an email.
9. Contact
Questions about this policy, or want your account deleted? Write to us.
By using Highlite, you agree to this Privacy Policy.