Privacy Policy
Last updated September 21, 2026.
PointWatcher is a Chrome extension and companion website that keeps a live, synthesized outline of the point currently being made in whatever’s playing in a browser tab. This page explains what data the extension and website handle, and why.
The short version
PointWatcher is bring-your-own-key: you supply your own API keys for the AI provider and speech-to-text service you choose, and the extension calls those services directly from your browser. We don’t operate any servers that see your keys, your audio, or your live transcript in transit. The one thing we do store, on your account, is the finished outline and transcript text for sessions you watch — so you can revisit, export, or delete them later from your dashboard.
Account sign-in
Using the extension requires a free PointWatcher account (email and password). Your account credentials are handled by our authentication provider (Neon’s Managed Better Auth) and are never stored in plain text. A session token is kept in your browser’s local extension storage to keep you signed in; it isn’t shared with anyone else.
Your API keys
The AI provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google Gemini — whichever you choose) and Deepgram key you enter in the extension’s Settings page are stored only in your browser’s local extension storage (chrome.storage.local) on your own device. We never transmit them to our servers, and they’re used only to make requests directly from your browser to the relevant provider’s API.
Audio and live transcription
When you click the extension icon to start watching a tab, PointWatcher captures that tab’s audio and streams it directly to Deepgram, using your own Deepgram key, for real-time speech-to-text. We don’t record, store, or have access to this audio ourselves — it flows from your browser to Deepgram and back as text.
Screenshots and bookmarks
So that you can save a screenshot of the tab, PointWatcher also receives a low-frame-rate video feed of the same tab. That feed is held only in your browser’s memory while a session is active — it is never recorded, saved, or sent anywhere. A single frame is saved only when you press the screenshot button. Screenshots and bookmarks stay in your browser until you export them to a file on your own device, and are never uploaded to our servers or included in the sessions saved to your account. They’re discarded when the session ends.
Outline synthesis
As transcript text comes in, the extension sends it directly to your chosen AI provider (again, using your own API key) to synthesize the running outline. When a session starts, it also reads the page’s title, description, and chapter list (when the page has them, such as a YouTube video’s description) and includes that with the request, as background to help with spelling and structure. That exchange happens directly between your browser and the provider — we don’t see or store it as it happens.
What we store on your account
When you stop watching (or start a new session, replacing the old one), the finished outline and full transcript text for that session are saved to our database, associated with your account, so your dashboard can show your session history and let you download, review, or delete it later. This is the only data we retain on our own servers. It never includes your API keys, and it’s never sold, shared with advertisers, or used for anything beyond showing it back to you on your dashboard.
What we don’t collect
- No advertising or third-party analytics trackers
- No browsing history beyond the specific tab you actively started watching
- No video or screen recording — the tab’s video feed exists only to take the screenshots you ask for, and nothing is recorded or uploaded
- No sale of your data to any third party
Third-party services
Depending on the choices you make in Settings, your audio, transcript, and outline text are sent directly to some combination of: Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google (whichever AI provider you select) for outline synthesis, and Deepgram for speech-to-text. Our own infrastructure (authentication and the dashboard database) runs on Neon and is hosted on Vercel. Each of these providers handles data under their own privacy policy, which governs what happens to data sent to them directly.
Deleting your data
You can delete any individual session from your dashboard at any time (with a confirmation step to prevent accidental deletion), which permanently removes its outline and transcript from our database. You can revoke or rotate your AI provider and Deepgram API keys directly with those providers at any time. Uninstalling the extension clears the settings and keys stored locally in your browser.
Children’s privacy
PointWatcher is not directed at, and is not knowingly used by, children under 13.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we’ll update this page and revise the date above.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to privacy@tscworks.net.