Privacy Policy for SelectExplain

Last updated: June 25, 2026

Important disclosure: SelectExplain sends the text you select or the screenshot snippet you manually capture to your selected AI provider, OpenAI or Google Gemini, only when you use the extension’s explanation features.

Overview

SelectExplain is a Chrome extension that helps users explain selected text and manually selected screenshot snippets from webpages. This Privacy Policy explains what information SelectExplain processes, how it is used, where it is stored, and when it may be shared with third-party AI providers.

Information SelectExplain Processes

SelectExplain may process the following information when you use the extension:

  • Selected text: Text you manually select on a webpage while Text mode is enabled.
  • Screenshot snippets: Image regions you manually drag-select while Image mode is enabled.
  • Follow-up prompts: Questions, rewrite requests, comments, or other prompts you type into the extension.
  • Generated explanations: Responses returned by your selected AI provider.
  • Extension settings: Your selected AI provider, model name, enabled/disabled state, selected mode, and custom instructions.
  • API keys: API keys you provide for OpenAI or Google Gemini.

How SelectExplain Uses Information

SelectExplain uses the information above only to provide the extension’s core features:

  • Explaining selected webpage text.
  • Explaining manually selected screenshot snippets.
  • Answering follow-up prompts related to selected text or screenshot snippets.
  • Saving extension preferences and API provider settings.
  • Copying generated explanations to your clipboard when you press the copy button.

SelectExplain does not use your data for advertising, user profiling, sale of data, or unrelated analytics.

When Data Is Collected or Sent

SelectExplain does not automatically send entire webpages to an AI provider. Data is processed only when you intentionally use the extension features:

  • In Text mode, selected text may be sent after you select text while the extension is enabled.
  • In Image mode, a screenshot snippet may be sent after you manually drag-select a region of the browser window.
  • Follow-up prompts are sent only when you type a request and submit it.

Third Parties Data May Be Shared With

To generate explanations, SelectExplain may send selected text, screenshot snippets, follow-up prompts, and relevant custom instructions to the AI provider you choose in the extension settings:

  • OpenAI, through the OpenAI API.
  • Google Gemini, through the Google Generative Language API.

These providers process the submitted content according to their own terms and privacy policies. SelectExplain does not share your data with advertising networks, data brokers, analytics providers, or unrelated third parties.

Local Storage

SelectExplain stores extension settings locally using Chrome extension storage. This may include your selected provider, model name, mode, custom instructions, enabled/disabled state, and API keys.

API keys are stored locally in your browser’s Chrome extension storage and are used only by the extension to send requests to the AI provider you selected.

Developer-Controlled Servers

SelectExplain does not operate a developer-controlled backend server for storing selected text, screenshot snippets, prompts, explanations, API keys, or usage history.

Data Retention

SelectExplain does not intentionally retain selected text, screenshot snippets, prompts, or generated explanations on developer-controlled servers.

Extension settings and API keys remain stored locally in Chrome extension storage until you clear them, reset the extension, or uninstall the extension.

User Control and Deletion

You can control or delete data related to SelectExplain in the following ways:

  • Disable the extension from the SelectExplain toggle.
  • Switch between Text mode and Image mode.
  • Clear your API key from the extension settings page.
  • Change or remove custom instructions from the extension settings page.
  • Uninstall the extension to remove locally stored extension data from Chrome.

Security

SelectExplain sends requests to OpenAI and Google Gemini over HTTPS. The extension does not load remote scripts, does not inject AI responses as executable HTML, and does not intentionally collect passwords.

No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. You should avoid selecting or submitting sensitive information unless you intend to send it to your selected AI provider for explanation.

Chrome Web Store Limited Use Disclosure

The use of information received from Chrome APIs will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

SelectExplain uses Chrome APIs only to provide its single purpose: helping users understand selected text and manually selected screenshot snippets.

Children’s Privacy

SelectExplain is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact the developer at:

Email: kamal.thakur.dev16@gmail.com