Privacy Policy — WatchBuddy

The Short Version

WatchBuddy stores your settings locally and uses Google Gemini to classify video content. That's the full extent of data handling.

At a Glance

✅ All settings and logs stored locally on your device — never on our servers

✅ Video titles and descriptions sent to Google Gemini API for classification only

✅ We operate no servers and collect no personal information

✅ WatchBuddy only runs on YouTube — no other site is touched

✅ No analytics, no telemetry, no advertising or tracking of any kind

✅ Sensitive settings are PIN-protected and stored locally only

Data Stored & How It's Used

WatchBuddy stores everything in chrome.storage.local — on your device only. Nothing is synced to Chrome Sync or transmitted to GoManzanas.

What's Stored	Why	Where
Parent PIN hash	Verifies the parent PIN to unlock settings and the dashboard. Stored as a hash — the original PIN is never retained.	Local only
Content mode & rules	The selected content mode (e.g., Education) and any custom natural-language rules written by the parent.	Local only
Gemini API key	Optional. If the parent provides a Gemini API key during setup, it is stored locally for use in classification calls.	Local only
Allow / block lists	Specific YouTube channels permanently allowed or blocked by the parent.	Local only
Time configuration	Daily screen-time limits and weekday/weekend split settings.	Local only
Time state	How much of today's time budget has been used, and daily reset history.	Local only
Activity log	Rolling history of videos watched and blocked, visible only to the parent. Used to populate the dashboard.	Local only
Classification cache	In-memory cache of recent ALLOW/BLOCK decisions to avoid re-querying Gemini for the same video.	In-memory (cleared on browser restart)

Data we do NOT collect

No names, email addresses, or personal identifiers
No payment or financial data
No health or biometric information
No data sent to GoManzanas — we operate no servers
No analytics, crash reporting, or usage telemetry
No advertising IDs or cross-site tracking

Uninstalling WatchBuddy

Removing the extension from Chrome permanently deletes all locally stored data — settings, logs, PIN hash, API key. There is nothing stored externally to delete.

Google Gemini & the AI Classifier

WatchBuddy uses Google's Gemini API to determine whether a YouTube video is appropriate based on the parent's rules. This is the one place where data leaves your device.

What is sent to Gemini

When a video page loads, WatchBuddy sends the following to the Google Gemini API (generativelanguage.googleapis.com):

The video's title
The video's description (first several hundred characters)
The video's channel name and category
The parent's rules (as part of the classification prompt)

WatchBuddy does not send: watch history, browsing data from other sites, the child's identity, or any personal information.

How the response is used

Gemini returns an ALLOW or BLOCK decision with a brief reason. WatchBuddy acts on that decision and caches the result locally. The response is never stored beyond the current browser session.

Google's Privacy Policy Applies

API calls to Gemini are governed by Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. WatchBuddy uses the standard Gemini API — Google's data handling for API calls applies. We recommend reviewing Google's Gemini API Terms for details on how Google processes API requests.

Using WatchBuddy without Gemini

If no Gemini API key is provided during setup, WatchBuddy falls back to keyword and category-based filtering. In this mode, no data leaves your device at all — classification is done entirely locally using the parent's rules and predefined keyword lists.

Your API Key, Your Control

The Gemini API key is stored on your device only. GoManzanas never sees it. API usage is billed directly to your Google account under the free tier (which covers typical home usage). You can remove or change the key at any time from the settings page.

Chrome Permissions Explained

WatchBuddy requests the minimum set of permissions required to do its job. Here is why each one is needed.

Permission	Why WatchBuddy Needs It
`storage`	Read and write all settings, rules, time state, PIN hash, and activity logs to `chrome.storage.local`.
`alarms`	Schedule the midnight daily-reset alarm (resets the time budget each day) and the Parent Mode expiry alarm. Chrome requires `alarms` for reliable background scheduling in Manifest V3.
`tabs`	Detect when the user navigates to a new YouTube page so time tracking starts and stops correctly.
Host: youtube.com	Inject the content script into YouTube pages to read video metadata, filter the homepage and search results, and show block messages. WatchBuddy has no access to any other website.
Host: generativelanguage.googleapis.com	Allow the background service worker to make classification requests to the Gemini API. This is the only external network call WatchBuddy makes.

No Remote Code

WatchBuddy does not load or execute any remotely hosted JavaScript. All logic is bundled within the extension package at install time. This is a hard requirement of Chrome Manifest V3.

Use by Children & Families

WatchBuddy is designed to be installed and managed by a parent on a device used by a child.

WatchBuddy does not knowingly collect personal information from children. The extension stores no names, ages, school details, or identifiable information about the child user. The activity log records YouTube video titles and channel names of videos watched — this data stays on-device and is only accessible to the parent via the PIN-gated dashboard.

Parents retain full control at all times:

All rules, time limits, and allow/block lists are set and changed by the parent via PIN
The activity log can be cleared at any time from the dashboard
Uninstalling the extension permanently removes all stored data

For questions about WatchBuddy's data practices in your household, contact us at extensions@gomanzanas.com.

Changes to This Policy

We'll update this policy if WatchBuddy's data practices ever change.

If we make material changes — for example, adding optional cloud-based features — we will update this page with a new effective date and describe what changed clearly. We will not introduce new data collection without disclosing it here first.

This policy applies to WatchBuddy v1.0.0 and all subsequent versions until superseded.

Contact Us

Questions or concerns about this privacy policy.

Channel	Details
Email	extensions@gomanzanas.com
Publisher	GoManzanas
Chrome Web Store	Use the "Support" tab on the WatchBuddy store listing

Data Requests

Because WatchBuddy stores all data locally on your device and we operate no servers, we have no access to your data and cannot process remote deletion or export requests. To delete your data, clear the activity log from the parent dashboard or uninstall the extension.