Privacy policy

The short version: we store as little as we can get away with, we don't sell anything, and if you use the tool without an account, your summaries never leave your browser.

1. Who we are

YouTubeSummarizer ("we", "us") operates this website and service. For privacy questions, or to exercise any of the rights below, email privacy@youtubesummarizer.com.

2. What we collect

If you don't have an account

Your recent summaries are stored in your browser's local storage and are never transmitted to us. Clearing them with the "Clear" button, or clearing your browser's site data, removes them permanently — we have no copy to delete.

When you summarize a video, the video's ID is sent to our servers so we can fetch its transcript and generate the summary. We process it to produce your result and do not attach it to a durable profile of you.

If you have an account

• Account details — your email address and a hashed password (we never hold the password itself), plus a display name and profile photo if you add them. A photo is re-saved as a 256-pixel square, which discards the original's metadata, and is served only to you.
• Preferences — your appearance and default-view settings, and whether you asked to be told when Pro opens.
• Signed-in devices — for each active sign-in, a coarse browser and device label such as "Chrome on Windows", when it started and when it was last used. No IP address is stored with it. You can end any of them from your profile.
• Summary history — not stored on your account today. Summaries are cached against the video for 30 days, not against you, and your recent videos list lives in your own browser. If account-synced history arrives with Pro, this policy will say so before it does.
• Billing details — handled by our payment processor. We store a customer reference and your plan, never full card numbers.

Automatically

• Server logs — IP address, user agent, requested URL, and timestamp, kept for up to 30 days for security, abuse prevention, and debugging.
• Aggregate usage — counts of requests and errors, with no individual identifiers attached.
• Google Analytics — which pages you view, how you arrived, and your device type and approximate location, used to learn which pages help people. It sets cookies only with your permission where the law requires it. See the cookie policy for how to accept or decline.

3. What we don't collect

• We never store video or audio files.
• We don't use advertising trackers, and analytics runs with Google's advertising features switched off.
• We don't sell, rent, or share your personal data with data brokers. There is no version of our business model where this makes sense.

4. Why we're allowed to process it

Where the UK GDPR or EU GDPR applies, our lawful bases are:

• Contract — to provide the service you asked for, including generating summaries and syncing your history.
• Legitimate interests — to keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and fix faults, balanced against your rights.
• Consent — for analytics cookies where the law requires it. You can withdraw it at any time through "Cookie settings" at the bottom of any page.
• Legal obligation — to keep records we're required to keep, such as tax records for payments.

5. Who we share it with

Only processors who need it to make the service work, each bound by contract to process data only on our instructions:

• Hosting and infrastructure — to run the service.
• An AI model provider — transcript text is sent to generate your summary. It is not used to train their models.
• A payment processor — for subscriptions.
• Email delivery — for account and support email.
• Google Analytics (Google LLC) — to measure how the site is used, as described above.

We may also disclose data where legally required, or to protect our rights or the safety of users. We will tell you if that happens unless prohibited from doing so.

6. How long we keep it

• Local-only history — until you clear it. We never have it.
• Account data — while your account is open, then deleted within 30 days of closure.
• Summary history — until you delete it or close your account.
• Server logs — up to 30 days.
• Billing records — as long as tax law requires, typically six years.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, export, or restrict processing of your personal data, and to object to processing based on legitimate interests. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

Email privacy@youtubesummarizer.com and we'll respond within 30 days. You won't be charged, and we won't degrade your service for asking. If you're unhappy with our response you can complain to your local data protection authority.

8. International transfers

Our providers may process data outside your country. Where that happens from the UK or EEA, we rely on adequacy decisions or Standard Contractual Clauses.

9. Security

Data is encrypted in transit. Access to production systems is limited to staff who need it and is logged. No system is perfectly secure, so if you find a vulnerability please tell security@youtubesummarizer.com before disclosing it publicly.

10. Children

This service isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their personal data. If you believe a child has given us data, contact us and we'll delete it.

11. Cookies

We use very few, and none for advertising. Google Analytics is the only thing that sets cookies, and you can decline it. See the cookie policy for the full list.

12. Changes

If we change this policy materially, we'll update the date above and notify account holders by email before the change takes effect.