Privacy policy

What this policy covers

This policy covers the CommentLane Chrome extension and the website at commentlane.com. The website includes screenshots and interactive examples. The interactive conversations are fictional and run in your browser; using them does not connect your Google account.

Information the extension uses

• Your Google account: your account identifier, email address and any display name Google supplies, used to show which account is connected and keep accounts separate.
• Webpage context: the address and title of a page you comment on, selected text and nearby text, or a description and location reference for a selected image or element. This context helps place a comment when you return.
• Conversations: the comments and replies you submit, their Google identifiers, authors, dates and resolved status, and the corresponding records read from your connected group documents.
• Group access: document identifiers, names and permissions, including participant names or email addresses returned by Google. If you explicitly share a group, Google receives the recipient addresses you enter.
• Contact suggestions: Google sign-in requests read-only access to saved contacts and Other contacts alongside Drive access. CommentLane searches matching names and email addresses as you enter recipients, and Google receives the search text. Suggestions are processed in memory; CommentLane does not save a copy of your address book. You can also enter email addresses manually.
• Local activity: drafts, read/unread state, display preferences, group organization, cached conversations and information needed to recover or retry a save.

The extension reads supported pages after you activate it or allow access to that site. Captured source context is sent to Google when you add a comment or reply. A page address or selected passage can itself contain private information, so review the audience before commenting.

Google access and storage

Google handles sign-in. CommentLane requests your email identity and permission to see, edit, create and delete your Google Drive files. This is broad access to your Drive, not permission limited by Google to the CommentLane folder. It lets the extension find groups shared with you and let you comment or reply without connecting each document separately. CommentLane limits its document searches and imports to documents identified as CommentLane documents. It uses Google Drive and Docs APIs to create or load your private CommentLane folder and documents, read and write native comments and replies, maintain a readable document index, and manage sharing that you explicitly request. A group shared with you remains in its owner’s Drive; the extension reads that same shared document.

Google access tokens are handled by Chrome and the extension’s background process. They are not included in exported comment files or sent to the websites you annotate. CommentLane does not receive your Google password.

CommentLane runs in your browser and connects directly to Google. When you submit a comment, its text and saved page context go to Google for storage and sharing; replies go to the same group document. Drafts, cached conversations, read state and personal settings stay in your browser profile. CommentLane has no application server or database collecting these conversations, and the extension does not send them to the CommentLane website. This does not mean that all data stays on your device: Google stores the submitted content and makes shared conversations available to the people with document access. Google processes the data sent to its services under Google’s privacy policy.

Who can see a conversation

“Only me” uses a personal document whose ownership and sharing are checked before private writes. A group uses a separate document. People with access to that document can see its conversation history, including the source context you submitted. They may also read and reply through Google Docs.

The extension checks for new groups, replies and access changes while Chrome can run. When it confirms that you no longer have access to a group, it hides that group’s cached conversations and blocks further writes. While offline, previously authorized cached comments can remain available; permission changes cannot be checked until the connection returns.

Google document permissions determine access. Changing permissions directly in Google can change who can read a document. Sharing a document does not grant access to a private source website. People who can read your comments may retain their own copies.

CommentLane uses Google user data to provide these commenting, synchronization and sharing features. We do not sell Google user data, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models. CommentLane’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.

Your controls and retention

• Website access: use Chrome’s extension settings to change or remove site permissions. CommentLane also lets you pause its display on a page.
• Disconnect: stops the active account connection and clears downloaded groups and conversations from the extension. Account-specific drafts, preferences and recovery records remain on that device. Disconnecting does not delete Google files or revoke Google authorization.
• Export: the Library can download the active account’s currently loaded conversations and drafts as JSON. The export can be incomplete if some groups have not finished syncing.
• Drafts: discard an unsent draft from the Library. A save with an uncertain Google result must be reconciled first to avoid hiding a comment or reply that may already exist.
• Saved comments: edit or delete your own original comment from its more-actions menu. Deleting changes the conversation in Google, including its replies; it is not just a local display preference. Read the confirmation before deleting.
• Google data: manage document sharing and deletion in Google Drive or Docs. Revoke CommentLane’s authorization through your Google account connections.
• Device data: uninstalling the extension removes its local extension storage from that Chrome profile. Export any unsent drafts first. Downloaded exports and copies held elsewhere must be managed separately.

Google records remain subject to your document settings and Google’s retention processes. Local drafts and recovery records remain until you remove the relevant local data. Removing the extension or revoking its access does not erase your documents from Google Drive.

The website and support

The public website is hosted by Vercel, which processes network requests to serve it. Production pages use Vercel Speed Insights to measure page performance and Vercel Web Analytics to record page views. Vercel describes those measurements as anonymous. Speed Insights includes the page URL, browser and device information, country and timing metrics. Web Analytics includes the page URL, referrer, filtered query parameters, approximate location, and browser, device and operating system. These website measurements do not receive your extension comments or Google access tokens. Read Vercel’s Speed Insights disclosure, Vercel’s Web Analytics disclosure and Vercel’s privacy notice.

If you email support, we receive your email address and what you choose to send. We use that information to respond and investigate your request. Support correspondence is kept as needed to handle the request and maintain the service. You can contact us about access to or removal of information you sent to support. Please omit passwords, access tokens and private document content unless it is necessary and you intend to share it.

Changes and contact

We will update this page and its date when our data practices change. For privacy or support questions, contact contact@commentlane.com.