CopyBuddy — Privacy Policy

Effective 3 August 2026 · Last updated 3 August 2026 · Applies to all versions of the CopyBuddy browser extension, including version 3.5.

The short version: CopyBuddy stores your clipboard history on your own computer, inside your own browser. It has no account system, no server, and no analytics, and it never sends your history to us — there is nowhere for it to be sent. The only time a clip leaves your machine is when you press Search or one of the Share buttons yourself, which opens the site you picked with that one clip. In that case the clip's text is placed in the address of the page being opened, so the site you chose — a search engine, your mail provider, or a messaging service — receives it. That only ever happens for the single clip you picked, at the moment you click.

Who runs this extension

CopyBuddy is built and published by Brandon Petrykowski, an independent developer based in Michigan, United States. There is no company, no team, and no third party involved, and the developer is the data controller for the purposes of the regulations named below.

Privacy questions, data requests, and bug reports go to [email protected]. Expect a reply within 30 days.

Because the extension keeps nothing on any server, the developer holds no copy of your clipboard history and cannot look it up, recover it, or hand it over to anyone.

What the extension stores

CopyBuddy saves the following in your browser's local extension storage (chrome.storage.local):

The text of items you copy or cut while the extension is installed and enabled, plus the time each item was saved and whether you pinned it.
Text you explicitly send to the extension using the right-click "Save selection to CopyBuddy" menu item.
The formatted version (the HTML) of what you copied, when there is one, so the clip can later be turned into a PDF. It is capped at 120 KB per clip and stored on your device exactly like the plain text. You can switch this off with the "Keep formatting" setting, and existing clips stop carrying it.
Text read from your system clipboard, but only when you press the "Grab copy" button and only if you have granted the optional clipboard permission.
Archived copies of older items, kept for up to 7 days.
Your settings: the search engine you chose, any custom search URL you entered, and whether the sensitive-text filter is on.

What the extension does not store or collect

No name, email address, account, or device identifier.
No browsing history, page URLs, page content, cookies, form data, or keystrokes.
No analytics, telemetry, crash reports, usage statistics, or advertising identifiers.
No screenshots. Pictures are not downloaded or stored; if a copied page contained images, only the address of the image inside the copied markup is kept, and the PDF view refuses to load it unless you tick the box.

Where the data goes

Nowhere. The extension contains no code that contacts any server. Everything it stores stays in your browser profile on your machine. Chrome's synced storage is not used, so your history does not travel to your other devices either.

Three things are worth being clear about, and all three only happen when you press a button:

Search. Clicking Search on a clip, or the right-click "Search selection with my engine" item, opens a new tab at the search engine you chose in Settings with that text in the URL. That engine sees that text under its own privacy policy.
Share. Clicking a target in the share sheet opens that service (for example Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, Teams, X, or LinkedIn) with the clip in the URL, or hands the clip to your computer's own share menu. Only the clip you chose is passed, only to the service you chose, and that service then handles it under its own privacy policy. CopyBuddy has no relationship with any of them and receives nothing back.
Pictures in the PDF view. If a copied page contained images and you tick "Load pictures from the web", your browser fetches those images from the sites hosting them. Leave the box unticked and no request is made.

The QR code shown in the share sheet is drawn by the extension on your own machine. No QR or shortening service is contacted. Files you save (.txt, .html, or the QR image) are written straight to your Downloads folder by your browser.

How long data is kept

Your main list keeps your 50 most recent items. When it is full, the oldest unpinned item moves to the Archive.
Archived items are deleted permanently 7 days after they were archived. An hourly cleanup task does this automatically.
Pinned items are never archived or auto-deleted.
You can delete any individual item, clear the whole list, or clear the whole archive at any time. Uninstalling the extension deletes all of its stored data.

Sensitive-text filter

By default, CopyBuddy refuses to save text that looks like a private key, a bare payment card number, or a 12- or 24-word crypto seed phrase. This check runs locally and the skipped text is discarded immediately rather than stored. The filter is a convenience, not a guarantee — it cannot recognise every sensitive string. You can switch it off in Settings if you want everything captured.

Permissions and why they exist

storage — to keep your history and settings on your device.
activeTab and scripting — so the Paste button can put a clip back into the field you were typing in, on the tab you are currently using.
contextMenus — to add the two right-click items described above.
sidePanel — the extension's interface is a side panel.
alarms — to run the hourly 7-day archive cleanup.
No extra permission for PDF or sharing. The PDF view is a page inside the extension that reads one stored clip, strips scripts, frames and styling out of the copied markup, and hands it to your browser's normal print dialog. Sharing just opens a tab. Saving a file uses your browser's built-in download behaviour.
A content script on all sites — the extension has to already be listening when you press Ctrl+C on any page, so a small script runs on pages to watch for copy and cut events and to remember which text field you last used. It reads only the text you actually selected at the moment you copy it, and it sends nothing to the network.
clipboardRead (optional) — requested only when you press "Grab copy", so text copied outside the browser can be pulled in. You can decline and keep using everything else.

Third parties

CopyBuddy has no third-party services, SDKs, libraries loaded from the internet, advertising partners, or data processors. No data is sold, rented, shared, or transferred to anyone.

Limited Use

CopyBuddy's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically: clipboard data is used only to provide the extension's single purpose of clipboard history management; it is not transferred to third parties; no human other than you can read it; and it is never used or sold for advertising, personalisation, creditworthiness, or lending purposes.

Your rights under GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA/CPRA

These laws give you rights over personal data a company holds about you — the right to see it, correct it, delete it, take it elsewhere, and object to how it is used. CopyBuddy is an unusual case: the developer holds none of your data, so there is nothing on our side to request, export, or erase.

You exercise every one of those rights directly, without asking anyone:

Access. Your entire history is visible in the side panel.
Erasure. Delete any single clip, clear the list, clear the archive, or uninstall the extension to wipe everything at once.
Restriction and objection. Disable the extension to stop capture immediately, or switch off formatted capture in Settings.
Portability. Any clip can be copied out or saved as a .txt, .html, or PDF file.

Under the CCPA and CPRA: CopyBuddy does not sell or share personal information, has never done so, and does not offer financial incentives tied to data. There is no "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" mechanism to provide, because there is no sale or sharing to opt out of. Nothing collected is used for cross-context behavioural advertising or profiling.

Since no data is transmitted anywhere, there is no international data transfer, no third-country processing, and no sub-processor list.

Security

Your clipboard history is protected by the security of your own computer and browser profile — the same protection that covers your saved passwords and browsing data. It is not encrypted separately by the extension, and anyone with access to your unlocked user account could open the side panel and read it.

Two practical consequences: use a password or PIN on your computer, and treat the sensitive-text filter as a safety net rather than a lock. If you copy something you would rather not keep, delete that clip from the panel.

Children

CopyBuddy is a general-purpose utility. It does not knowingly collect information from anyone, of any age, beyond the local clipboard history described above.

Your choices

Delete individual items or clear everything from the panel.
Decline the optional clipboard permission.
Disable the extension to stop capture, or uninstall it to erase all stored data.

Changes to this policy

If a future version of CopyBuddy ever changes what it stores or starts making network requests, this page will be updated before that version is published, the Chrome Web Store privacy disclosures will be updated to match, and the date at the top of this page will change.

Contact

Brandon Petrykowski · Michigan, United States
[email protected]

If you believe CopyBuddy handles data differently from what is written here, please report it to the address above. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.