Privacy Policy
In short: this extension has no server. It collects no personal information, sends nothing to the developer, and contains no analytics or advertising code. Your settings stay in your browser unless you switch on device sync yourself.
This privacy policy explains how the Force New Tab - Links & Buttons browser extension handles data. It is a non-company, independently published extension.
What the extension stores
The extension saves your configuration in your browser's extension storage:
- whether the extension is enabled, and whether it runs on all sites;
- the site and page rules you add yourself, including whether each is an allow or exclude rule and its new-tab focus preference;
- your behaviour preferences: external links only, open next to current tab, cancel same-tab redirect, confirmation toast, debug logging;
- the date the extension was installed, and a counter of how many times it has opened a new tab, used only to decide when to show a one-off review request;
- whether you dismissed or completed that review request;
- any CSS selectors you whitelist yourself, including which site each applies to and its new-tab focus preference, plus whether that feature is switched on;
- your sync preference, and a backup copy of your previous lists so you can undo a sync merge or an import.
That is the complete list. It is used only to make the extension behave as you configured it. None of it is sent to the developer, because there is no server to send it to.
What the extension does not collect
- no browsing history or list of sites you visit;
- no page content, text, form input, keystrokes, or passwords;
- no personal identifiers, device fingerprints, or advertising IDs;
- no account, sign-up, or login of any kind;
- no data sold, rented, or shared with anyone.
How page addresses are used
The extension runs on the pages you browse so it can notice a click and open the destination in a new tab. To do that it compares the address of the current page, and of the link or button you clicked, against your own rule list. This comparison happens in your browser's memory, at the moment of the click. Addresses are not logged, saved, or transmitted. The only addresses ever written to storage are the site patterns you type into the site list yourself.
Sync across devices Off by default
Version 1.1.0 adds an optional setting that keeps your configuration and site list consistent across devices signed in to the same browser profile.
This feature is switched off when you install the extension, and nothing is transmitted until you turn it on in Sync & Backup. When you do enable it:
- your settings and site rules are handed to your browser's own built-in sync, which transmits and stores them under your browser account. On Chrome that is Chrome Sync, operated by Google under the Google Privacy Policy;
- the developer has no access to this data at any point and no way to read it;
- which account is used is decided by your browser profile, not by the extension — the extension cannot choose or change it;
- you can switch sync off at any time, and delete the synced copy with the "Clear synced copy" button in Sync & Backup.
Your device-local information — the install date, the new-tab counter, the review-prompt state, and debug logging — is deliberately excluded from sync and never leaves your device.
Showing which account sync uses Optional permission
So you can confirm your settings are syncing to the account you expect, the options page can display the email address of the Google account signed in to your browser profile. This requires the identity and identity.email permissions.
These are optional permissions. They are not requested when you install the extension. They are requested only if you press "Show account", and you can decline. When granted, the address is read from the browser, shown on the extension's own options page, and nothing more: the extension keeps no copy of it and never transmits it. Removing the extension removes the permission.
Limited use: information obtained through Google APIs is used only to display it to you within the extension. It is not transferred to anyone else, not used for advertising or profiling, not used to train models, and not used to determine creditworthiness or for lending purposes.
Export and import
You can export your settings and site list to a JSON file, and import one back. The export is written directly to your own downloads by your browser and is not uploaded anywhere. Once the file is on your device, keeping it safe is up to you — it contains the site patterns you added.
Feedback form shown when you uninstall
If you remove the extension, your browser opens a short, optional feedback form hosted on Google Forms (docs.google.com). Answering it is entirely voluntary — you can close the tab and nothing is submitted. The extension attaches no identifier to it, so a response cannot be linked back to you or your settings. As with loading any web page, Google receives ordinary request information such as your IP address and browser version. Google Forms is operated by Google under its own privacy policy.
Chrome Web Store review request
After the extension has opened a large number of new tabs for you, it may show a small one-off review request. Nothing is sent when it appears. If you choose to click through, your browser opens the extension's Chrome Web Store review page (chromewebstore.google.com) and the request is not shown again. Dismissing it postpones it.
Permissions and why they are needed
- storage — save your settings and site rules, and sync them if you enable that.
- tabs — open the new tab, place it next to the current one, and return focus to the page you were on.
- webNavigation — notice when a page is about to navigate in the same tab, so that navigation can be diverted into a new tab instead.
- scripting — stop an in-progress same-tab navigation so your original page is not lost.
- access to all websites — the extension has to work on whichever site you are on. Access is used only to detect clicks and navigation. You can narrow this yourself by turning off "Run on all sites by default" and listing only the sites you want, or by adding sites to the exclude list.
- sidePanel — show the element picker in the browser's side panel, next to the page you are picking on.
- identity, identity.email — optional, described above. Not requested at install.
Element picker
The settings page can whitelist a CSS selector, so that clicking anything matching it opens in a new tab. To help you write one, the element picker highlights whatever you point at and suggests a selector for it.
The picker only runs when you start it, on the tab you started it from, and it stops when you close it. While running it reads the structure of that page — tag names, ids, classes and data attributes — purely to build the selector text and count how many elements it would match. This happens in your browser and nothing is transmitted. Page content, text and form values are not read, and nothing about the page is stored: the only thing saved is the selector you choose to save.
No analytics, no tracking, no external requests
The extension contains no analytics library, advertising code, tracking pixel, or remote script. It makes no network requests of its own — every part of it runs locally in your browser, and every image and icon it uses is bundled inside it, so no outside server is contacted just by opening a page or the settings screen.
There are exactly three web addresses it can ever open, and each one requires an action from you:
- the extension's Chrome Web Store review page, if you click the review button;
- the optional feedback form, if you remove the extension;
- the developer's Ko-fi page, if you click the optional support link in the settings sidebar.
Support link
The settings page contains an optional link to the developer's Ko-fi page. It is a plain link: nothing is sent when the settings page loads, and the extension has no idea whether you clicked it. If you do choose to donate, the entire transaction happens on Ko-fi's own site — the extension never sees, handles, or stores any payment or contact details. Ko-fi is a third-party service with its own privacy policy and terms. Donations are voluntary, and every feature of the extension works the same whether or not you give anything.
Deleting your data
- Remove individual rules in Site List, or clear settings by removing the extension.
- If you enabled sync, use "Clear synced copy" in Sync & Backup to delete the synced data from your browser account.
- Uninstalling the extension removes its local storage and any optional permission you granted.
Children
The extension is a general-purpose browsing tool. It is not directed at children and collects no personal information from anyone, regardless of age.
Changes to This Policy
This policy may be updated if the extension changes. The effective date at the top of this page will be updated when that happens.
Contact
For questions about this privacy policy, contact: [email protected]