Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 11, 2026

Chinese Reader Pro is a Chrome extension and website that helps users read Chinese webpages with pinyin, English translation, hover dictionary lookup, saved vocabulary, flashcards, learning progress, Pro access, optional AI explanations, and Chinese-English live chat translation through the companion Live Chat Translator extension.

Chrome Web Store Limited Use disclosure: The use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Single Purpose

The single purpose of Chinese Reader Pro is to help users read, understand, save, and review Chinese text and Chinese video audio from webpages they choose to use with the extension. The single purpose of the Chinese-English Live Chat Translator extension is to translate live chat conversations between Chinese and English, including translating incoming Chinese text messages into English and helping users prepare English replies in Chinese.

Information We Collect or Process

Data	When it is collected	Why it is used
Chinese text from the current webpage	When you ask the extension to annotate, translate, or explain text.	To generate pinyin, dictionary matches, English translations, and AI explanations.
Live chat text submitted for translation	When you use the Live Chat Translator to translate an incoming chat message or prepare a reply.	To translate Chinese messages into English and English replies into Chinese.
Translation results	When a translation is generated for webpage text, video captions, or live chat messages.	To display the requested translation, support user-facing translation features, manage credits, debug reliability, and prevent abuse.
Short tab audio chunks from the current video tab	Only when you click Start Live Translation for Chinese video audio.	To transcribe Chinese speech and generate live Chinese, pinyin, English, and Traditional Chinese captions.
Saved vocabulary	When you click save on a word.	To provide vocabulary lists, flashcards, search, review, and CSV export.
Source page URL and page title for saved items	When you save a word from a webpage.	To help you remember where the saved item came from.
Learning progress	When you use reading, flashcard, audio, save, achievement, or streak features.	To show XP, streaks, achievements, flashcard review history, and usage limits.
Account information	When you create an account, sign in, reset a password, buy Pro, or buy credits.	To authenticate your account, sync data, attach purchases to the correct account, and manage access.
Authentication/session data	When you sign in on the website or in an extension.	To keep you signed in, connect the Live Chat Translator to your Chinese Reader Pro account, and authorize credit-based requests.
Payment and subscription status	When Stripe confirms a successful purchase or subscription change.	To enable Pro access, update subscription status, and add purchased credits.
Credit balance and usage data	When you use credit-based features or receive monthly Pro credits.	To track available credits, live chat credits, credit spending, plan limits, renewals, and purchase history.
Extension settings and local identifiers	When you use the extension.	To remember display settings, anonymous free-plan usage, account sessions, and reminder preferences.
Advertising cookies and ad signals	When Google ads are shown on website pages.	To serve ads, limit repeated ads, prevent fraud, measure ad performance, and support free website content.

Webpage Access and Browsing Data

The extension can run on webpages so it can find and annotate Chinese text. We do not sell browsing history, do not build advertising profiles, and do not collect a list of every site you visit. Chinese text is sent to our backend only when needed for a user-facing feature such as annotation, translation, saving, or AI explain. The page URL and title are stored only when you save a word from that page.

The Live Chat Translator can run on the current tab only when you activate it on a chat page. It processes selected or detected chat text and reply text only to provide Chinese-English live chat translation. It is not used to collect browsing history, monitor unrelated pages, or build advertising profiles.

Chrome Extension Permissions

activeTab and scripting: used to add the reader tools or live chat translation interface to the current webpage only when you use the extension.
storage: used to save settings, account session data, anonymous identifiers, vocabulary, progress, live chat credit status, and extension preferences.
downloads: used only when you export saved vocabulary as a CSV file.
tabCapture: used only after you click Start Live Translation, to capture audio from the active tab so Chinese Reader Pro can generate live captions from Chinese speech.
offscreen: used to keep live audio capture running after the popup closes while live video translation is active.
notifications and alarms: used only if you enable learning or streak reminders.
host permission for our backend: used to communicate with the Chinese Reader Pro API for login, account sync, credit checks, and translation requests.
host permission for Google Translate API: used by the Live Chat Translator only to request translation results when that translation service is selected or used as a fallback.
<all_urls> or broad webpage host access, if requested: used so Chinese Reader Pro can read Chinese text on arbitrary websites the user chooses, detect Chinese text on the current page, display pinyin, Traditional Chinese, English translation, and hover dictionary tools. This access is not used to collect browsing history or build advertising profiles.

How We Use Information

Provide pinyin, English translation, dictionary lookup, AI explanation, vocabulary, flashcard, and progress features.
Provide Chinese-English live chat translation and prepared Chinese replies.
Sync account data between the website, extension, and backend.
Manage free-plan limits, Pro subscriptions, credit balances, and live chat credit balances.
Prevent abuse, debug reliability issues, and keep the service secure.
Respond to support, account, deletion, or privacy requests.

AI Processing

When you request AI explanations or translations, the relevant Chinese text and sentence context may be sent to OpenAI through our backend so the requested result can be generated. Do not use AI explanation or translation features on confidential text unless you are comfortable with that text being processed for this purpose.

When you start live video translation, short audio chunks from the active tab are sent to our backend and to OpenAI for speech transcription and translation. We process these audio chunks to return live captions. We do not intentionally store the raw audio chunks after processing, but generated transcript text and translations may be processed or cached as needed to provide captions, manage credits, debug reliability, and prevent abuse.

When you use Live Chat Translation, chat text and reply text submitted for translation may be sent to the Chinese Reader Pro backend, OpenAI, or Google Translate API, depending on the configured translation service. We process that text to return the requested translation, manage live chat credits, debug reliability, and prevent abuse. Do not use live chat translation with confidential content unless you are comfortable with that content being processed for this purpose.

Accounts, Passwords, and Payments

Account registration, login, and password reset are handled through Supabase authentication. We do not store plaintext passwords. Payments are processed by Stripe. We receive purchase, subscription, customer, and checkout status information needed to enable Pro access or grant credits, but we do not store full payment card numbers.

Third-Party Service Providers

We share data only with service providers needed to operate Chinese Reader Pro:

Supabase: authentication, database storage, and account emails.
Railway: backend hosting.
OpenAI: AI translations, explanations, and live video transcription requested by users.
Google Translate API: live chat translation requests when that translation service is selected or used as a fallback.
Stripe: checkout, subscriptions, payment status, invoices, and credit purchases.
Google: website analytics, Google AdSense advertising, ad delivery, ad measurement, and ad-related fraud prevention.
Vercel: website hosting.

Advertising and Google AdSense

Chinese Reader Pro may show Google AdSense ads on website pages. Third-party vendors, including Google, may use cookies or similar identifiers to serve ads based on a user's visits to this website and other websites.

Google's advertising cookies help Google and its partners serve ads, measure ad performance, prevent fraud, and manage how often ads are shown. You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google Ads Settings. You can also learn about additional advertising choices at aboutads.info.

We do not send saved vocabulary, Chinese text processed by the extension, live audio, payment card data, live chat messages, translation results, or account passwords to Google AdSense for advertising targeting.

Data Sharing Limits

We do not sell user data. We do not transfer saved vocabulary, Chinese text processed by the extension, live audio, live chat messages, translation results, payment card data, or account passwords to advertising platforms, data brokers, or information resellers. We do not use this learning, extension, account, or payment data for personalized advertising or credit-worthiness decisions. Website ads may use Google advertising cookies as described above. We transfer data only when necessary to provide or improve Chinese Reader Pro, comply with law, protect against abuse or security issues, or complete a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets with appropriate user notice or consent when required.

Human Access to User Data

We do not allow humans to read user data except when necessary for support with your consent, security and abuse prevention, legal compliance, or internal operations using aggregated or anonymized information.

Data Storage and Retention

Some data is stored locally in your browser through Chrome storage, including settings, account sessions, anonymous identifiers, local progress, live chat credit status, and Live Chat Translator preferences. Account data, saved vocabulary, learning progress, purchase status, credit balances, live chat credit balances, and credit usage records may also be stored in our backend database so the extension can sync across sessions and devices. We keep data while your account is active or while needed to provide the service, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, prevent abuse, and maintain payment records.

Your Choices

You can use the free extension features without creating an account, subject to free usage limits.
You can remove saved vocabulary from the extension.
You can disable reminders in the extension.
You can export saved vocabulary as a CSV file.
You can sign out of the Live Chat Translator extension and remove its local session data from Chrome storage by removing or resetting the extension.
You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google Ads Settings.
You can request account deletion or data deletion by contacting us.

Security

We use HTTPS and reasonable technical measures to protect user data. No online service can guarantee perfect security, but we limit access to user data and use it only for the purposes described in this policy.

Children

Chinese Reader Pro is not intended for children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal data, contact us so we can review and delete it where appropriate.

Contact

For privacy questions, data deletion requests, or account deletion requests, contact: chinesereaderpro@gmail.com