Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2, 2026

we were online is an art project and browser extension by Spencer Chang that creates quiet portraits of your time on the internet. This policy explains what data the extension collects, how it is used, and your choices.

What the extension collects

The extension has four independent collectors, each of which you control. Every collector can be set to off, local-only (stored on your device, never uploaded), or shared (uploaded to our server for the collective portrait). All collectors start as off until you complete setup.

• Cursor: Mouse position (viewport-relative coordinates), click events, cursor style, scroll offset at time of click.
• Navigation: Page focus/blur, back/forward navigation, page title, canonical URL, favicon URL.
• Viewport: Scroll position (normalized), window resize dimensions, browser zoom level.
• Keyboard: Typing rhythm in text inputs. By default, all typed characters are replaced with block characters, preserving only cadence. Password fields are always excluded. You can choose full-text mode, in which case common PII patterns (email, phone, SSN) are automatically redacted, and you can add custom filter words.

Metadata attached to every event

Each collected event also includes:

• The full URL of the page you are on
• Viewport width and height
• Your timezone (e.g., "America/New_York")
• A persistent pseudonymous participant ID (a cryptographic public key generated on your device)
• A session ID that resets when you close the browser

How your data is stored

Locally: All events are stored in your browser's IndexedDB. This data never leaves your device unless you set a collector to "shared" mode.

Server-side: Events from collectors set to "shared" are uploaded to a Cloudflare Worker and stored in a Supabase database. Data is retained indefinitely as part of the ongoing art archive. You can request deletion at any time (see below).

All data in transit is encrypted via HTTPS. Server-side data is stored in Supabase's managed infrastructure with encryption at rest.

Real-time presence and chat

When other people with the extension are on the same page as you (currently Wikipedia articles), the extension shows their cursors and lets you chat with them in a small panel anchored to the presence pill. Cursor positions and chat messages travel over a real-time PartyKit room. They are not stored on our servers, are not linked to your identity in any persistent record, and are gone once everyone leaves the page. Your chat handle is a randomly chosen Wikipedia article title kept only in your browser's local storage.

How your data is used

Your data is used solely to:

• Generate visual portraits of internet activity (the core feature of the extension)
• Power the historical overlay that shows past activity on a given page or domain
• Contribute to the collective art visualization on the project website

Your data is never used for advertising, analytics, profiling, credit assessment, or any purpose beyond the art project described above.

Who your data is shared with

Shared-mode events are processed by and stored in the following services:

• Cloudflare Workers — event ingestion and API
• Supabase — persistent database
• Resend — email service (only if you provide your email)

Your data is not sold, rented, or shared with any advertising platforms, data brokers, or other third parties.

If you optionally provide your email during setup or on the website, it is sent to Resend (our email provider) for the purpose of sending you the welcome email and occasional project updates. It is not linked to your browsing data, and you can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any email we send.

Your choices and rights

• Control per collector: Each collector can be set to off, local-only, or shared independently at any time from the extension popup.
• Local data: You can clear your local data at any time by uninstalling the extension or clearing extension storage.
• Deletion requests: To request deletion of your server-side data, email [email protected] with your participant ID (visible in the extension popup). We will delete all associated records within 30 days.
• No account required: The extension does not require you to create an account. Your participant ID is a cryptographic key pair generated locally and is not linked to your real identity.

Permissions

The extension requests the following browser permissions:

• storage: Persist your settings, identity, and local event data
• tabs: Read the current tab URL for domain-scoped features
• Host permissions (all URLs): The extension runs on all websites to collect interaction data when enabled

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes materially, the updated date at the top will be revised. Continued use of the extension after changes constitutes acceptance.

Contact

Questions or concerns? Reach out at [email protected].

Spencer Chang · spencer.place