> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.4thewords.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Permissions & Privacy

> What the extension can access, why it needs broad permissions, and what it never reads.

## Why the extension needs "read and change all your data on all websites"

Chrome shows this warning because the extension counts words on **every site you write on**, Google Docs, Notion, email, social media, anywhere. That's the entire point of the extension, similar to how a grammar-checking extension needs the same level of access to work everywhere.

<Info>
  This permission is used for two things: counting words as you type, and quietly re-attaching that word counter to your open tabs after a Chrome extension update. It is not used to read pages you aren't writing in.
</Info>

Chrome lists a few narrower permissions alongside it:

| Permission                                       | What it's for                                                                                                                |
| ------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Display notifications                            | The battle alerts described in [Battles, Streaks & Quests Sync](/tools/chrome-extension/battles-streaks-and-quests)          |
| Storage and alarms                               | Keeping your settings and counts on your device, and scheduling background syncs                                             |
| Side panel                                       | Providing the side panel view                                                                                                |
| Communicate with cooperating native applications | Linking up with the 4thewords desktop app if you have it installed on the same computer. Nothing happens when it isn't there |

## What it reads

Keystrokes and input changes on sites in your **My sites** list, turned into counts:

* Words and characters typed, pasted, and deleted
* Time spent actively writing, and how often you paused
* Your running word count at the end of each half-minute window

These are the numbers behind your battles, streaks, and writing stats. They are counts, never content.

## What it never reads

* **The actual text you write.** Not your document content, not your messages, nothing you type is ever read, stored, or transmitted.
* **Passwords.** Excluded at multiple independent layers, so even a mistake in one layer doesn't leak a password field.
* **Credit card and CVV numbers, OTP and verification codes, SSNs, bank routing and account numbers, API keys, and recovery codes.** All excluded the same way as passwords, along with plain number fields.
* **Code you write in an embedded code editor.** Excluded, so scripting in a browser IDE isn't counted.
* **Your browsing history.** The extension doesn't record which sites you visit. Sites you aren't writing in are never counted, and sites you are writing in stay on your device unless you opt in below.
* **Clipboard contents.** Pasted words are counted through the same input-change events as typed words, not by reading your clipboard.

## Site and document names are opt-in

By default the extension doesn't record where you write. Your synced data is numbers only, and site names never leave your device.

Turning on the **By site** toggle in the Stats view adds three pieces of location data to your synced word counts, so the breakdown can show real sites and documents:

| What's included                            | Example                        |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------ |
| The domain                                 | `docs.google.com`              |
| The document's title, on supported editors | your Google Doc's name         |
| A scrambled document identifier            | a one-way hash, not an address |

The document identifier is hashed on your device with a random per-install key before it's sent. 4thewords can tell "same document" from "different document" and count how many documents you worked in, but can never recover the actual document id or open your document.

<Warning>
  Turning this on does share the **names** of documents you write in on supported editors, alongside the site. If you'd rather keep that private, leave the toggle off. The full URL and your actual text are never sent either way, and turning the toggle back off stops this immediately.
</Warning>

See [Word Counting & My Sites](/tools/chrome-extension/word-counting-and-my-sites) for where the toggle lives and what it changes.

## Data stays local until you connect

Before you connect a 4thewords account, everything (word counts, local battle progress) stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to 4thewords servers until you connect an account. See [Installing & Connecting](/tools/chrome-extension/installing-and-connecting).

Even once connected, you can turn **Sync to 4thewords** off in Settings to keep counting locally without sending anything.

## No third-party sharing

Word counts are sent only to 4thewords. No analytics, advertising, or other third-party services receive any data from the extension.

## Uninstalling

Uninstalling removes everything the extension stored locally, settings, cached word counts, battle status. Your 4thewords account and everything you've written are unaffected, they live on 4thewords' servers, not in the extension. Manage your account data separately at [4thewords.com/account](https://4thewords.com/account).

## Frequently Asked Questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why does the extension need access to all websites?">
    Because it counts words wherever you write, and that could be any website. The permission only powers word counting and re-attaching the counter after updates, nothing more.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does 4thewords read what I write?">
    No. The extension turns keystrokes and input changes into counts: words and characters typed, pasted, and deleted, plus how long you wrote. It never reads, stores, or sends your actual text.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does 4thewords know which document I'm writing in?">
    Only if you turn on the **By site** toggle in the Stats view, which is off by default. With it on, the document's title on supported editors is sent alongside the site name, plus a one-way hashed identifier that can't be turned back into a document address. With it off, your synced data is numbers only.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to my data if I uninstall?">
    Everything stored locally by the extension is removed. Your 4thewords account, files, and progress are untouched since they live on your account, not in the extension.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does the extension share my data with anyone else?">
    No. Word counts go only to 4thewords. There's no third-party analytics or advertising integration.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I turn off word counting without uninstalling?">
    Yes, several ways. Toggle counting off entirely from the popup or side panel, turn off **Sync to 4thewords** to keep counts on your device only, or remove specific sites from your [My sites](/tools/chrome-extension/word-counting-and-my-sites) list.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

For the full legal details, see the [Privacy Policy](https://4thewords.com/privacy-policy).

**Stay in control**

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card icon="pen" href="/tools/chrome-extension/word-counting-and-my-sites" title="Word Counting & My Sites">
    Choose which sites count, and control per-site tracking.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="download" href="/tools/chrome-extension/installing-and-connecting" title="Installing & Connecting">
    Add the extension to Chrome and link it to your account.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>