Summary
- CookieSweep stores its data in your browser’s local extension storage. There is no BrowserForge server and no account.
- CookieSweep contains no analytics, telemetry, crash reporting or advertising code.
- CookieSweep makes no network requests of any kind.
- CookieSweep never sells, rents or shares your data with anyone, because it never has it.
- Uninstalling CookieSweep deletes all of its local data.
Scope
This policy covers the CookieSweep browser extension for Chrome and Edge, published by Shantanu Ojha under the BrowserForge name (“we”, “us”). It applies to every version of CookieSweep distributed through the Chrome Web Store, Microsoft Edge Add-ons, or built from the source at GitHub.
This website (BrowserForge pages on shantanuojha.com and its subdomains) sets no cookies, runs no analytics and loads no third-party scripts or fonts. Hosting is provided by Vercel, whose edge servers see the usual request metadata (IP address, user agent) in order to serve pages; we do not enable Vercel’s analytics products.
Data handled
To do its job, CookieSweep handles the following data. All of it stays on your device unless a row in the network table says otherwise.
- Your whitelist, greylist and settings.
- The hostnames of open tabs, in memory only, so CookieSweep knows when the last tab for a site has closed.
- A local activity log: hostname, what was removed, and a timestamp for each cleanup. The log can be disabled or cleared.
- CookieSweep reads cookie names and domains in order to delete them. It does not read cookie values into storage, and it never transmits them anywhere.
Where data lives
CookieSweep uses the browser’s extension storage (chrome.storage.local ) and, where noted,
IndexedDB inside the extension’s own origin. This storage is isolated from websites and from other
extensions. It is not readable by us. We operate no database, no backend and no account system.
Network connections
CookieSweep makes no network requests. It has no licence check, no rule or list download, no update feed and no telemetry. The extension package is updated only through the browser’s store mechanism, which is operated by the browser vendor.
- CookieSweep makes no network requests at all. It has no Pro tier, no licence check, no update feed and no telemetry.
Permissions explained
Every permission in the CookieSweep manifest is listed here with the reason it is needed. Optional permissions are requested only when you enable the corresponding feature and can be revoked from the extension’s details page in your browser.
| Permission | Type | Why CookieSweep needs it |
|---|---|---|
cookies | permission | Enumerate and delete cookies for a site, including partitioned cookies. |
browsingData | permission | Remove localStorage, IndexedDB, cache and service workers for a specific origin. |
tabs | permission | Know which sites are open and when a tab closes or navigates away, which is what triggers a cleanup. |
storage | permission | Store your whitelist, greylist, settings and activity log locally. |
alarms | permission | Run delayed cleanups after you leave a site, and periodic cleanups if you enable them. |
notifications | optional permission | Show a short notification after a cleanup, if you turn that option on. |
<all_urls> | host permission | The cookies and browsingData APIs can only act on sites the extension has host access to. CookieSweep does not inject scripts or read page content. |
Retention and deletion
- Whitelist, greylist and settings stay in local storage until you change them or uninstall the extension.
- The activity log is capped at the most recent 1,000 entries by default and can be cleared or disabled from the options page.
- Open-tab hostnames are held in memory only and discarded when the browser closes.
- You can delete everything at once by removing the extension. Chrome and Edge delete an extension’s local storage on uninstall.
Sharing and sale
We do not sell, rent, trade or otherwise share your data with third parties, and we do not use it for advertising, profiling or training. We cannot: CookieSweep does not send your data to us. The only third parties that can receive data from CookieSweep are the ones you choose to connect in the network table above, and each of those receives only what that row describes.
Limited Use
CookieSweep’s use of information received from Google APIs, including Chrome extension APIs , adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy , including its Limited Use requirements. Specifically:
- Data is used only to provide or improve the user-facing features described on the CookieSweep listing and product page.
- Data is not transferred to anyone except as necessary to provide those features, to comply with law, or as part of a merger or acquisition with prior notice to users.
- Data is never used or transferred to serve advertisements, to determine credit-worthiness or for lending purposes.
- No human reads your data, because it never leaves your device.
Security
Extension storage is protected by the browser’s process isolation and your operating system’s user account. Backup files you export are ordinary files; protect them as you would any other document that lists the sites you visit. Network connections listed above use HTTPS. The source code is public, so anyone can check that the extension does what this policy says. If you find a discrepancy, please report it (see Contact).
Children
CookieSweep is a general-purpose tool and is not directed at children under 13 (or the age of digital consent in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect any personal information from anyone, including children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information by email, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version is published at this address with a new effective date, and the change is noted in the CookieSweep release notes. If a change would let CookieSweep send new categories of data anywhere, we will describe it in the extension’s update notes and, where the browser supports it, ask for the new permission explicitly. The history of this document is in the website repository.
Contact
Shantanu Ojha
hello@shantanuojha.com
Security or privacy concerns can also be filed as a GitHub issue, or
by email if they should not be public.