Privacy Policy

Last updated: February 2026

Overview

Gong Fu Tea Timer is a Chrome extension for timing gong fu cha tea brewing sessions. Your privacy is important to us. This extension is designed to work primarily offline, with all data stored locally on your device.

Data Collection

The extension does not collect, transmit, or store any personal data on external servers. All your data — tea presets, settings, and session history — is stored locally in your browser using chrome.storage.local.

Permissions

• Storage — saves your custom presets, settings, and timer session state locally in the browser.
• Alarms — ensures timer reliability when the browser's service worker is suspended.
• Notifications — sends browser notifications when a brewing step completes (can be disabled).
• Offscreen — creates an offscreen document solely for playing notification sounds (required by Manifest V3).

AI Feature (Optional)

The extension includes an optional AI-powered tea recommendation feature using the Google Gemini API. When you use this feature:

• Your tea search query is sent to the Google Gemini API.
• You must provide your own API key, which is stored locally.
• AI responses are cached locally to minimize API calls.
• No personal information is included in the API requests.
• This feature is entirely optional and the extension works fully without it.

Analytics

The extension collects anonymous usage statistics via Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to help us understand how the app is used and improve it. This includes events like opening the extension, starting a timer, or using the AI search — no personal information is collected. A random anonymous identifier is generated and stored locally; it cannot be linked to you as a person. You can opt out by disabling network access for the extension.

Third-party Services

The extension uses Google Analytics 4 for anonymous usage statistics. Optionally, it integrates with the Google Gemini API when you choose to use the AI feature with your own API key.

Changes

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated revision date.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at palylabs@gmail.com.