What we do with your recordings

Last updated · July 22, 2026 · Applies to all versions of the Lecture Recorder Chrome extension.

By default your recording stays on your device. It only leaves your device in two cases you control: when you use AI Notes (the recording is uploaded to our server to create your transcript and notes; we keep them so the extension can re-open and re-download your notes, and delete them on request), and when a share link is created (the file is end-to-end encrypted on your device before it is uploaded, and erased from our server after 15 minutes).

01The short version

We record the active browser tab to a file in your Downloads folder, and also keep a copy in the browser's private storage so you can replay and share it from inside the extension. If you use AI Notes, we send the audio to our server, transcribe and summarize it, and send you a .docx; the recording, transcript and notes stay on our server so you can re-open your notes later, and we delete them on request. If you share a recording, the file is encrypted on your device before it is uploaded, and the encrypted copy is erased from our server after 15 minutes. We do not ask for your name, email, or any account. We do not train AI on your recordings.

02What we record

When you press Record, the extension captures audio and video from the active browser tab using Chrome's tabCapture API. The recording is written directly to your Downloads folder as an .m4a or .mp4 file, and a copy is also kept in the browser's private on-device storage (OPFS) so the extension can offer an in-app player and sharing (see sections 05 and 06). This file stays on your device — we never see it — unless you choose to use AI Notes on it (section 04) or create a share link for it (section 05).

03What we do not record

We do not access your camera. The microphone is captured only when you select the "Audio + Mic" mode, and only for the duration of that recording. We do not capture other tabs, your screen outside the tab, your typing, your clipboard, or your browsing history. We do not read the content of the pages you visit at all. The recorder itself only runs while you press Record and stops the moment you press Stop.

04AI Notes

AI Notes is enabled by default. If you recorded in Audio + Mic mode, the audio uploaded here includes your microphone track — your own voice and any sounds your microphone picked up (for example, other people speaking in the room) are part of what is sent for transcription. Tab-audio recordings contain only the sound of the tab you chose. After you stop recording, here is exactly what happens:

1. The audio file is uploaded over HTTPS to our backend server. If the upload is interrupted before it finishes (for example, you close the browser mid-upload), the extension will automatically retry it once on the next browser start, re-uploading the audio from the on-device copy. No new data category is involved — it is the same AI Notes audio you had already chosen to process.
2. The audio is sent to our transcription sub-processor. Their API is configured with zero data retention — they do not store or train on submitted audio.
3. The transcript is sent to our summary sub-processor. Their API does not train on submitted data.
4. We assemble a .docx file with Summary on top and Transcript below, and send it back to your browser, which saves it to your Downloads folder.
5. After the .docx is returned, the recording, the transcript and your generated notes stay on our server so the extension can re-open and re-download your notes later. You can have them deleted at any time (section 12).

We do not use your recordings, transcripts, or summaries to train our models. Our sub-processors — a speech-to-text transcription provider and a large-language-model summarization provider — are contractually prohibited from doing so. If we add or change a vendor, we will update this policy first. To request the current, named list of sub-processors, email us at the address in section 15.

05Share links (end-to-end encrypted)

Lecture Recorder can turn a recording into a private link (and a QR code) so you can open it on your phone or send it to someone. This is the only case where your recording's content leaves your device — and even then, we cannot read it.

A share link is created two ways:

• Automatically, right after a recording finishes, if the popup is open and the file is 100 MB or smaller. The extension prepares the link so it is ready if you want to share.
• Manually, from the "Share" button in the extension's library side panel.

Here is exactly how it works:

1. The recording is encrypted on your device using AES-GCM with a 256-bit key. Your browser generates the key; it never leaves your device except inside the link itself.
2. Only the encrypted (unreadable) file is uploaded over HTTPS to our share service at share.lecture-recorder.app (a Cloudflare Worker backed by Cloudflare R2 storage).
3. The decryption key is placed in the link's URL fragment (the part after the #). By web design, the fragment is never sent to our server — it stays in the browser of whoever opens the link. That is what makes the share end-to-end encrypted: our server only ever holds ciphertext it has no key for.
4. Anyone who opens the link (including via the QR code) downloads the encrypted file and decrypts it locally in their browser using the key from the fragment.
5. The encrypted file is automatically deleted from our server 15 minutes after it is created. After that the link stops working.

What our share service can and cannot see: it cannot read the content of your recording (it only holds an encrypted blob with no key). It does observe, as any web server does, the size of the encrypted blob, the time it was uploaded, and the IP address of the device that uploaded it (in standard server request logs). We do not use these to build a profile and they are not linked to your identity.

06On-device recordings library

So the extension can offer an in-app player and the share feature above, your recordings are kept in the browser's private storage (the Origin Private File System, OPFS) on your own device. This storage is private to the extension — it is not the cloud, and these files are never uploaded anywhere on their own.

The library is capped at about 3 GB. When it fills up, the oldest recording's library copy is automatically removed to make room (your separately downloaded file in your Downloads folder is not affected). You can also press Delete on any recording to remove its library copy at any time — again, this never touches the file you downloaded.

07The 300-minute monthly limit

To prevent abuse of the free service, each installation can use up to 300 minutes of AI Notes per rolling 30 days. We track this with:

• An anonymous install_id — a random UUID generated on first run, stored in chrome.storage.local on your device.
• A counter on our server keyed only to that install_id and the total minutes recorded in the rolling window.

The install_id is not linked to your name, email, IP address (which we discard after each request), Google account, or any other personally identifiable information. Uninstalling and reinstalling the extension generates a new install_id and a new quota.

When you hit the limit: the recording still works and the media file is still saved to Downloads. We just do not generate the .docx for that session. The widget shows the reset date.

08No accounts, no sign-in

Lecture Recorder has no accounts and no sign-in. You never create a login, and we never receive a Google account, name, or email in order for you to use the extension. Everything is keyed to the anonymous install_id described above, which is not tied to your identity.

09Permissions used

• tabCapture — to record audio and video of the active tab.
• offscreen — to run the recorder, the audio pipeline, and share uploads in a background document (required by Chrome Manifest V3, so recording continues while you switch tabs).
• downloads — to save the recording (and the .docx) to your Downloads folder.
• activeTab — to identify and capture the tab you chose to record.
• storage and unlimitedStorage — to remember your settings, your install_id, and your remaining quota, and to hold your on-device recordings library (section 06).
• sidePanel — to show the library and summaries in a side panel.
• idle and alarms — to manage recording timers and to run the one-time AI Notes retry (section 04).
• notifications — to tell you when a recording or your notes are ready.

We do not request tabs, history, cookies, webRequest, or any host_permissions for browsing data. The extension does not inject scripts into the pages you visit and runs no content scripts on them at all.

10Data retention summary

11Ratings & feedback links

The extension shows a small "Rate us" prompt and, when you uninstall, opens a short feedback page. These are just links — one to a Google Form (a forms.gle address) and one to our page on the Chrome Web Store. The extension itself does not collect any rating or feedback data. The form is hosted by Google, not by us; it does not ask for your email, and anything you type there is optional and goes to Google's form, subject to Google's privacy policy.

12Your rights (GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA)

Even though we hold almost nothing, you can:

• Ask what we have linked to your install_id
• Ask us to delete it
• Object to processing

Email support@lecture-recorder.app with your install_id (visible in extension Settings → About). We respond within 30 days. There is nothing to "log in" to.

Legal basis for processing (GDPR Art. 6):

• AI Notes processing — your consent (granted when you keep AI Notes enabled in Settings).
• install_id + quota counter — our legitimate interest in preventing service abuse.

13Children

Lecture Recorder is intended for users 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. Since we do not collect names, emails, or IP-linked profiles in the first place, we have no way to identify a child user. If you are a parent and believe we have data tied to your child's install_id, email us and we will delete it.

14Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and post a notice in the extension before the change takes effect.

15Contact

support@lecture-recorder.app