Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 2026

Overview

This policy covers the VisualTimer.com website and our Chrome extensions, Visual Timer, Multi Stopwatch, and Tab Time. The short version: no account is ever required, and your timers and tasks run in your browser and stay on your device. The website uses analytics and shows ads (both explained below); our Chrome extensions collect nothing at all.

The Website (visualtimer.com)

Analytics

We use two analytics tools on the website to understand how it is used.

Simple Analytics, a privacy-friendly tool that:

• Does not use cookies
• Does not collect personal data
• Does not track you across websites
• Is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR

We also use Google Analytics (GA4). Unlike Simple Analytics, Google Analytics sets cookies and collects data such as your approximate location (derived from your IP address), device and browser type, the pages you visit, and how you interact with the site. This data is processed by Google; see Google's Privacy Policy for how they handle it. You can opt out of Google Analytics on every website by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We use the data from both tools only in aggregate — to see things like page views and referral sources — and never to identify you personally.

Local storage

Some features (like task lists and timer settings) use your browser's local storage to save your preferences. This data:

• Never leaves your device
• Is not sent to any server
• Can be cleared by clearing your browser data

Contact form

If you use our contact form, your email and message are processed by Formspree and sent to us. We only use this information to respond to your inquiry.

Advertising

We display ads through Google AdSense to support the free running of this site. Google and its advertising partners may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites
• Measure ad performance and reach

For visitors in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, we show a consent banner (powered by Google's Funding Choices) before any personalized advertising cookies are set. You can change your choices at any time by clicking "Privacy options" in the consent banner.

You can also opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings or aboutads.info.

California residents: under the CCPA, you have the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information. Use the consent banner's privacy options to exercise this right.

The Chrome Extensions

Our Chrome extensions — Visual Timer, Multi Stopwatch, and Tab Time — do not collect, transmit, sell, or share any data. They have no analytics, no tracking, no accounts, and they make no network requests of any kind.

What stays on your device

To function, the extensions save the following using Chrome's local extension storage (chrome.storage.local), on your device only:

• Visual Timer — the timer state (the duration you set and the time remaining), your task list, and your preferences (sound, notification, badge, dial mode, and theme)
• Multi Stopwatch — your stopwatches (names, colors, elapsed times, and laps) and your preferences (solo mode, display precision)
• Tab Time — how much time you spend on each website: the domain of the site (for example github.com) and a running total per day. Tab Time does not record page URLs, page titles, or page content — only the domain and the time. Totals are kept for 90 days, can be wiped with one click in its settings, and are visible only to you.

This data never leaves your browser and is deleted when you uninstall the extension.

Permissions

Each extension requests only the permissions it needs to work:

• storage (all) — save the data listed above
• sidePanel (all) — display the interface in the browser side panel
• alarms (Visual Timer, Tab Time) — keep time accurately while the panel is closed
• notifications (Visual Timer) — tell you when time is up
• offscreen (Visual Timer) — play the completion chime
• tabs (Tab Time) — read the domain of the active tab so time can be attributed to the right website
• idle (Tab Time) — stop the clock when you're away from the computer

Changes

If a future version of the website or the extension ever changes any of the above, this policy will be updated before that change is released.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, please contact us.