Privacy Policy

ReadTube is a small project operated by Nimit Bhargava, an individual based in India. We try to keep the data we touch to a minimum. This page explains what we collect, what we do with it, and how to get rid of it.

The short version

• No account. No name. No email. No password.
• Your watch history lives in your browser, not on our servers.
• We log anonymous watch events (a random ID, the video ID, how long you read) to power the trending feed.
• We use Google Analytics, and optionally Microsoft Clarity, to understand traffic. You can block them with any standard tracker blocker.
• The YouTube player and thumbnails are loaded directly from YouTube, which has its own privacy policy.

What stays on your device only

The following is stored in your browser’s local storage and never sent to our servers:

• readtube:user_hash - a random identifier we generate the first time you use the site. It is attached to your watch events so we can count unique viewers without knowing who you are.
• readtube:history - the videos you have opened on ReadTube, with their titles and authors, so the home feed can show you what you have read.
• readtube:pos:<videoId> - your last reading position in each video, so the reader can resume where you left off.

To erase all of it, clear site data for readtube.cc in your browser settings.

What we receive on our servers

When you read a video on ReadTube, we receive:

• Watch events. Your anonymous user_hash, the YouTube video ID, how many seconds you read for, whether you reached the end, and a timestamp. We use this to power the “trending” tiles on the home page and to understand which videos are actually being read.
• Standard request logs. Like any web service, our hosting provider (Vercel) records request metadata such as IP address, user-agent, and timestamps. We use these to operate the Service and to investigate abuse.

When you use the optional ReadTube browser extension and click “Read in ReadTube” on a YouTube page, the extension additionally sends us:

• The video’s caption file, video ID, language, the current playback timestamp, and the extension version, so the reader can render the transcript without re-fetching it.
• A salted hash of your IP address. We rotate the salt daily and never store the IP itself in this table, so the hash cannot be reversed to identify you across days. It exists only to rate-limit uploads.

Extension uploads are stored for 15 minutes and then deleted automatically.

What we do not collect

• We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, location, or anything else that could directly identify you.
• We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with advertisers.
• We do not set any first-party tracking cookies of our own.

Third-party services

ReadTube relies on a few third parties to run. Each has its own privacy practices, linked below.

• Vercel - hosts the website and processes every request to it. Vercel Privacy Policy.
• Supabase - stores watch events and, temporarily, extension caption uploads. Supabase Privacy Policy.
• Google Analytics - measures page views and aggregate usage. Loaded when the site is configured with an analytics ID. Google Privacy Policy.
• Microsoft Clarity - optional session-replay analytics. Loaded only when the site is configured with a Clarity ID. Microsoft Privacy Statement.
• YouTube / Google- we fetch video titles and thumbnails through YouTube’s public oEmbed endpoint, and we embed YouTube’s own player for hover previews and the reader. When the YouTube player loads, YouTube and Google may set their own cookies and receive request data directly from your browser. Google Privacy Policy.

Where data is processed

Our hosting and database providers operate from data centres outside India, including in the United States and Europe. By using ReadTube, you understand that the limited information we collect may be processed in those regions.

How long we keep it

• Watch events: retained for as long as they remain useful to the trending feed. They are anonymous and tied only to a random per-browser ID.
• Extension caption uploads: 15 minutes, after which they are automatically deleted.
• Rate-limit hashes: rotated daily; old entries are pruned.
• Server logs from our hosting provider: kept according to that provider’s default retention.

Your choices

• Reset your anonymous ID. Clear site data for readtube.cc in your browser settings - the next visit creates a fresh random ID and erases your history.
• Block analytics. Any standard tracker blocker (uBlock Origin, Brave Shields, browser do-not-track settings) prevents Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity from loading.
• Uninstall the extension.Remove it from your browser’s extension manager and it will stop sending caption uploads.

Your rights under the DPDP Act, 2023

If you are in India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 gives you certain rights over personal data we hold about you, including the right to access information about its processing, to seek correction or erasure, to nominate another person to exercise rights on your behalf, and to raise a grievance with us.

Because ReadTube does not ask for your name, email, or any other identifier - only a random per-browser ID and anonymous watch counts - we usually have no practical way to link a request to a specific person. If you can share your readtube:user_hash(visible in your browser’s local-storage for readtube.cc), we will do our best to honour your request for the data tied to it.

Children

ReadTube is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has used the Service and you would like the associated data deleted, please contact us.

Security

We use industry-standard transport encryption (HTTPS) and rely on our hosting and database providers’ security controls. No internet service can be guaranteed perfectly secure, but because we collect so little, the surface area of a breach is correspondingly small.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the “Effective” date at the top. For material changes, we will make a more visible note on the home page for a reasonable period.

Grievance Officer and contact

For privacy questions, data requests, or grievances under the DPDP Act, 2023, contact:

Nimit Bhargava
Grievance Officer, ReadTube
hello@readtube.cc