Summary
- The extension needs no account or login, and on videos that already have subtitles (YouTube, Netflix, and other sites) it is free and needs no API key.
- None of your data is collected, stored, sold, or shared. The extension runs no server, and there is no analytics or tracking of any kind.
- The free sources stay on your device: reading a video's own subtitles, and reading subtitles printed into the picture (OCR runs inside your own browser — no frame or image is ever uploaded), send nothing to Soniox or anyone else. The optional Soniox source sends the tab's audio to Soniox using your own API key, and only while you have actively started captions.
- The optional translated line may send subtitle text (never audio) to a translation service: on YouTube it uses YouTube's own translation; on Netflix and other sites it uses Google Translate. Details below.
What the extension does with data
- A video's own subtitles (the free source): the extension reads the subtitles the site already provides and displays them with Pinyin. How it reads them depends on the site: on YouTube it requests the video's public caption track from YouTube; on Netflix it reads the subtitle text already drawn on the page; on other sites it reads the standard HTML5 subtitle track in your browser. In every case no audio is captured, and nothing is sent to Soniox or anyone else. (YouTube caption tracks are cached in your own browser so revisiting a video doesn't re-download them.)
- The translated line (optional): when you set a "Translate To" language, the extension produces a second, translated line. On YouTube the translation comes from YouTube's own translation of the caption track. On Netflix and other sites, the current subtitle line's text is sent to Google Translate (Google's public translation endpoint) to translate it. Only the short subtitle text is sent — never any audio, and nothing that identifies you. If you don't want any text leaving your device, turn the translated line off (leave "Translate To" unset or hide the Translation line) and you still get the original subtitle plus Pinyin.
- Tab audio (the optional Soniox source): only if you choose it, the extension captures the audio of the current browser tab and streams it to the Soniox API to produce a transcription and a translation, which are shown on screen. Audio is processed in real time and is not recorded or stored by the extension. When you stop (or after a period of silence), streaming stops.
- Subtitles printed into the picture (the free OCR source): when a video has no subtitle file and the words are burned into the image, the extension reads them by examining the bottom strip of the video frame with text recognition (OCR) that runs entirely inside your own browser, using recognition software and a Chinese model bundled with the extension. No video frame, screenshot or image is ever uploaded, stored, or sent to the developer or any third party — the frames are read in memory and discarded. This only happens while a Free-mode session is running on a video with no readable subtitle track.
- Pinyin and the tap-a-word dictionary for Chinese are generated entirely on your device — no network, no key. The dictionary uses the offline CC-CEDICT data bundled with the extension.
- Your Soniox API key and settings are stored only in your browser (
chrome.storage.local). Your key is never sent anywhere except directly to Soniox to authenticate your own requests, and it is never shared with anyone else.
Third‑party service: Google Translate
The translated line on Netflix and non-YouTube sites is produced by Google Translate (Google's public translate.googleapis.com endpoint). Only the text of the subtitle line currently on screen is sent, so Google can return its translation; no audio, no account, and no identifying information are sent, and none of it reaches the developer. This is subject to Google's privacy policy. It only happens while a Free-mode session is running with a translation language set. Turn the translation off and Google is never contacted.
Third‑party service: Soniox
When you use the audio source, speech‑to‑text and translation are performed by Soniox (soniox.com). Your audio is processed by Soniox under your own account and key, subject to Soniox's privacy policy. The extension only acts as a client to Soniox on your behalf. If you never add a key and only use a video's own subtitles, Soniox is never contacted at all.
Data received by the developer
None.
None. No servers are operated for this extension, and no audio, text, analytics, identifiers, or usage data are received from it.
Contact
Questions or feedback: hexaoutsourcing@gmail.com