Spanwise privacy policy

Last updated: 2026-11-13

Spanwise is a page ruler browser extension. This page says exactly what it does with your data. The short version: Spanwise does not collect your data.

No data collected

Spanwise does not collect, store on a server, sell or share any personal data, browsing history, page content or usage statistics. The author has no server that receives anything from the extension.

No analytics

There is no analytics, telemetry, crash reporting, advertising or tracking of any kind, and no remote code. All code ships inside the extension package.

When it runs

Spanwise does nothing on a page until you click its toolbar icon or press its keyboard shortcut. The page is measured inside your browser only, and nothing about it is sent anywhere.

What the page you measure can see

While the ruler is open, the page can detect that an extra overlay element exists, because Spanwise draws on top of the page. The element has a random name that changes every time and does not contain the product name. Keystrokes typed into the toolbar are kept away from the page's ordinary shortcut handlers, but a script on the page could still technically observe text typed there, so do not type secrets into the toolbar. Your license key is entered only on the extension's own options page, never inside a web page. Closing the ruler removes the overlay completely.

While Spanwise is open, scripts on the page can see the keys you press and the clicks you make in the Spanwise toolbar. Do not type secrets there. Your license key is only entered on the options page.

The only network request

The only network request Spanwise ever makes goes to api.gumroad.com, and only when you activate or re-check a Pro license key, or when the automatic re-check runs for an active license. It sends the license key you typed, the Spanwise product ID, and a flag saying whether this check should count as an activation. It sends no cookies and no referrer, and it does not send the page you are on or anything about your browsing. Gumroad handles the purchase and its own privacy practices apply to it.

After a successful activation, Spanwise re-checks the license in the background at most once every 7 days, and keeps working for 14 days if Gumroad cannot be reached. You can also press Re-check on the options page at any time.

What is stored, and where

Spanwise keeps the following in chrome.storage.local, which is stored locally and stays on your device only:

• The license record: your license key, the license status (none, pending, valid, invalid or revoked), the time of the last successful check, the time of the last attempt, and a short reason code. Nothing else from Gumroad's reply, such as your email address or purchase details, is kept.
• Your settings: the line color, and with Pro the unit (px, rem or %) and the column grid you chose.
• With Pro, the saved guides and rulers: for each website where you created guides or rulers, the web address of that site (its origin) and the guide and ruler positions. These origins are the only browsing-related data stored, and only for sites where you created guides or rulers. At most 100 origins are kept, and the oldest are dropped first. These saved guides never leave your device.

You can delete the saved guides with "Clear saved guides" on the options page. Removing the license on the options page, or uninstalling the extension, deletes the license record.

Captures (Pro)

The Pro capture button saves a PNG of the visible part of the page, or of the ruler you selected. Captures are created on the device, inside your browser, and are never uploaded. The extension makes no network request to create or save them, and the file goes to your normal downloads folder.

Permissions

Spanwise asks for activeTab (to measure the tab where you clicked, and to capture it when you ask), scripting (to start the ruler in that tab) and storage (to remember the records above). It requests no access to websites in advance.

Contact

Questions about this policy: use the developer contact details shown on the Spanwise listing in the Chrome Web Store.