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Privacy policy for the Playwriter Chrome extension

Effective date: August 28, 2026
Playwriter is local by default. The Chrome extension connects to a relay on your own computer unless you explicitly enable a remote feature.
When you enable Remote control, browser data passes through an encrypted Playwriter tunnel to the person or agent that has your secret link. Playwriter does not use this data for analytics, advertising, profiling, or sale.

What this policy covers

This policy covers the Playwriter Chrome extension, its local relay, one-tab Remote control, and user-configured full relay remote access.
Playwriter cloud browser accounts and billing use separate website services. This extension policy does not change the terms of those services.

Data handled in local mode

The extension handles data needed for automation commands on tabs that you connect. Depending on the commands you run, this can include:
  • Website content, including text, images, screenshots, and accessibility data
  • Browsing activity, including page URLs, navigation, and network requests
  • User activity, including clicks, typing, scrolling, and form interaction
  • Developer data, including console messages, source code, and network responses
  • Authentication data, including cookies or browser storage when a command asks for it
  • Recordings, when you explicitly start screen or skill recording
In normal local mode, this data travels between the extension and the localhost relay on your computer. Playwriter does not send local-mode browser payloads to Playwriter servers.

Local identifiers

The extension creates a random installation identifier in chrome.storage.local. It also reads the Chrome profile account ID and email, if Chrome makes them available.
These values distinguish browser profiles and extension installations connected to the same local relay. They are sent to the relay on your own computer. They are not included in the Remote control handshake.

Anonymous usage stats

The local relay (the Playwriter CLI and MCP process, not the extension) sends anonymous usage events to Strada, our analytics provider. Each event has the event name, a random installation ID stored in ~/.playwriter/telemetry-id, the Playwriter version, OS, CPU architecture, Node.js version, session type, hourly command counts, and the extension version and browser name.
These events never include code, URLs, page content, screenshots, emails, account IDs, hostnames, or file paths. The Chrome profile email is never sent.
Set PLAYWRITER_TELEMETRY=0 or DO_NOT_TRACK=1 and restart the relay with playwriter serve restart to turn this off.

Remote control

Remote control is off by default. It starts only after you click the Remote control toolbar button and accept a disclosure.
While a share is active, the recipient can use every tab where Playwriter is enabled and open new tabs. This is not a security boundary. Broad CDP access can expose screenshots, page content, URLs, network and console data, input events, cookies, authentication data, and browser storage.
The data passes through an encrypted WebSocket tunnel under playwriter.dev. The current tunnel implementation routes payloads in memory and does not write them to a Playwriter database or object storage.
The tunnel ID is stored in the link's URL fragment for the initial viewer-page request. The viewer then uses that ID to connect to the tunnel hostname, so Cloudflare and the tunnel service necessarily process the hostname and connection metadata.

Who can receive shared data

Remote control uses a bearer link. Anyone who has the link receives broad browser automation access until you revoke it.
The recipient can be a person using the browser viewer or an agent using the Playwriter CLI. You choose the recipient by deciding who receives the link. Playwriter cannot control what that recipient does with information they receive.
Do not share the link with anyone you do not trust. Do not post it in public channels.

Full relay remote access

You can explicitly expose the local relay with playwriter serve, a strong authentication token, and your own network or tunnel configuration. This can give a remote client access to every tab connected to that relay.
In this mode, browser payloads and local relay metadata can pass through the transport that you configure. This can include the Chrome profile email, account ID, and installation ID used to identify local extension connections.
Only expose the full relay to a client you trust. Stop the server or tunnel to revoke full relay access.

Storage and retention

Playwriter does not persist Remote control payloads. Tunnel frames are routed in memory while the connection is active.
The extension stores the tunnel ID and scoped tab IDs in chrome.storage.session. This lets a share survive an extension service-worker restart. The state is removed when you revoke the share or the browser session ends.
The local installation identifier remains in chrome.storage.local until the extension's storage is cleared or the extension is removed.
Infrastructure providers can retain security and connection metadata under their own policies. This can include IP addresses, timestamps, hostnames, and transport diagnostics. Playwriter does not ask them to store tab payloads.

Service providers

Playwriter uses Cloudflare to provide encrypted tunnel transport. Cloudflare processes traffic and connection metadata as an infrastructure provider.
The Remote control recipient is a user-selected third party, not a Playwriter service provider. Sharing the bearer link is your instruction to send the shared tab data to that recipient.

Data Playwriter does not use

The extension does not use browser data for:
  • Advertising or ad targeting
  • Analytics, telemetry, or cross-site tracking. The anonymous usage stats above contain no browser data
  • User profiling or credit decisions
  • Sale to data brokers or other third parties
Playwriter staff do not inspect Remote control payloads during normal operation. Access would occur only when required for security, legal compliance, or a specific support request that you authorize.

Your controls

You control browser access at all times:
  • Click the extension icon to connect or disconnect a tab
  • Click Remote control and confirm before any remote tunnel starts
  • Open Remote ON and click Stop sharing to revoke the bearer link immediately
  • Close or disconnect the tab where you started sharing to end the share
  • Close Chrome to remove session-scoped tunnel state
  • Remove the extension to clear its browser access and local extension storage

Security

Playwriter uses HTTPS and WSS encryption for remote traffic. Remote control is not a security sandbox. The recipient gets the same CDP access as a local Playwriter agent and must be fully trusted. A short denylist blocks only whole-profile cookie APIs and cache clears.
No security measure can make a bearer link safe after it is shared with an untrusted recipient. Treat the link like a password.
Read the full security model, Remote control security, and Remote control guide before sharing sensitive tabs.

Chrome Web Store Limited Use

The use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Playwriter limits browser data handling to browser automation, debugging, recording, and user-authorized remote control. It does not use that data for an unrelated purpose.

Changes and contact

Material changes to this policy or Playwriter's data handling will be disclosed before the changed handling starts.
For privacy questions, open a private security report or contact the maintainer through the Playwriter GitHub repository.