1. What we collect
Nothing. Rongo has no backend that receives your data. The extension sends no telemetry, no usage analytics, no crash reports, and no identifiers to us. We do not know who installs Rongo, what you read, or how you use it.
2. What Rongo stores — on your device only
| Data | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Provider API keys | chrome.storage.local | To call the text-to-speech / AI providers you configured. Stored locally, never synced to your Google account, never sent to us. |
| Preferences | chrome.storage.local | Voice, speed, target language, cost threshold, monthly cap, dismissed hints. |
| Spend estimates | chrome.storage.local | A local tally of estimated provider spend so you can see what your keys are costing you. |
| Reading history & cache | IndexedDB (local) | Cached audio, summaries, and translations so repeat reads are free. Browse, export, delete, or clear it anytime in Options → History. |
| License (Pro) | chrome.storage.local | If you buy Rongo Pro, the license token is stored locally to unlock Pro features. |
| Voice models | Browser storage (OPFS / Cache) | The free on-device neural voices download their model files once and cache them so speech runs offline afterwards. |
Uninstalling the extension deletes all of the above.
3. Network requests Rongo makes — and when
Rongo only talks to the network when an action you take requires it:
- Your configured AI providers (ElevenLabs at
api.elevenlabs.io, Google Gemini atgenerativelanguage.googleapis.com) — when you press Read aloud, Summarise, or Translate with a network voice or the Translation Engine selected. The selected text is sent directly from your browser to the provider, authenticated with your API key. There is no Rongo proxy in between. These requests are governed by the provider's own privacy policy and billed to your provider account. - Hugging Face — the first time you use the free on-device voices, the model files are downloaded from Hugging Face's CDN. Only a file download; no text you read is ever sent.
- License Service (
license.getrongo.com) — only if you activate Rongo Pro: your license key and a random device identifier are sent to validate the purchase. No browsing data, no read text, no provider keys are ever included. - Google Fonts — Rongo's popup and settings pages load their typefaces from
fonts.googleapis.com/fonts.gstatic.com, a standard font request.
With the free Native voice or the on-device neural voices (after the one-time model download), reading aloud makes no network requests at all — the text never leaves your machine.
4. What we never do
- No analytics, telemetry, or tracking of any kind.
- No accounts, sign-ups, or identifiers.
- No selling, sharing, or monetizing data — there is no data to sell.
- No reading or storing of your browsing beyond the text you explicitly select to read.
- No syncing of your API keys anywhere — they exist only in your browser's local extension storage.
- No ads.
5. Purchases (Rongo Pro)
Pro licenses are sold through Lemon Squeezy, our merchant of record. Payment details are handled entirely by Lemon Squeezy under their privacy policy; Rongo never sees your payment information. The only thing the extension handles is the license key you receive.
6. Browser permissions, explained
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
activeTab + scripting | Reading your current selection and showing the floating play button on the page you're on — only when you interact with Rongo. |
storage | Keeping your keys, preferences, and license on your device. |
contextMenus | The right-click "Read with Rongo" menu item. |
sidePanel | The Reading Session panel (your reading history and comprehension tools). |
tabs | Routing keyboard shortcuts and playback commands to the right tab. |
offscreen | Running the free on-device neural voices in a background document. |
| Host access (provider APIs) | Direct calls to api.elevenlabs.io, Google's TTS/Gemini endpoints, api.openai.com (reserved for a future provider), and license.getrongo.com. No other sites are ever contacted. |
7. Children
Rongo is not directed at children under 13 and collects no data from anyone, including children.
8. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version is published at this address with an updated effective date. Because Rongo collects nothing, changes will generally only describe new on-device features or new user-triggered provider integrations.
9. Contact
Questions about privacy: [email protected].