Privacy policy

_Last updated: 2026-05-25_

Plot Extractor is built around a single privacy principle: your files never leave your device. This page explains exactly what that means, what little data we do collect, and how to reach us with questions.

What we never collect

• The files you open. PDFs, SVGs, and images that you upload to Plot Extractor are read directly by your browser. They are never uploaded to a server, never stored on our infrastructure, and never seen by us.
• The data you extract. Calibration values, traced curves, exported CSV and JSON — all of it is generated locally in your browser and downloaded directly to your device.
• Account information. Plot Extractor has no sign-up, no login, and no user accounts.
• Personal identifiers. We do not collect your name, email address, IP address, or any other personally identifying information unless you choose to contact us directly.

What runs locally in your browser

Everything that touches your files runs locally:

• PDF parsing (PDF.js)
• Optical character recognition for axis tick labels (Tesseract.js, WASM)
• Plot region and axis anchor detection
• Curve color extraction and autotrace
• CSV, JSON, and project-file export

If you turn off your network connection after the page loads, Plot Extractor continues to work.

Anonymous product analytics (web app only)

The website at plotextractor.com includes PostHog analytics to help us understand which features are used. The events are anonymous — no personally identifying information is attached. We use this data only to decide which parts of the tool to improve.

Specifically, the analytics record:

• Which workflow steps are reached (file uploaded, axes calibrated, curve extracted, data exported)
• Anonymous device and browser information already exposed by your User-Agent
• A randomly generated visitor ID stored in your browser's local storage

The analytics never record the contents of your files, the data you extract, the values you type, or any identifying information.

You can block analytics with any standard ad/tracking blocker; the tool works identically with analytics blocked.

The Chrome extension

The Plot Extractor Chrome extension does not include analytics. It makes no network requests of any kind. All processing — PDF parsing, OCR, curve extraction, export — runs entirely inside the extension sandbox on your device.

The extension requests only the sidePanel permission, which is required to render the digitizer in Chrome's side panel.

Cookies

The web app uses local storage to remember a randomly generated visitor ID and visit-count bucket for anonymous analytics. It does not use third-party cookies. The Chrome extension uses no cookies.

Donations and future paid features

If you choose to donate or, in the future, subscribe to a paid feature, payment is handled by an external payment processor (such as Buy Me a Coffee or Stripe). Plot Extractor itself never receives or stores your payment details. Refer to the payment processor's privacy policy for how they handle your information.

Children's privacy

Plot Extractor is a general-audience engineering tool and is not directed at children under 13. Because we collect no personal information from anyone, we collect none from children.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of the page. Material changes will be announced on the homepage.

Contact

Questions, comments, or data requests: contact@plotextractor.com.