Privacy Policy
Last Updated: July 9, 2026
Summary: Floating Notes is local-first. The free extension stores notes in your browser. Optional Pro sync stores synced notes in your own Google Drive folder; our servers do not store note contents in normal operation.
Our Principles
Floating Notes has designed this policy to be consistent with the following principles:
- Privacy policies should be human readable and easy to find.
- Data collection should be minimized as much as possible.
- Your notes are yours alone. Sync is optional, and synced notes live in your Google Drive, not on our servers.
The Browser Extension
The Floating Notes browser extension:
- Works without an account for local notes and core note-taking features.
- Stores local-only notes locally in your browser using Chrome's built-in storage (chrome.storage.local).
- Uses browser storage as a hot cache for Pro synced notes. Clean synced note bodies may be evicted locally and loaded again from your Google Drive when needed.
- Does not sell your data and does not use your notes for advertising or model training.
- Does not send note contents to our servers in normal sync operation.
If you do not enable Pro sync, your notes remain local to your browser. If you enable Pro sync, your synced notes are written to a visible Floating Notes folder in your Google Drive.
Information We Collect and Use
Local extension data
The extension stores your notes, note positions, colors, collapse state, URL bindings, and local settings in your browser. This data is used only to provide the note-taking experience.
Account data for optional Pro features
If you sign in, we process your Google account identifier, email address, profile name/avatar when provided by Google, session state, subscription status, and entitlement information. We use this to authenticate you, enable Pro features, and manage billing access.
Google Drive sync data
If you enable Google Drive sync, Floating Notes requests Google Drive access only in that context. We use the Google Drive drive.file scope to create, read, update, and delete Floating Notes files that the app creates or that you explicitly open with the app. We use this access to sync your notes between your own browsers/devices.
Our backend stores encrypted Google refresh tokens so the extension can request short-lived access tokens. Sync traffic for note files goes directly from the extension to Google Drive. Note contents are not stored on Floating Notes servers during normal operation.
Payments
Paid plans are processed by our payment provider. We receive subscription status, plan identifiers, customer identifiers, and payment event metadata needed to activate and manage Pro access. We do not store full card numbers.
Product and reliability metrics
We may collect minimal product events such as install/open counts, feature activation, paywall interactions, sync status, cache eviction counts, body-load failures, and offline cache misses. These events do not include note contents, selected text, full page URLs, page titles, or Drive file contents.
Website and server logs
When you visit floatingnotes.app, our web server may log standard technical information such as IP address, timestamp, browser user agent, requested URL path, and error diagnostics. These logs are used for security, abuse prevention, and troubleshooting.
Google API Limited Use Disclosure
Floating Notes' use and transfer of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
We use Google user data only to provide or improve Floating Notes' disclosed single purpose: browser notes with optional account, billing, and Google Drive sync features. We do not transfer, sell, or use Google user data for personalized advertising, retargeting, data brokerage, credit-worthiness, or unrelated purposes. Humans do not read your Google Drive note files unless you explicitly ask for support with specific data, it is necessary for security, or we are required by law.
More detail is available on our Google Drive Sync and Data Controls page.
Information We Do Not Collect or Use
We do not use Floating Notes to collect or monetize:
- Your note contents for advertising, profiling, or AI training.
- Your full browsing history.
- Full page URLs or page titles in product analytics.
- Payment card numbers.
- Location data, device fingerprints, or unrelated website content.
Sharing and Third Parties
We share data only when necessary to operate Floating Notes:
- Google: for Google Sign-In and optional Drive sync that you enable.
- Payment provider: for checkout, subscription status, invoices, refunds, and customer portal access.
- Hosting/infrastructure providers: to run floatingnotes.app, account services, and security logs.
- Legal/security: if required by law or necessary to protect users and the service.
Your Choices and Data Controls
- Use local mode: you can use Floating Notes without signing in or enabling sync.
- Export: JSON export is available so you can keep your own copy of notes.
- Disconnect Drive: you can turn off sync in the extension and revoke Google access from your Google Account.
- Delete Drive data: synced note files are in your Google Drive Floating Notes folder and can be deleted from Drive.
- Cancel subscription: paid plans can be managed through the billing portal.
- Delete account: contact support to delete account records and encrypted refresh tokens. Local browser notes and files in your Google Drive are under your control and may need to be deleted separately.
Data Security and Retention
We use HTTPS for network communication. Google refresh tokens stored by our backend are encrypted at rest. Account and billing records are retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period needed for security, accounting, dispute handling, and legal obligations. Server logs are retained for a limited period for security and troubleshooting.
Local browser data is controlled by your browser. Uninstalling the extension or clearing browser data may delete local notes and cache. For synced notes, Google Drive is the source of truth after sync is enabled.
Children
Floating Notes is intended for general audiences and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post changes on this page and update the "Last Updated" date. If we materially change how we use Google user data, we will update this policy and request consent where required before using data in the new way.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at: