TopicBox - Privacy Policy

Effective date: March 12, 2026

TopicBox is a Chrome extension that classifies your Gmail emails by topic using AI to help you organize questions for podcast episode planning. This privacy policy explains what data TopicBox accesses, how it is used, and where it is stored. The short version: your data stays with you.

TopicBox does not collect, transmit, or sell your personal data. There are no analytics, no tracking, and no external servers. All processing happens locally in your browser or through services you explicitly configure.

1 Information We Access

Email Data

TopicBox reads your Gmail messages (subject, sender, body text) solely to classify them by topic. This data is processed locally in your browser and is never sent to any server operated by TopicBox.

Google Account Info

Your email address is retrieved via the Google Identity API to display your signed-in account within the extension. It is not stored externally or shared.

What We Do NOT Collect

No browsing history or web activity
No personal demographics or profile data
No analytics, telemetry, or usage metrics
No cookies or tracking identifiers
No data from other browser tabs, windows, or extensions

2 How Your Data Is Used

Email content is used exclusively for one purpose: AI-powered topic classification. When you trigger classification, the subject and relevant body text of your emails are sent to the AI provider you have chosen and configured:

Google Gemini Anthropic Claude OpenAI GPT

You provide your own API key for your chosen provider.
Requests go directly from your browser to the provider's API — TopicBox has no intermediary server.
Each provider's data handling is governed by their own privacy policy and API terms of service.
TopicBox never sees, logs, or stores your API keys on any external server. Keys are kept in your browser's local storage.

Classified topics and Gmail labels are used to organize emails and help you plan podcast episodes. Episode history is stored locally in your browser.

3 Data Storage

Local Storage

TopicBox stores settings, cached email classifications, and episode data using:

chrome.storage.local — Extension settings, API keys, and preferences
IndexedDB — Cached email metadata and classification results for fast retrieval

All local data resides entirely within your browser and is never transmitted externally.

No External Servers

TopicBox does not operate any backend servers, databases, or cloud infrastructure. There is no place for your data to be stored outside of your browser and your own Google account.

4 Third-Party Services

TopicBox interacts with the following third-party services, all at your direction:

Google APIs

Gmail API — Read emails, create/manage labels, and modify label assignments for organization
Google Identity — Authenticate your Google account within the extension

AI Classification Providers

Google Gemini API (generativelanguage.googleapis.com)
Anthropic Claude API (api.anthropic.com)
OpenAI API (api.openai.com)

You choose which provider to use and supply your own API key. Email content sent for classification is governed by the respective provider's privacy policy and terms. TopicBox does not control how these providers process API requests.

5 Permissions Explained

TopicBox requests only the permissions necessary for its core functionality:

identity Sign in with your Google account to access Gmail APIs on your behalf.

storage Save your settings, API keys, and cached data locally in the browser.

sidePanel Display the TopicBox sidebar panel within Gmail for easy access.

gmail.readonly Read your email messages to classify them by topic.

gmail.labels Create and manage Gmail labels for topic-based organization.

gmail.modify Apply topic labels to your emails so they appear organized in Gmail.

userinfo.email Display your signed-in email address within the extension UI.

6 Your Rights & Control

You are in full control of your data at all times:

View & delete local data — Clear all cached data from within the extension settings or by clearing your browser's extension storage.
Revoke Google access — Remove TopicBox's access to your Google account at any time via your Google Account permissions.
Remove API keys — Delete your stored API keys at any time from the extension settings.
Uninstall — Removing the extension from Chrome deletes all locally stored data.

7 Changes & Contact

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of TopicBox after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have questions or concerns about this privacy policy or TopicBox's data practices, please reach out:

topicboxapp@gmail.com