what we collect, and why.

What we collect

Your account. Your email address, and your name if you sign in with Google. The username you choose, and your settings, such as your right-click search menu.

What you create. Shortlinks (the name, the destination address, a description, and whether it's public), groups and their members, profile pages, images you upload, QR code designs, and API keys.

Clicks and visits. Each time a shortlink is opened, through the extension or a public link, and each time someone views a profile page, clicks a link on it, or visits urlinks.me, we record the time, which link or page it was, the visitor's IP address, the browser's user-agent string, and the referring page. When you open a shortlink through the extension while signed in, the record includes your URLinks user ID. From these records we work out approximate location (country and city), device type, browser, and referring site, and we count unique visitors with a one-way hashed fingerprint of the IP address, browser, and day.

Technical logs. Like most web services, our servers keep logs that can include IP addresses and request details. We use them to keep URLinks running and secure.

What the Chrome extension does

Spotting shortlinks. The extension looks at the address of each page you open so it can recognize shortlinks (a single word and a slash, like my/roadmap) and Google searches for them. That check happens inside your browser. Addresses that aren't shortlinks are ignored.

Opening a shortlink. When it spots one, it sends the shortlink and, if you're signed in, your URLinks user ID to our server. The server looks up the destination, sends you there, and records the click as described above.

The popup. When you open it, the extension reads the current tab's address and title to fill in the save form, and sends the address to URLinks to show shortlinks you've already saved for that page.

Right-click search. Text you highlight and search goes only to the site you pick, by opening that site's search page.

Built-in shortcuts. Built-in shortcuts send your search words to the site they open, such as YouTube or Wikipedia. Some, like g/, go through Google's “I'm Feeling Lucky.” Right after one of those, the extension clicks “Continue” on Google's redirect notice so you land on the page. Apart from that notice, and urlinks.me, where it picks up your sign-in, the extension doesn't read or change the pages you visit.

Stored on your device. Your username, email, sign-in status, recently used shortlinks, and right-click menu setup. Uninstalling the extension removes them.

Who else is involved

Amazon Web Services hosts the website, database, file storage, and sign-in (Amazon Cognito). Your data is stored in the United States.

Google handles “Sign in with Google” if you use it. urlinks.me loads its fonts from Google Fonts, and site icons next to your links may come from Google's favicon service, which receives the site's domain name.

ip-api.com receives IP addresses from click and visit records to look up approximate country and city. We cache each result for 30 days.

Embedded content. If a profile page includes embedded content, such as a video or a map, that service may collect data when it loads, under its own privacy policy.

Apps you connect. If you give an app or AI assistant a URLinks API key, it can read and change your URLinks data until you delete the key.

We don't sell your data or share it for advertising.

What other people can see

Profile pages and links you mark public can be seen by anyone and may appear in search engines. Links in a group are visible to the group's members. Link owners see click totals and breakdowns, such as clicks by country or browser, but not IP addresses.

Cookies and local storage

URLinks doesn't use advertising or tracking cookies. The website keeps you signed in using your browser's local storage. Amazon Cognito and Google may set their own cookies while you sign in.

How long we keep it

Your account and what you create: until you delete it or ask us to delete your account.

Click and visit records: we don't delete these on a fixed schedule yet. Ask us and we'll delete the records tied to you or your links.

Approximate-location lookups: 30 days.

Your choices

• Edit or delete your links in your dashboard at any time.
• Uninstall the extension to remove its data from your browser.
• Email admin@urlinks.me to get a copy of your data, correct it, or delete your account and everything tied to it. We'll respond within 30 days.

Security

Connections between your browser, the extension, and URLinks are encrypted with HTTPS, and your data is stored with Amazon Web Services.

Children

URLinks isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their data.

Chrome Web Store

The URLinks extension's use of information complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update this page and the effective date at the top.

Contact

Questions or requests: admin@urlinks.me