Privacy Policy
Mailshade is a browser extension that blocks email tracking pixels and click-tracking redirects inside webmail clients (Gmail, Outlook, and others as they are added).
What we collect
Nothing.
Mailshade stores all of your data (blocked tracker events, settings, sender breakdown index) locally on your device using IndexedDB and the chrome.storage APIs.
We do not operate any servers that handle your data. We do not have analytics. We do not use cookies on the extension. We do not transmit your email tracking pixel domains and sender info to any external party.
Crash reports
If you opt in to crash reporting (off by default), anonymized error events may be sent to Hawk.so. These events contain:
- Error message and stack trace
- Mailshade version
- Browser version
We strip pixel URLs, sender addresses, and message subjects from these events before they leave your device.
Sub-processors
When crash reporting is enabled (opt-in), error events are processed by:
- Hawk.so — crash and error monitoring. See their privacy policy at https://hawk.so/privacy.
No other third-party sub-processors handle your data.
License activation
When you purchase a paid tier, your license key is validated against our auth endpoint at auth.mailshade.org. That request transmits only:
- The license key itself
- The extension version
- An anonymous installation ID generated on your device
It does not transmit your email address, the contents of your inbox, or any tracker events.
Cloud sync (future feature)
When Mailshade cloud sync ships (currently in development), enabling it will sync your blocked-event log and sender breakdown to your own Google Drive or Dropbox folder. Mailshade servers, if any, will only act as a passthrough — data is encrypted on your device before upload using a key derived from your passphrase. We will never see your data in plaintext.
Your rights (GDPR)
- Access: Settings → Export all data
- Delete: Settings → Clear all data
- Portability: Export is in standard JSON format
Contact
privacy@mailshade.orgfor privacy questionssecurity@mailshade.orgfor security disclosures
Changes
We will notify users of policy changes via the Mailshade changelog and via an in-extension banner.