Privacy Policy

OpenTrace ("we", "us", or "our") is a Chrome extension and web dashboard that helps Gmail users see when emails they choose to track are opened. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights.

What OpenTrace is

• A personal productivity tool for people who send mail from their own Gmail account.
• Opt-in per message: you turn tracking on in compose; we do not auto-track every email.
• Open detection uses a standard tracking pixel (and optional link wrapping on Pro). We store send metadata (subject, recipient, time) and open signals — never the email body.
• Typical uses: following up on messages you already sent to people you know (clients, colleagues, applications, invoices).

What OpenTrace is not

• Not a cold-email, spam, bulk-mail, or unsolicited outbound marketing platform.
• Not malware, spyware, or a tool for secretly reading someone else’s inbox or message contents.
• Not a service that sends campaigns for you — mail always goes through your Gmail; we only attach tracking when you enable it.
• Not intended for purchased, scraped, or harvested contact lists.

Our Terms of Service prohibit spam and unsolicited marketing. Misuse can lead to account suspension. We do not sell your personal data.

When you use OpenTrace, we collect and store the following. We are direct about this — no soft wording:

• Email metadata — For emails you choose to track: subject line, recipient address (to_email), and send time. We do not store the body of your emails.
• Open events (including IP and user-agent) — When a tracking pixel is loaded, we store: timestamp, IP address, full user-agent string, derived device label (e.g. Mobile / Desktop / Email client), and country code when available (e.g. from the host’s IP geolocation headers). Mail proxies (Gmail/Yahoo/Outlook) may be labeled as such instead of a real country. These fields are stored in our database — not only “approximate signals.”
• Sender network data — When you register a tracked send, we store the sender’s IP address (from request headers) for abuse control, free-plan limits for anonymous use, and self-open filtering.
• Self-view signals — When you view your own tracked message in Gmail with the extension installed and signed in, the extension may tell our servers to ignore pixel hits for a short time so your own view is not counted as a recipient open. This does not upload the email body.
• Link activity — Link wrapping is currently disabled. If enabled later on Pro, we would log click time, destination URL, and device type for that click.
• Usage and billing state — Tracked-email counts for plan limits, Free/Pro status, top-up credits, and Paddle customer / subscription IDs needed to bill and enforce plans.
• Account data — If you sign in with Google: name, email address, profile image URL, and an API token used by the Chrome extension to act as you.
• Support messages — If you contact us: name, email, subject, and message text.

OpenTrace inserts a small tracking pixel (a 1×1 image request) into emails you choose to track. When the recipient’s email client loads remote images, that request hits our servers. From it we store time, IP, user-agent, and related fields described above. We use that only to count opens, send you notifications, filter bots and self-views, and show read history on Pro. We do not read message content from the pixel.

This is not a perfect read receipt. Opens can be missed (images blocked) or false (scanners, proxies, delayed fetches). We filter some false opens, including your own Gmail views when the signed-in extension marks a self-view. Filtering is incomplete outside that setup (for example the Gmail mobile app without our extension).

Recipients are not notified by OpenTrace. You are responsible for complying with applicable privacy laws and must only track people you correspond with. Do not use OpenTrace for cold email, spam, or unsolicited bulk marketing. An “open” means the tracking resource was fetched — not proof that a person read or understood the message.

The OpenTrace Chrome extension works with Gmail in Chrome so you can enable tracking on emails you send and receive open notifications. The extension communicates with our servers to register tracked sends, retrieve open status for your account, and (when signed in) send short-lived self-view signals so your own Gmail views are not counted as recipient opens.

We do not use the extension to read or upload the body of your emails. Tracking applies only to messages where you turn tracking on. The extension may inspect Gmail page content in your browser only as needed to inject or recognize your tracking pixel and to provide OpenTrace features — not to store message bodies on our servers, and not to scrape contacts for marketing.

Data collected through the extension is handled under this Privacy Policy and is used to provide the OpenTrace productivity service — not to sell personal information, not to run spam campaigns, and not to build advertising profiles.

• To operate email open and link tracking, notifications, and the dashboard
• To store and use IP addresses and user-agents for open logging, abuse control, rate limits, and self-open filtering
• To reduce some false opens (bots, scanners, signed-in self-views in Gmail)
• To sync tracked emails with your signed-in account and Chrome extension
• To enforce Free plan limits and process Pro / top-up payments via Paddle
• To show alerts you enable (reminders, unusual open activity) when those features run
• To enforce Acceptable Use (including against spam / unsolicited marketing abuse)
• To respond to support requests
• To keep the service secure and working

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share it with third parties for their own advertising.

We share data only with service providers that help us operate OpenTrace (listed below), when required by law, or to protect the security and integrity of the service.

Data is stored in a managed PostgreSQL database (Neon) and the app is hosted on Vercel. We use HTTPS/TLS in transit. Access to production systems is limited to what is needed to run the service.

We store the fields described in section 2 in our database for as long as your account (or anonymous tracking records) remain. Deleting your account removes associated tracking data from our systems as described in Data Retention. No system is perfectly secure.

We use these processors to operate OpenTrace. Each has its own privacy policy:

We keep tracking and account data while your account is active. If you delete your account in Settings, we cancel any active OpenTrace Paddle subscription we have on file for that account, then remove associated tracked emails, open records (including stored IPs and user-agents), alerts, reminders, and the user record from our database. Paddle may still retain payment and invoice records as required for their processing and legal obligations. Contact-form messages may remain in our support inbox/database unless you ask us to remove them.

• Access data we hold about you via the dashboard and data export
• Request correction of inaccurate account information
• Delete your account and associated tracking data in Settings
• Export your tracking data as JSON, Excel, or PDF
• Stop tracking anytime by turning tracking off in the extension
• Uninstall the Chrome extension to stop extension data collection

Use Settings to delete your account, or the dashboard Export menu for downloads. You can also contact us via support.

OpenTrace is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated date on this page. Continued use of OpenTrace after changes means you accept the updated policy. If an extension update introduces materially different data practices, we will also provide any prominent in-product disclosures required by Chrome Web Store policies.

Questions about privacy or your data:

OpenTrace’s single purpose is optional email open (and link) tracking for Gmail users who enable it on their own sends, plus related account, billing, and reliability features. It is a productivity tool for the sender — not spyware, not a bulk marketing system, and not a way to access another person’s mailbox.

The use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

We do not sell user data, do not use it for advertising profiling, and do not transfer it to third parties except as processors needed to operate the service (listed above) or as required by law. If our data practices change, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide any additional disclosures required by Chrome Web Store policies.