Last updated: 2026-10-30

Fontwise is a browser extension that changes how web pages look so they are easier to read. It does not collect, transmit, sell or share any personal or usage data, and it makes no network requests.


Everything is kept in your browser's extension storage:

| Data | Where | When it is deleted |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Reading settings for a tab (This tab) | storage.session, on this device | When the tab closes or the browser quits |
| Reading settings for a site (This site), keyed by host name such as example.com | storage.local, on this device | When you forget the site (popup Reset or Settings), or remove the extension |
| Everywhere settings, preferences, excluded sites and your presets | storage.local, or storage.sync if you turn on sync | When you clear them in Settings, or remove the extension |
| List of detected installed fonts (catalogue ids such as georgia) | storage.local, on this device | When the extension is removed, or replaced on Rescan |

Private windows: site settings are never saved from a private (incognito) window, so no host names from private browsing are written to disk.

Sync (off by default): if you turn on Sync across devices, your preferences, Everywhere settings, excluded sites and presets are stored with your browser's own sync service (your Google, Microsoft or Mozilla account), under that provider's privacy policy. Per-site settings, which contain host names you visited, are never synced.

Backups: Export settings saves a JSON file to a location you choose. It contains the data above, including the host names of remembered sites. Fontwise never uploads it.

• No analytics, telemetry, crash reporting or advertising.
• No network requests of any kind. The built-in fonts and the Focus mode library ship inside the extension.
• It does not record or transmit the content, addresses or history of the pages you visit. It reads a page's host name only to look up and save that site's settings.
• Focus mode reads the current page's text only when you open it, entirely inside your browser, to show the article. Nothing is stored or sent.

| Permission | Purpose |
| ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| storage | Keep the data listed above. |
| scripting | Add Fontwise to tabs that were open before installation, and load Focus mode when you ask. |
| Access to http://*/* and https://*/* | Apply your reading styles to the pages you view. |

Built-in fonts are declared as web-accessible resources so pages can display them. A website could, in principle, test whether these font files exist and so detect that Fontwise is installed. The files contain only public, open-licensed fonts.


To list installed fonts, Fontwise measures text drawn on a hidden canvas inside its own popup. The result is used only to build the font list and never leaves your device or reaches web pages.


Changes to this policy are recorded in this file's history and in CHANGELOG.md.


For questions, open an issue at <https://github.com/shaileshhatte/fontwise/issues>. For security concerns, see SECURITY.md.