Last updated: 1 July 2026. This policy covers the LightSpeedRead website (lightspeedread.com), the LightSpeedRead Chrome extension, and the LightSpeedRead iOS app (together, the "Services"). The Services are operated by Silver Directive LLC ("we", "us"), which owns and operates the LightSpeedRead brand.
The short version
The text you read, your reading history, and your settings stay on your own device or in your own browser/Apple account. We don't run ad networks, we don't sell or share your personal information, and we only collect an email address if you choose to buy a subscription — and even then it's handled by our payment processors, not stored on our own servers. Where a feature does send data somewhere (for example, fetching an article from a link you paste), it's described plainly below.
The website
The reader, speed test, reading-time calculator, and guides run entirely in your browser. When you use the reader, the text you paste, upload, or load from a link is processed locally and is not sent to us. Your reading history, saved results, and preferences are stored in your browser's local storage on your device; you can clear them at any time from the Stats page or by clearing your browser data.
Fonts. The site self-hosts its fonts, so loading a page does not send a request to Google Fonts or any third-party font provider.
Loading an article from a link. If you paste a URL into the reader, we send that URL to a third-party reading service (r.jina.ai) to fetch and extract the article text. That request necessarily includes the URL you entered. We don't log it; the third-party service's own handling is governed by its policy.
Analytics. If privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics are enabled on the site, they record aggregate page views without profiling individuals or using advertising cookies. No analytics product is used to build a personal profile of you.
Contact form. The contact page embeds a Google Form. If you use it, whatever you type (and anything you choose to include, such as your email) is submitted to Google Forms and reaches us that way. If you'd rather not use Google, email us directly instead.
Optional account sync. The site may offer an optional account (via Supabase) so you can sync reading history across devices. This is only active if you choose to sign in. If you do, your reading-session records and settings are stored in that database under your account so they can be synced; you can sign out or request deletion at any time.
The Chrome extension
The extension only reads a page's text when you invoke it — by selecting text, using the right-click menu, the toolbar button, or the keyboard shortcut. It does not run in the background on the pages you browse, and the text it reads is processed on your device and is not transmitted to us.
Your speed, theme, and other preferences, plus your local reading statistics, are stored using Chrome's extension storage (which may sync via your own Google account if you have Chrome sync on). We never receive that data.
The only permissions the extension requests are those needed to do this on request (activeTab and scripting to show the reader on the current tab when you ask, contextMenus for the right-click items, and storage for your preferences). A component that runs only on extensionpay.com is used solely to activate a Pro subscription after payment.
The iOS app
The app reads text you paste, import from a PDF, or load from a link. That content is processed on your device. As on the website, loading an article from a link sends the URL you entered to the r.jina.ai reading service to fetch the article. Your reading statistics and settings are stored on your device (in standard app storage) and are not sent to us.
Payments & subscriptions
LightSpeedRead Pro is optional. When you subscribe:
- Chrome extension: payment is processed by ExtensionPay and Stripe. They handle your email and payment details to manage your subscription; we do not store your card details. Your email is used to recognise your Pro status across devices.
- iOS app: payment is processed by Apple through the App Store. Apple handles the transaction and your payment information under Apple's privacy policy; we receive only aggregate, non-identifying sales information.
We use this information solely to provide and support your subscription — never to advertise to you or to sell to anyone.
Who else touches your data
We keep the list short on purpose. These are the only third parties involved, and only for the purpose shown:
| Service | What it receives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Jina (r.jina.ai) | The article URL you paste | To fetch and extract that article's text |
| Stripe / ExtensionPay | Email & payment details (extension Pro) | To take payment and recognise your subscription |
| Apple | Purchase details (iOS Pro) | App Store billing; we receive only aggregate sales data |
| Supabase | Reading history & settings — only if you sign in | Optional cross-device sync |
| Google Forms | Whatever you type into the contact form | To receive and answer your message |
| Netlify | Standard server logs (IP, user agent) when a page loads | Hosting and delivering the site securely |
We don't use advertising networks, data brokers, or third-party trackers. Because these providers process data on our behalf or under their own terms, their handling is also governed by their own privacy policies.
How long we keep things
- On your device (reading history, settings, statistics): kept until you delete them — clear them from the Stats page, reset the app/extension, or clear your browser data. We can't delete them for you because we never have them.
- Optional account sync: kept while your account exists. Delete your account or ask us, and the synced records are removed.
- Subscription records (email, payment history held by Stripe/Apple): kept for as long as the subscription is active and afterwards only as long as tax and accounting law requires.
- Contact messages: kept only as long as needed to resolve your query.
- Server logs: retained briefly by our host for security and diagnostics, then discarded.
How we protect it
The strongest protection here is architectural: the text you read never leaves your device, so it can't be breached at our end. Everything we do serve is delivered over HTTPS, subscription payments are handled by PCI-compliant processors (we never see or store your card details), and optional account data sits behind per-user access controls so one account can't read another's. No system is perfectly secure, but we deliberately hold as little as possible — the best way to protect data is not to collect it.
Legal basis (for users in the EEA/UK)
Where the GDPR applies, we process personal data on these bases: performance of a contract (providing the Services and your Pro subscription), legitimate interests (keeping the Services secure and working, and answering your messages), consent (where you choose an optional feature such as account sync — you can withdraw it by signing out or asking us to delete the data), and legal obligation (keeping tax and payment records).
International transfers
We're based in the United States, and our providers (including Stripe, Apple, Supabase, Google, and Netlify) may process data in the US or other countries. Where data is transferred out of the EEA or UK, those providers rely on legally recognised safeguards — most commonly the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses — to protect it.
What we don't do
- We don't sell or rent your personal information.
- We don't use advertising networks or ad-tracking cookies in our products.
- We don't build behavioural profiles of you.
- We don't collect the content you read for our own purposes.
Children
The Services are intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Your choices & rights
Because most data lives on your device, you're in control: clear your reading history from the Stats page, reset your browser or app storage, or uninstall to remove local data. If you have a subscription and want the associated email deleted, or you used optional account sync and want that data removed, ask us and we'll handle it.
Depending on where you live, you also have formal rights — and we extend these to everyone, not just where the law compels it:
- Access a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correct anything inaccurate.
- Delete your data ("right to be forgotten").
- Port your data to another service in a machine-readable form.
- Object to or restrict processing, and withdraw consent at any time.
- Opt out of sale or sharing — nothing to opt out of, because we don't sell or share personal information, and never have. We also honour Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals.
- Non-discrimination — exercising any of these rights will never get you worse service or a worse price.
To exercise any right, contact us (below). We'll respond within 30 days, and we may need to verify your identity — usually by confirming the email tied to your subscription — before acting on a request. If you're in the EEA or UK you also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
Changes
We may update this policy as the Services evolve. Material changes will be reflected by the "last updated" date above, and where appropriate, noted in the app or extension.
Contact
Questions about privacy, or want your data deleted? Email contact@lightspeedread.com or use the contact page. The data controller is Silver Directive LLC, Miami, Florida, United States. See also our Terms of Use.
This page is provided for transparency and to meet app-store requirements. It is not legal advice; for a binding policy tailored to your business, consult a qualified professional.