FULL TRANSPARENCY

PERMISSIONS
EXPLAINED

Every browser permission TheTab requests and exactly why. No hidden access, no surprises.

TL;DR

Every Permission Has a Purpose
No Background Tracking
Local Storage, No Servers Of Ours
No Page Content Access
No Location Tracking
No Cross-Site Tracking
WHY THE SCARY WARNING?

When you install TheTab, your browser may warn that it can "read your browsing history". This sounds alarming, but here's what's actually happening:

TheTab uses the tabs permission to read your open tab URLs and titles - that's how we save them. Browsers categorize any access to tab URLs as "browsing history" access, even though we only read tabs when you explicitly click save.

We never monitor your browsing in the background. We never record which sites you visit. We never send tab data anywhere. Your tabs are read once, saved locally, and that's it.

ALL 13 PERMISSIONS

Click-by-click transparency. Here's every permission and the exact feature that needs it.

Tabs

tabs
WHAT IT DOES

Read tab titles, URLs, and close tabs.

WHY WE NEED IT

This is the core of TheTab. When you click "Save Tabs", we need to read your open tabs to save them, and close them to free up memory.

This is why your browser shows a scary "can read your browsing history" warning. The tabs permission includes access to tab URLs, which the browser categorizes as browsing data. We only read tabs when you explicitly click save - never in the background.

Active Tab

activeTab
WHAT IT DOES

Access to the currently active tab when you interact with the extension.

WHY WE NEED IT

Enables actions like "save this tab" from the context menu or popup. Only activates when you explicitly interact with TheTab - never reads tabs passively.

Storage

storage
WHAT IT DOES

Save data in your browser's local storage.

WHY WE NEED IT

Stores your saved tab sessions, settings, preferences, and extension state. Everything stays 100% on your device - nothing is sent to any server.

Unlimited Storage

unlimitedStorage
WHAT IT DOES

Remove the default 5MB browser storage limit.

WHY WE NEED IT

If you're a power user with hundreds of saved sessions, the default 5MB limit isn't enough. This permission ensures you never lose data because storage ran out.

Tab Groups

tabGroups
WHAT IT DOES

Read and manage Chrome tab groups.

WHY WE NEED IT

When you save tabs, TheTab preserves your Chrome tab group structure (names, colors). When you restore, it recreates the exact same groups.

Side Panel

sidePanel
WHAT IT DOES

Show TheTab in the browser's side panel.

WHY WE NEED IT

Provides quick access to your saved tabs without opening a new tab or popup. Open with Ctrl+Shift+2 (Cmd+Shift+2 on Mac) for an always-visible tab manager.

Context Menus

contextMenus
WHAT IT DOES

Add options to the right-click menu.

WHY WE NEED IT

Adds "Save this tab", "Save all tabs", and other quick actions to your right-click menu for faster workflow.

Alarms

alarms
WHAT IT DOES

Schedule periodic background tasks.

WHY WE NEED IT

Used for scheduled auto-cleanup of old sessions and periodic maintenance tasks. Runs silently without affecting performance.

Notifications

notifications
WHAT IT DOES

Show browser notifications.

WHY WE NEED IT

Notifies you about important events like completed imports, session auto-saves, or when a scheduled cleanup runs. You can disable these in settings.

Clipboard Write

clipboardWrite
WHAT IT DOES

Write text to your clipboard. Write-only - it cannot read your clipboard or see anything you copy.

WHY WE NEED IT

Powers "Copy selected tabs" from the keyboard shortcut and right-click menu. Those actions run in the background, where the browser gives the extension no access to the page, so this permission is what lets TheTab place the tab list on your clipboard.

After the update your browser shows this as "Modify data you copy and paste". The wording is alarming, but the permission is write-only: TheTab can only put text you asked it to copy onto the clipboard. It cannot read your clipboard, watch what you copy elsewhere, or see anything you paste.

Offscreen Document

offscreen
WHAT IT DOES

Run a hidden, invisible document for short background tasks.

WHY WE NEED IT

Chrome's background service worker has no page to reach the clipboard from. The offscreen document exists only to perform the clipboard write for "Copy selected tabs", then closes. It never loads a web page and never touches your content.

Bookmarks

bookmarks
WHAT IT DOES

Read and create browser bookmarks.

WHY WE NEED IT

Powers the automatic bookmark backup: a "TheTab" folder in your bookmarks stays in sync with your saved groups, so your tabs survive uninstalling or reinstalling the extension. Also used by the "Save as Bookmarks" export. The backup is on by default and can be turned off in Options.

Your browser shows this as "Read and change your bookmarks". TheTab only ever creates, updates, or deletes bookmarks inside the folders it created itself - it reads the bookmark tree solely to find where to place its own folder, and never touches your other bookmarks.

Favicon

favicon
WHAT IT DOES

Show websites' icons next to your saved tabs (Chrome only).

WHY WE NEED IT

Lets TheTab display each saved tab's site icon from the browser's local favicon cache - no network requests, nothing leaves your browser.

Downloads (optional)

downloads
WHAT IT DOES

Save backup files to your Downloads folder.

WHY WE NEED IT

Only requested if you enable scheduled file backups in Options. TheTab then writes a backup file of your saved tabs to a "thetab-backups" folder on your chosen schedule. It never reads, searches, or deletes your downloads - it only creates these backup files.

WHAT WE DON'T REQUEST

host_permissions (no access to page content)
webRequest (no network monitoring)
geolocation (no location tracking)
cookies (no cookie access)
history (no browsing history access)
identity (no account sign-in)

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

We're happy to explain any permission in more detail. Transparency is our promise.

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