Who operates Louder
Louder is operated by Zektek LLC (“Zektek,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). This policy applies to the Louder browser extension and the supporting services it talks to: the usage-analytics gateway at extension-event-gateway.zektek.com and the remote configuration gateway at extension-config-gateway.zektek.com. It also describes Louder’s use of Chrome’s notifications and optional tab-capture permission.
Information stored in your browser
Louder stores the following, only on the device you’re using (none of it syncs through your Google account):
- your settings, including which services are enabled, whether now-playing notifications, listening history, session time tracking, the visualizer, and weekly/monthly/yearly Recap summaries are turned on;
- whether anonymous usage analytics is turned on (on by default), and a randomly generated analytics client identifier;
- if you enable listening history, a local database of your played, skipped, thumbs-up, thumbs-down, and hearted tracks (track, artist, artwork, service, and timestamp), grouped into per-service listening sessions, plus track duration and position when session time tracking is on; and
- short-lived session state that clears when the browser closes, such as whether Incognito mode is currently active, whether the floating mini-player is open, and an analytics session identifier that expires after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Your listening history is stored locally inside the extension and is never transmitted to Zektek or anyone else. You can clear it at any time from Louder’s options, or turn Incognito mode on to pause logging for as long as it’s active.
Information processed when you use Louder
Reading what’s playing
Louder reads the currently playing track, artist, artwork, rating, and playback progress directly from the page of whichever supported service you have open and enabled: Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Hype Machine, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Pocket Casts, SoundCloud, Spotify, TIDAL, and YouTube Music. This happens entirely in your browser and is used to power Louder’s side panel, mini-player, notifications, and local history. Louder does not send this now-playing information to Zektek.
Now-playing notifications
When enabled, Louder shows a desktop notification (track, artist, artwork, and service name) through Chrome’s own notifications system when a track changes and you’re not already looking at it. This is generated and shown entirely on your device.
Optional audio visualizer
Louder can display a real-time audio visualizer in the side panel and mini-player. For most services, this requires an additional one-time permission you’re asked to grant, since those services’ audio can’t otherwise be read from the page itself. Either way, the audio is analyzed in real time, entirely on your device, only to drive the visualizer. It is never recorded, saved, or sent anywhere.
Limited usage analytics
When enabled, Louder sends anonymous usage events to our own event gateway at extension-event-gateway.zektek.com, along with your analytics client identifier, session identifier, and the extension version. The gateway then forwards these events to Google Analytics on our behalf. Because this forwarding happens server-side, Google receives the event data from our gateway rather than directly from your browser, and does not receive your IP address or browser details through this process.
These events can indicate:
- that the extension was installed or the browser started;
- that you selected a service;
- that a now-playing notification was shown or clicked;
- that you changed an option;
- that you opened or closed the mini-player; and
- that you turned Incognito mode on or off.
Louder never sends your track, artist, artwork, or listening history through these events. You can turn usage analytics off at any time from Louder’s options; doing so stops future events and deletes your locally stored analytics client identifier.
Remote configuration
Louder periodically checks extension-config-gateway.zektek.com for configuration such as whether a particular service’s support is temporarily disabled (for example, if that service changes its page in a way that breaks Louder). This is a plain request that doesn’t include your analytics identifier or any listening data.
Why we process this information
We use this information only to:
- show what’s currently playing and let you control it;
- build your local listening history and stats;
- remember your extension settings;
- draw the optional visualizer;
- understand whether core extension features work; and
- diagnose failures and improve the extension.
We do not sell personal information, use Louder data for targeted advertising, or build profiles of what you listen to. We couldn’t if we wanted to: your listening history never reaches our servers.
Service providers
Zektek operates the usage-analytics gateway and the remote configuration gateway. The analytics gateway forwards usage events to Google Analytics on our behalf, as described above. Each streaming service’s own handling of your account and listening activity on their site is governed by their own privacy policy; Louder only reads what’s already visible on the page you have open.
Retention and your choices
Your local listening history and settings remain in your browser until you clear them, turn a feature off, or uninstall the extension. Analytics events are retained according to Zektek’s Google Analytics configuration. The analytics session identifier expires automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity.
You can turn notifications, listening history, session time tracking, the visualizer, Recap summaries, and anonymous usage analytics on or off at any time from Louder’s options. You can clear your listening history from the same page, or turn on Incognito mode to pause logging temporarily. Turning analytics off also deletes your locally stored analytics client identifier. You can remove all locally stored extension data by uninstalling Louder or clearing the extension’s data in Chrome. Louder can be used without a Zektek account because no account is required.
How we use Chrome permissions
Google requires every Chrome extension to state this plainly: we only use the information Chrome’s APIs give us to provide or improve the features described in this policy. We don’t use it for advertising, and we don’t sell it.
Security and children
We use reasonable technical measures to protect information processed by Louder. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Louder is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as Louder changes. We will post the revised policy here and update the effective date above. Material changes will be communicated through the extension or this page when appropriate.
Contact us
For questions, privacy requests, or concerns about Louder, please contact Zektek.