Who operates Tabbit
Tabbit is operated by Zektek LLC (“Zektek,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). This policy applies to the Tabbit browser extension, the supporting wallpaper image proxy at tabbit-image-proxy.zektek.com, and the usage-analytics gateway at extension-event-gateway.zektek.com. It also describes Tabbit’s direct use of Open-Meteo for weather and location lookups.
Information stored in your browser
Tabbit stores the following in your browser:
- your display preferences, such as the chosen wallpaper style, photo search tags, clock and date placement, and map style, palette, size, and reset options;
- your weather settings, including whether weather is shown, your chosen temperature unit, the location text you enter, and the latitude and longitude resolved from it;
- a randomly generated map layout seed used to keep your map design stable across tabs and restarts;
- cached copies of the most recent wallpapers and weather reading so a new tab opens instantly;
- for the map wallpaper, a local browsing session made up of bare hostnames (never full addresses), which you can clear at any time;
- whether anonymous usage analytics is turned on (on by default); and
- a randomly generated analytics client identifier, plus a short-lived session identifier that expires after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Display, weather, and map settings and the map layout seed use Chrome’s synchronized extension storage and may sync through your Google account if Chrome sync is enabled. Cached wallpapers and weather, the local map session, the analytics on/off setting, and the analytics client identifier are stored only in Chrome’s local extension storage on each device, and the session identifier only in Chrome’s session storage, which clears when the browser closes.
Information processed when you use Tabbit
Wallpapers
For the photo wallpaper style, Tabbit requests images from our own wallpaper image proxy at tabbit-image-proxy.zektek.com, sending only your chosen search tags and sort preference. The proxy fetches matching photos from a stock-photo provider on our behalf, so no provider API key ships inside the extension and the provider does not receive your request directly. Our proxy sees your IP address as part of an ordinary web request and uses it only for rate limiting. The other wallpaper styles (living landscape, bouncing logo, maze flythrough, and the generative map) are drawn entirely on your device and make no wallpaper request.
Weather and location
When weather is enabled, Tabbit requests current conditions directly from Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com) using the latitude and longitude for your chosen location. When you type a location, Tabbit sends that place name directly to Open-Meteo’s geocoding service to look up its coordinates. Because these requests go straight from your browser, Open-Meteo receives your IP address as part of them. Open-Meteo’s handling of that information is governed by its own privacy policy.
Generative map wallpaper
The generative map style turns your current browsing session into a private transit-style wallpaper. Reading tabs requires optional browser permissions, which Tabbit requests only when you choose the map style and explains before asking. When enabled, Tabbit records the bare hostname of sites you visit (for example example.com), how often you return to them, the order you move between them, and the hostnames of your pinned tabs, which become landmarks.
Tabbit never stores the full address, path, query string, or page contents, and ignores browser-internal pages. This session data stays in your browser’s local storage and is never sent to Zektek or anyone else. It clears each browser launch or once a day depending on your setting, when you clear the route, or if you revoke the map permission.
Limited usage analytics
When enabled, Tabbit 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;
- that a new tab was opened;
- that you changed the wallpaper style or refreshed the wallpaper;
- that you cleared or regenerated the map; and
- that you turned usage analytics off.
Tabbit never sends your search tags, location, visited sites, map data, or any page content through these events. You can turn usage analytics off at any time from the Tabbit settings page; doing so stops future events and deletes your locally stored analytics client identifier.
Why we process this information
We use this information only to:
- show the wallpaper, weather, and time you asked for;
- remember your extension settings;
- build your private map wallpaper on your device;
- understand whether core extension features work; and
- diagnose failures and improve the extension.
We do not sell personal information, use Tabbit data for targeted advertising, or build profiles of the sites you visit.
Service providers
Zektek operates the wallpaper image proxy and the usage-analytics gateway, both hosted on Cloudflare. The image proxy fetches photos from a stock-photo provider on our behalf, and the analytics gateway forwards usage events to Google Analytics on our behalf, as described above. Weather and location lookups are served by Open-Meteo, which your browser contacts directly. Each provider’s handling of information is governed by its own privacy policy.
Chrome’s handling of synchronized extension settings is governed by Google’s terms and privacy policy.
Retention and your choices
Cached wallpapers and the latest weather reading remain in browser storage until they are refreshed or cleared. Analytics events are retained according to Zektek’s Google Analytics configuration. Extension settings, the map layout seed, the local map session, the local analytics client identifier, and the analytics on/off setting remain in browser storage until they are cleared, turned off, or the extension is removed. The analytics session identifier expires automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity.
You can change your wallpaper style, turn weather off, clear or regenerate your map, and turn anonymous usage analytics on or off from the extension’s settings page. Turning analytics off also deletes your locally stored analytics client identifier. Revoking the map permission clears the collected route. You can remove all locally stored extension data by uninstalling Tabbit or clearing the extension’s data in Chrome. You can also use the extension without a Zektek account because no account is required.
Security and children
We use reasonable technical measures to protect information processed by Tabbit. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Tabbit 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 Tabbit 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 Tabbit, please contact Zektek.