Privacy Policy

Overview

Railway Highlighter for Google Maps ("the Extension") is designed with privacy in mind. The Extension overlays railway lines on Google Maps using publicly available OpenStreetMap data. It does not collect, store, or transmit any personal information about you.

Information We Do Not Collect

The Extension does not collect:

• Personal information (name, email, address, etc.)
• Browsing history
• Authentication or login credentials
• Analytics or usage tracking data
• Cookies

No account is required to use the Extension. There is no user registration, login, or authentication of any kind.

Local Storage

The Extension uses Chrome's local storage API (chrome.storage.local) to save your preferences on your device. This includes:

• Your selected railway types (e.g., rail, subway, tram)
• Widget position on the page
• UI state (expanded/collapsed panels)

This data never leaves your browser and is automatically removed if you uninstall the Extension.

Data Transmitted to Third Parties

When you click the "Fetch Rails" button, the Extension sends a request to the Overpass API (a public OpenStreetMap service). This request contains only the geographic bounding box (latitude and longitude coordinates) of your current Google Maps viewport. No personal information is included in this request.

The Overpass API is operated by third parties and is subject to its own privacy policy. The Extension does not communicate with any other external service.

Permissions

The Extension requests the following browser permissions:

• Storage — to save your preferences locally on your device.
• Host permission for overpass-api.de — to fetch railway data from the OpenStreetMap Overpass API.
• Content script on google.com/maps — to display the railway overlay on Google Maps.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated effective date.

Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

This policy is effective as of 11 April 2026.