Privacy Policy
Effective October 31, 2026
Annomation is made by Inspired Effect, LLC ("we", "us"). Annomation lets you create and publish interactive guidance without sending your content or your visitors' activity to Annomation's servers. This policy covers three things: the Annomation Studio browser extension, the Annomation runtime that site owners add to their own sites, and this website (annomation.com).
The short version
- There are no Annomation accounts.
- Annomation Studio keeps your work in your browser. When you publish, the files go to a folder you choose. We never receive them.
- The runtime doesn't send anything about a site's visitors to us.
- We don't use analytics, advertising, tracking pixels or cookies. We don't sell personal information or share it for advertising. Our hosting provider receives the technical information needed to deliver this website.
Annomation Studio (the browser extension)
Annomation Studio stores the walkthroughs, callouts and settings you create in your browser's extension storage, on your device, kept separately for each site you work on. It doesn't send your annomations, your settings or the contents of the pages you work on to our servers or to anyone else.
Annomation Studio asks for these permissions:
- activeTab and scripting: to open the Annomation Studio panel on the tab you choose, when you click the toolbar button or press the shortcut. It doesn't run on other tabs.
- storage: to keep your work on your device between sessions.
-
Access to a site (optional): only if you turn on Test on live site for that site. Annomation Studio then loads your
draft walkthroughs on that site's pages so you can see them the way visitors will. The draft is kept in that site's local storage in
your browser (under
annomation:live-test) and is removed when you turn the test off. You can also remove the permission in your browser's extension settings at any time.
Annomation Studio reads the page you're working on so you can point at elements and preview walkthroughs. That happens in your browser; it doesn't collect or record page contents. When you publish, it saves the files to a folder you pick, or to your downloads.
Annomation Studio's use of data complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. It handles two kinds of data, both only on your device: the content of the page you're working on, and the annomations you create. It uses them only to let you create, preview and publish walkthroughs. We don't transfer this data to anyone, sell it, or use it for advertising, creditworthiness or any purpose unrelated to that.
The Annomation runtime on your site
When a site owner adds Annomation to their site, the runtime loads its files (annomation.js, annomation.css
and annomation.json) from that site, not from us. We receive nothing about the site or its visitors.
So that a visitor isn't shown the same walkthrough twice, the runtime remembers which walkthroughs and callouts they've seen, finished
or dismissed. It stores this in the visitor's browser, in the site's local storage under annomation:progress. It records
no name, email or other identifier, and Annomation doesn't transmit it to our servers or anywhere else. Like anything in a site's local
storage, other scripts running on that same site can read it.
The annomation.json file you publish is public: anyone who can load your site can open it. Besides your walkthrough text,
it includes what the runtime needs to find each element again: a CSS selector, which can include the element's id, label, link
address or image address, and up to 80 characters of the element's visible text. If you point at elements that show private
information, such as a customer's name in an admin screen, that text will be in the file. Review it before you publish.
If you run a site that uses Annomation, you are responsible for your own site's privacy notice and for deciding whether this storage needs consent where your visitors live. You can describe the runtime with the paragraph about walkthrough progress above.
This website
annomation.com sets no cookies and runs no analytics. It loads its fonts and scripts from its own server, not from third parties. The interactive demo remembers which walkthroughs you've seen in your browser's local storage, as described above.
The site is hosted on Heroku (Salesforce), which keeps standard request logs (IP address, page requested, browser, time) to run and secure the service. See the Salesforce privacy statement.
If you email us, we use your address and message only to reply and help you. We don't add you to a mailing list or share your message.
How long data is kept
- Annomation Studio projects stay in your browser's extension storage until you delete them or uninstall the extension.
- Files you've published or downloaded are ordinary files on your computer or your site. Uninstalling Annomation Studio doesn't delete them.
- Live-test drafts stay in that site's local storage until you turn the test off. If you uninstall Annomation Studio first, the draft stays there until you clear the site's data in your browser. It no longer does anything: only Annomation Studio's test script loads it, and your browser removes that script with the extension.
- Walkthrough progress stays in the visitor's browser until they clear the site's data, or the site resets it.
- Hosting logs are technical request logs our hosting provider keeps to operate and secure the website. They're retained according to the provider's logging practices.
- Email stays in our inbox for as long as we need it to help you.
Children
Annomation isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update this page and its effective date. If we add a new service, we'll update this policy before it launches, and the free extension and runtime will keep working without it.
Contact
Questions about privacy: support@inspiredeffect.com.