Picgin: privacy policy

Effective 4 November 2026

Your images, your browser. Picgin finds and compares existing image versions. History and collections stay on this computer. Searches contact image hosts; optional reverse-image searches send an image URL or a copy to the service you choose. The extension has no account, analytics or AI-processing service.

What the extension reads

When you start a search (by picking an image, right-clicking one, or pasting a URL), Picgin reads:

• the address of the image you chose;
• other addresses the page has for that same image (for example srcset and lazy-load attributes, or the link around it);
• the address and title of the page you picked it on.

If you choose Find bigger versions of every image on this page, it reads the same things for every image on that page (skipping icons and anything under 80 pixels).

Toolbar count. While Count bigger images on the toolbar icon is on in Settings (it is on by default), Picgin also looks at the images on the web pages you open: the addresses of loaded images, the addresses the page gives for bigger versions (srcset, data- attributes, the link around an image) and their pixel sizes. It checks them against its built-in rules inside your browser and shows how many images may have a bigger version. Nothing is downloaded, saved to history, or sent anywhere for this; the count is forgotten when you leave the page or close the tab. Turn the setting off and this stops completely.

It does not read the rest of the page, your browsing history, form contents or cookies. Apart from the toolbar count above, it reads nothing on pages where you haven't started a search.

Network requests it makes

• To the sites that host the image. To find bigger versions, it downloads candidate image addresses from the image's own site or CDN. Some site rules (from the open-source Image Max URL project) also ask that site's public API where the full-size file is, for example on Flickr or Imgur.
• The Referer header. Many sites only serve images to their own pages. During a search, the extension sends only the source site’s origin (for example https://example.com/), rather than the full page address. Page paths, query parameters, fragments and embedded credentials are excluded. It does not send an HTTPS source origin to an HTTP image address. You can turn this off in Settings.
• Reverse image search, only if you click. The links to TinEye, Google Lens and Yandex send the image's address to that service when you click them. The Bing link sends a copy of the image itself (resized to at most 1200 pixels), the same way Bing's own "search using an image" button does, because Bing often can't fetch an image from its address. Nothing is sent otherwise.

Image hosts receive the requested image address and ordinary connection information, such as your IP address, plus the source site’s origin when the Referer workaround is enabled. The extension does not send these requests to the developer. Each image host applies its own privacy policy.

If you choose a reverse search, the receiving service applies its own policy: TinEye, Google Lens, Microsoft Bing, or Yandex. Bing may fall back to an image-address search if its image upload cannot complete. Closing the extension does not delete information already received by one of these services.

Files you compare

Images you drop or paste into Compare files are read and measured inside your browser only. Local files are not uploaded or saved by Compare files: closing the tab forgets them. If you paste an image URL instead of a local file, Picgin requests that image from its host to measure it.

Collections and downloads

When you choose Save to collection, the full image file, a thumbnail, its source image and page addresses, dimensions, date saved, collection name and your notes are saved locally in this extension’s IndexedDB. They are not uploaded or synced. Manual collection saves, including ones you explicitly make from incognito, remain until you remove them or uninstall the extension. Clearing search history does not delete collections.

You can remove individual images or delete a collection from the Collections page. Export ZIP saves the full image files and a sources.json file containing their source information and notes. Export a backup before uninstalling: uninstalling removes the local library.

Quick save checks the available versions and asks Chrome to download the best matching version found. Download folder, filename, format and Save As preferences stay in local extension storage. Format conversion runs locally and does not replace files kept in your collections.

The welcome demonstration uses a resolution chart drawn entirely in your browser. It makes no external image requests and is not added to search history.

Changes it makes to pages

Only when you click Show on page or View full screen on page: it swaps that image for the bigger version, or shows a viewer over the page. It marks the images it found with a small data-bq-key attribute so it can find them again. Undo puts the original back; reloading the page removes everything.

What it stores

Your search history is saved in your browser's extension storage (chrome.storage.local) on this computer: page title and address, the image addresses found with their sizes, and a small thumbnail. When history is enabled, the best image and original comparison files are also retained in a separate local IndexedDB cache, limited to 250 MB. Least recently used cached files are removed when full; their history metadata remains. Failed retries preserve previously successful results. Open source page opens the page address saved with the search. History and cached files are never synced or uploaded. Searches started in incognito windows are not saved. The newest 1,000 history entries are kept.

Your settings are stored the same way. You can turn history off in Settings, delete single entries or everything (History → Clear all, or Settings → Clear history) at any time. Deleting history also removes its cached image files. Cache cleanup and history deletion never remove images saved to Collections. Uninstalling the extension deletes its locally stored data.

What it never does

• No analytics, tracking, advertising or telemetry.
• No data is sold. Optional reverse-image searches share only the information described above when you request those actions.
• No remote code: everything it runs ships inside the extension.

Limited use

Picgin’s use and transfer of user data complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. Data is used only to find, compare, download and organize the images you choose. It is not used for advertising, sold, or transferred for unrelated purposes. The developer does not receive or read your search history, images, collections or notes.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date. Questions: hello@picgin.com.