Privacy Policy

Brown Noise Generator (formerly Minimalist Timer) · Last updated 29 September 2026

Brown Noise Generator is private by design. The noise and the timer run entirely on your device. There is no account and no sign-up. The only thing the extension sends is an anonymous count of how it is used — described in full below.

What we collect

No personal information. No name, no email, no account, no advertising identifier. Nothing is sold to anyone, and the extension shows no ads.

What the extension does send is a small, anonymous count of how it is used, so we can tell whether it actually works for people. In full, that is:

• the panel was opened, and whether it was the first time;
• a session was started, and which length was chosen;
• a session ended: how many minutes it ran, which length was chosen, and how it ended — it finished on its own, you stopped it, or it was left paused;
• a session was paused, and at which minute;
• a sound setting was changed: which one (noise colour, tone, masking, stimulation, preset or motion) and its new value. Volume is not sent;
• the rating card was answered, and how many stars were given.

Each event carries a random identifier that is created on your device and kept until you remove the extension. It is not linked to your name, your email or your Google account. It lets us count one person as one person, and see whether people come back to the extension on later days.

These counts are sent to Google Analytics (Google). Like any request on the internet, it reaches Google from your IP address, and Google handles it under its own privacy policy. We see only the counts, not IP addresses.

The extension does not read the pages you visit. No browsing history, no page content and nothing you type is collected.

Your settings stay in your browser

Your settings — timer length, sound choices, volume, and whether the return-to-session tab is on — are saved in your own browser. The only part of them that ever leaves your device is what the usage count above lists. Removing the extension removes them.

Why the extension asks for permissions

None of these permissions is used to send your data anywhere:

• sidePanel — show the noise and the timer in the browser side panel.
• storage — remember your settings in your browser.
• offscreen — keep the sound playing when the panel is closed.
• scripting — draw the small return-to-session tab on the page you are viewing.
• access to websites (optional, only if you turn the tab on) — lets the extension draw that tab on any site. It does not read the page and sends nothing.

The sound never goes anywhere

The sound is generated on your device in real time — nothing is streamed, downloaded or uploaded, and the extension keeps working with no connection at all. The usage count is the only network request the extension makes; if it fails, nothing else changes.

Our web pages

The welcome page that opens after installation is a separate web page. It uses Google Analytics (which sets cookies), Microsoft Clarity and Umami to count visits and see how the page is used. The uninstall and feedback pages have no analytics; if you type an answer there, the text goes to a Google Form that we read. None of this is used for advertising.

Chrome Web Store policy

The use of information by Brown Noise Generator complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Children

The extension collects no personal data from anyone, including children. The usage count contains nothing that could identify a person of any age.

Changes to this policy

If this policy ever changes, the “Last updated” date above will change with it.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email hello@fanarlabs.com.

This policy applies to the Brown Noise Generator browser extension for Chrome, called Minimalist Timer before version 1.2.