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Privacy Policy for Gather & Join

Last updated: 2026-09-29

Gather & Join is a browser extension that keeps a group in sync while they watch a streaming service, a video file on Google Drive, or a Wix site's videos, together, and adds a voice call between them. This page describes every piece of data the extension handles.

Who operates what​

The extension runs on your computer. The signaling server it talks to is open source and is run by you or by someone in your group, at an address they choose and share with you. The developer of this extension does not operate any server, does not receive any of the data described below, and has no access to it. The person hosting the server is responsible for it.

That person may run it on their own computer or on a hosting company's infrastructure. If they use a hosting company, the encrypted connection ends there rather than on a machine they own, so the data below passes through it and the server's event log is visible in that company's dashboard. Which company, if any, is the host's choice — ask them if it matters to you. This project is not affiliated with any hosting provider it names.

Data sent to the signaling server​

When you create or join a room, the extension sends the server:

  • the display name you typed,
  • the room code,
  • an identifier of the episode or file the room is watching (taken from the page address, never the video itself),
  • how long your copy of it runs, since some regions get a longer copy with extras in front, and, when copies differ, how much of the longer one to skip, as set by someone in the room,
  • play, pause, and position events, and stall notices,
  • the connection setup messages needed to reach the other participants.

The server keeps this in memory only while the room exists and writes nothing to disk. It prints a one-line event log (room created, someone joined, someone left) to the terminal of whoever runs it. That log has no play, pause or seek events; it does note the episode, where someone's playback stalled, and how much a longer copy skips.

Voice and video​

Your microphone and, only if you turn it on, your camera are sent directly to the other people in your room. They never pass through the signaling server or any other server, and nothing is recorded. The microphone is on by default when you join and can be muted; the camera is off unless you enable it.

Network addresses​

Because the call is direct, each participant's IP address is visible to the other participants in the room, the same as with any peer-to-peer call.

To set up those direct connections the extension asks a STUN server for your public address. The default is Google's public STUN server (stun.l.google.com), which receives your IP address and nothing else, under Google's privacy policy. No relay (TURN) server is used, so media is never routed through a third party.

Data stored in your browser​

The server address, your display name, and your settings are kept in the extension's local storage on your device. Nothing is synced through your Google account. A short diagnostics log (connection events, sync corrections) is kept in session storage for troubleshooting and is cleared when Chrome exits; it is only shared if you press Copy diagnostics on the setup page and paste it somewhere yourself.

What is not collected​

No browsing history, no account credentials, no payment details, no analytics, no telemetry, no crash reports, no recordings of audio or video, no content from the streaming service. The extension loads no remote code. It reads only the pages of the services it supports, and only to control the player.

On Google Drive specifically: no file contents, no file names, no folder listings, and nothing else from your Drive. The only thing the extension takes from a Drive page is the file identifier already visible in the address bar, which it shares with the room so everyone opens the same file.

On Wix sites specifically: the extension runs only inside the site's video player, which Wix serves from embed.wix.com, and never on the site's own pages. The only thing it takes from that player is the video identifier in the player's address, which it shares with the room together with that address so everyone opens the same video.

Permissions​

The extension asks Chrome for: access to the sites it supports (to control the player and draw the participant rail), tab URLs (to know which episode or file is open and to take you to the room's), navigation events (to follow changes of episode), scripting (to re-attach to tabs that were already open), an offscreen document (to keep the call alive across page changes), and local storage (for your settings).

The site access is granted per site, and on Drive it is deliberately narrow: only the file viewer at drive.google.com/file/.... The extension does not run on My Drive, Docs, Sheets, or the file picker, and has no access to them. On Wix sites it is the video player at embed.wix.com/video alone: the extension has no access to the site that shows it, whatever its address.

Retention and deletion​

Server-side data disappears when the room closes. Local settings remain until you clear them on the setup page or uninstall the extension, which removes everything.

Changes​

If these practices change, this page and the extension's store listing are updated before the change ships, and the change is noted in the project's changelog.

Contact​

Use the contact email shown on the extension's Chrome Web Store listing, or open an issue in the project repository.