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Ethan J. Hulbert

Comment Excavator Privacy Policy & Legal Information

Effective date: October 10, 2026
Last updated: October 10, 2026
Developer: Ethan J. Hulbert
Website: https://www.ethanjhulbert.org/extensions/comment-excavator/

1. Overview

Comment Excavator is a browser extension that finds and displays comments embedded in webpage HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It can inspect a page’s source code, its live document, inline scripts and styles, and linked JavaScript and CSS files.

Comment Excavator is designed to perform its analysis locally in your browser. It does not send collected comments, browsing history, or scan results to the developer or to a developer-operated server.

The extension does not require an account, contain advertising, or use third-party analytics or tracking services.

This policy explains what Comment Excavator accesses, how that information is processed, why its browser permissions are necessary, and what control users have over their information.

2. Information the Extension Accesses

To perform its functions, Comment Excavator may access:

  • Webpage content: HTML source code, document comments, inline CSS and JavaScript, and linked stylesheet and script files.
  • Page information: The current page’s URL and title, along with the URLs of resources being inspected.
  • Scan results: Extracted comments, comment counts, source locations, line numbers where available, and information about resources that could or could not be scanned.
  • Extension preferences: User-configured terms used to identify and highlight Interesting comments.

Because the extension reads webpage resources, the material it encounters may incidentally contain personal information, internal URLs, identifiers, or other sensitive content placed there by website operators.

Comment Excavator does not attempt to collect this information for any separate purpose. It analyzes the material to locate comments and displays the results to the user.

The developer does not receive the content discovered by the extension.

3. How Information Is Used

Information accessed by Comment Excavator is used to provide its advertised functionality:

  • Finding HTML, CSS, and JavaScript comments.
  • Counting comments and displaying the total on the extension’s toolbar badge.
  • Identifying the files and locations where comments occur.
  • Filtering and searching discovered comments.
  • Highlighting comments that match configurable Interesting markers or other detection rules.
  • Reporting whether page resources were successfully inspected.
  • Supporting user-initiated copying and other available result actions.

Comment Excavator does not use browsing activity or extracted content to build user profiles, deliver advertisements, measure marketing performance, or make decisions about users.

4. Local Processing and Storage

Scan results

Comment Excavator processes discovered comments within the browser. Scan results are retained temporarily in the extension’s runtime memory to support the popup and side-panel interface.

These results are not stored in a developer-operated database and are not uploaded to the developer.

In-memory results may be discarded when the browser suspends or terminates the extension’s background process, when a tab is closed, or during other normal browser operations. The extension may rescan a page when necessary.

Extension settings

User-configured Interesting markers are saved through the browser’s extension storage system.

In Chrome, these settings use chrome.storage.sync. Depending on browser settings and account configuration, they may be synchronized by the browser provider across a user’s devices.

This synchronization is provided by the browser platform, not by an Ethan J. Hulbert-operated service.

User-initiated copying

When a user chooses to copy a comment or source URL, the requested information is placed on the device’s clipboard. Any further use or disclosure of that information is controlled by the user and the applications into which it is pasted.

5. Website Access and Network Requests

Comment Excavator operates on webpages and their associated resources. To inspect linked CSS and JavaScript files, it may make network requests to the websites or servers hosting those files.

Resources may be hosted on the page’s original domain or on another domain, such as a content delivery network.

These requests are part of the extension’s normal scanning process. They may disclose ordinary request information to the destination server, including an IP address and other information exposed by the browser’s networking behavior.

The extension’s current implementation uses credential-inclusive requests when retrieving source files. Where applicable, the browser may therefore attach existing cookies or authentication credentials associated with the requested resource. These requests are directed to the resource’s destination server, not to the developer.

The extension does not separately extract, store, or transmit passwords or authentication credentials to the developer.

Some resources may be unavailable because of browser restrictions, authentication requirements, network errors, or other conditions. Comment Excavator reports unsuccessful scans rather than treating inaccessible resources as having no comments.

6. Browser Permissions

Comment Excavator requests permissions necessary to inspect website resources and display its findings.

Website access (<all_urls>)

Allows the extension to inspect webpages across different domains and retrieve linked resources, including scripts and stylesheets hosted on external servers.

Broad website access also supports automatically updating the extension’s comment-count badge as users navigate.

This permission is used for comment inspection, not for monitoring browsing behavior for advertising or collecting browsing histories for the developer.

Storage (storage)

Allows the extension to save user preferences, including configurable Interesting markers, and to maintain temporary interface state.

Side panel (sidePanel, in Chrome)

Allows the extension to display its detailed comment inspector in Chrome’s browser side panel.

Firefox and other supported browsers may use different APIs or permission names to provide equivalent functionality. Permission disclosures for each browser version will reflect the capabilities and permissions actually used by that version.

Browser permission warnings may describe the potential extent of access granted to an extension. They do not, by themselves, mean that the extension transmits the information it can access to its developer.

7. Data Sharing and Third Parties

Comment Excavator does not sell user data.

It does not transmit scanned comments, webpage contents, or browsing histories to the developer, advertisers, analytics providers, data brokers, or other developer-selected recipients.

There are two important distinctions:

Browser services: Browser-managed storage synchronization may involve the browser provider processing user preferences under its own terms and privacy practices.

Resource servers: Inspecting a webpage or its linked resources may involve network requests to the servers hosting those resources, as described in Section 5.

The extension also provides links to the developer’s website. Opening those links is a separate, user-initiated action subject to the website’s own privacy practices.

8. Analytics, Advertising, and Tracking

Comment Excavator does not contain advertising, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics SDKs.

It does not collect usage analytics for the developer, record a user’s browsing history in a developer-operated system, or track users across websites for marketing purposes.

Links to the developer’s website may contain a referral parameter, such as ?r=comex or ?r=comexs, identifying that a visit originated from the extension or its Settings page.

These parameters are not unique user identifiers. When a user follows one of these links, the destination website may process the resulting visit according to its own privacy policy.

9. Data Retention and Deletion

Comment Excavator does not maintain a developer-operated archive of extracted comments or scan results.

Temporary scan results are retained in browser runtime memory and are subject to automatic removal during normal browser operation.

Saved preferences remain in browser-managed extension storage until they are changed, cleared, or removed through applicable browser controls. Synced copies may be subject to the browser provider’s retention and synchronization practices.

Users can stop Comment Excavator from accessing webpages by disabling or uninstalling the extension. Uninstalling ordinarily removes its local extension storage, subject to browser-specific behavior and any synchronized copies managed by the browser provider.

Because the developer does not receive or maintain individual scan results, there is no developer-operated scan archive from which users need to request deletion.

10. Security

Comment Excavator is designed to minimize data exposure by performing comment analysis locally and avoiding unnecessary transmission or persistent storage of scan results.

The extension uses the browser’s built-in extension APIs and network facilities. Access to some pages and resources may be restricted by browser security controls.

No software can guarantee complete security. Users should exercise care when inspecting sensitive, private, or authenticated websites and when copying or sharing extracted comments.

If you discover a security vulnerability, please contact the developer using the contact information below. Avoid submitting passwords, authentication tokens, private source code, or other sensitive material in an initial report.

11. Chrome Web Store Limited Use Compliance

Comment Excavator’s use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.

Information accessed through browser permissions is used only to provide or improve the extension’s disclosed, user-facing functionality.

The extension does not use this information for personalized advertising, sell it to data brokers, or permit the developer or unrelated third parties to review users’ extracted webpage content.

12. Firefox Add-ons and Other Browsers

This policy is intended to cover Comment Excavator across supported browsers, including Chrome and any future Firefox release, provided those versions retain the information-handling practices described here.

Firefox versions will be subject to Mozilla’s applicable Add-on Policies, including its requirements concerning data collection, disclosure, and user consent.

Browser-specific permissions, storage behavior, installation notices, and data collection declarations may differ.

Any material difference in the privacy practices of a future browser version will be disclosed in an updated policy and, where required, in that browser’s extension listing or installation process.

13. External Websites

Comment Excavator may display URLs from webpages or source files and provide links that open those URLs.

The extension does not control the content, security, or privacy practices of external websites.

The developer’s website, https://www.ethanjhulbert.org/, is also separate from the extension’s local scanning functionality. Its website-level collection practices, if any, are governed by the applicable website privacy notice.

14. Intellectual Property and Acceptable Use

Comment Excavator is provided as a tool for inspecting comments and associated information within web resources accessible to the user’s browser.

The extension does not grant ownership of, or additional rights to, the source code or content of websites being inspected.

Users are responsible for respecting applicable laws, intellectual property rights, confidentiality obligations, and restrictions governing their access to third-party systems.

15. Availability and Disclaimer

Comment Excavator is provided free of charge and on an “as is” and “as available” basis, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

The developer does not guarantee that every resource can be accessed, that every comment will be detected, or that reported line numbers and scan counts will always be complete or accurate.

Websites, browsers, and their security restrictions change. Some resources may be inaccessible or unsupported.

Nothing in this notice excludes rights or protections that cannot lawfully be excluded under applicable consumer protection law.

16. Changes to This Policy

This policy may be updated to reflect changes in the extension’s functionality, supported browsers, information-handling practices, or applicable requirements.

The latest version will be published at: https://www.ethanjhulbert.org/extensions/comment-excavator/legal/

The effective or last-updated date will be revised when the policy changes. Material changes to data practices will also be disclosed through the extension or relevant browser-store mechanisms when required.

17. Contact

Developer: Ethan J. Hulbert
Website: https://www.ethanjhulbert.org/
Extension website: https://www.ethanjhulbert.org/extensions/comment-excavator/

For privacy questions, security concerns, or other inquiries about Comment Excavator, contact the developer through the contact information published on the developer’s website (here).