# Privacy Policy

**Untangle** — a web browser built from Chromium source
Last updated: October 14, 2026

---

## The short version

Untangle runs on your computer. There is no Untangle account, no Untangle
server, and no telemetry. We receive nothing about you or your browsing,
because the software has no mechanism to send it.

That is not a promise about our conduct — it is a description of how the
software is built. What follows is the detail, including the parts that are
less flattering.

---

## 1. What we collect

**Nothing.**

Untangle does not collect or transmit your name, email address, phone number,
IP address, device identifiers, browsing history, search queries, bookmarks,
passwords, downloads, page content, crash reports, performance metrics, or
usage statistics.

There is no account system, no analytics endpoint, no crash reporting service,
and no "anonymous usage statistics" collection.

This is enforced when the browser is compiled, not by policy. The following
were disabled or removed at build time:

- Structured metrics collection
- WebRTC metrics collection
- Chrome Remote Desktop host
- Google-specific internal extensions
- Gemini / AI assistant integration resources
- AI "compose" surfaces
- The Google account, sync, and sign-in entry points in the interface

Untangle also ships **without Google API keys**. Several Google-integrated
components remain present in the Chromium source because removing them breaks
unrelated features — Safe Browsing and Chrome Sync among them. Without API
keys these components have nothing to authenticate to and no endpoint that
will answer them. They are inert.

**Residual behaviour, disclosed rather than hidden:** a small number of Google
service clients in the Chromium codebase still attempt to initialise at
startup. These requests fail immediately and carry no identifying information,
but they are attempts, and you would find them in a packet capture. We would
rather name them. Removing them at build time is ongoing work.

---

## 2. What is stored on your computer

A browser necessarily stores a great deal. All of it stays on your disk.

| What | Why it exists |
|---|---|
| Browsing history | Back button, address bar suggestions |
| Cookies and site data | Keeping you signed in to sites |
| Cache | Page load speed |
| Saved passwords and autofill data | If you choose to save them |
| Downloads and download history | Files you asked for |
| Bookmarks | Pages you saved |
| Preferences and settings | Your configuration |

These live in your browser profile directory as ordinary files. You can
inspect them, back them up, or delete them. Deletion is immediate and
complete, because no copy exists anywhere else.

Saved passwords are encrypted using your operating system's credential store
where one is available. On a system without one, they are protected only by
your user account — encrypt your disk.

---

## 3. Network connections

Untangle connects to:

- **Websites you visit**, normally, as any browser does.
- **Your chosen search engine**, when you search from the address bar.
- **A local service on your own machine**, if you have configured one for the
  home page or new tab page (see section 4).

Untangle does **not** connect to any Untangle server. None exists.

Untangle does not check for updates automatically. See section 7.

---

## 4. Search, home page, and new tab

Untangle ships configured to use a local service on your own machine for
search, the home page, and the new tab page. If you have that service
installed, those pages are served from your own computer and nothing about
them reaches us.

**Your search queries go wherever your search engine is.** If you configure a
third-party search engine, that company receives your queries and your IP
address under their own privacy policy, not this one. This is true of every
browser, including this one. Changing the default search engine changes who
receives your searches — it does not make searches private.

If the configured local service is not running, the home page and new tab page
will fail to load. The browser does not fall back to a remote service.

---

## 5. Permissions

Untangle requests operating system permissions only when a feature needs them,
and only at the moment it is used:

- **Camera and microphone** — only when a site requests them and you approve.
- **Location** — only when a site requests it and you approve.
- **Files** — only for downloads, and for files you explicitly choose to upload.
- **Network access** — required for the browser to function.

You can revoke any of these through your operating system or through the
browser's own site settings. Revoking them may stop some sites working.

---

## 6. Security

Untangle inherits Chromium's process sandbox **unmodified**. Each website runs
in an isolated process with no direct access to your disk, your network, or
other sites. This is the single most important security property of any modern
browser and we have not weakened it.

Untangle is compiled with proprietary codec support enabled, which is a
licensing decision rather than a security one, and does not affect isolation.

**No software is perfectly secure.** A browser renders code written by
strangers; the sandbox exists because that is dangerous. If your machine is
compromised, your browser profile is accessible to whoever compromised it.

---

## 7. Updates and security patches

Untangle does not update itself. You must install new versions yourself.

This has a consequence worth stating plainly: **Chromium receives security
patches regularly, and an un-updated browser accumulates known, published
vulnerabilities.** Browsers that update silently do so because it genuinely
protects users. Choosing not to means taking that responsibility on.

Check for new releases periodically and install them. We will publish security
releases when upstream Chromium issues security fixes that affect this build.

---

## 8. Children

Untangle is a general-purpose web browser and is not directed at children. We
collect no information from anyone of any age, so there is nothing we could
collect from a child.

Untangle does not filter web content. A browser reaches the whole internet.
No setting in this software substitutes for supervision.

---

## 9. Your rights

Privacy regulations generally grant rights to access, correct, export, or
delete the personal data a company holds about you.

We hold none, so there is nothing to request. Your data is already in your
possession, on your own disk, in files you can open. Exercising every one of
those rights is a matter of opening a file manager.

---

## 10. Third-party components

Untangle is built from the Chromium source code, which is open source under a
BSD-style licence, with modifications. Untangle is **not affiliated with,
endorsed by, or supported by Google LLC or the Chromium project.**

Websites you visit have their own privacy practices, which we neither control
nor endorse. The sandbox limits what they can reach on your machine; it does
not limit what they record about their own pages.

---

## 11. Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated. Changes will be published with the software and
the date above revised. Because there is no account and no mailing list, we
cannot notify you directly — read this document when you update.

---

## 12. Contact

[Contact method — to be added before publication.]

---

*The strongest privacy guarantee software can offer is not a promise about
what it does with your data. It is an architecture in which your data never
leaves your possession. That is what this is.*

Terms of Use

Untangle — a web browser built from Chromium source Last updated: October 14, 2026

The short version

Untangle is free software you install and run yourself. There is no service behind it, no account, and nothing to subscribe to. You may use it, modify it, and share it. It comes with no warranty of any kind, and you use it at your own risk.

If you only read one section, read 6 and 7.

1. What these terms cover

These terms govern your use of the Untangle browser ("the Software"). By installing or using the Software you accept them. If you do not accept them, do not install or use it.

These terms cover software, not a service. We do not operate servers on your behalf, host your data, or provide anything that can go down. There is no uptime commitment because there is nothing running.

2. Licence

The Software is built from the Chromium source code, licensed under a BSD-style licence by The Chromium Authors, and includes other open-source components under their own licences. Those licences are included with the Software and continue to apply to their respective parts.

Modifications made in producing Untangle are released under [licence — to be chosen before publication].

You may use the Software for any purpose, personal or commercial, subject to those licences.

3. Not affiliated with Google or the Chromium project

Untangle is an independent, unofficial build. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or supported by Google LLC, The Chromium Authors, or the Chromium project.

"Chrome", "Chromium", and "Google" are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to describe the Software's origin, as the licence permits. Do not contact Google or the Chromium project for support with this browser; they did not make it and cannot help you with it.

Bugs in Untangle are ours. Bugs inherited from upstream Chromium are upstream's, but reporting them to upstream from this build is unlikely to be useful, since we cannot guarantee they are reproducible in an official build.

4. What you may do

You may install the Software on as many machines as you like, use it for any lawful purpose, inspect its source, modify it, and distribute your own modified versions in accordance with the applicable licences.

If you distribute a modified version, do not call it Untangle. Give it its own name so that users know whose build they are running and who to hold responsible for it.

5. What you are responsible for

You are responsible for:

• What you do with the browser. It reaches the entire internet. We do not monitor, filter, or restrict where you go, and we have no ability to do so. Compliance with the law where you are is yours.

• Keeping it updated. The Software does not update itself. See section 8.

• Your own data. Everything the browser stores is on your disk, under your control, and is not backed up anywhere by us.

• Anything you install into it, including extensions and third-party components, which are outside these terms and outside our control.

6. No warranty

The Software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Software will be error-free, secure, uninterrupted, compatible with your hardware or any particular website, or that defects will be corrected.

This is not boilerplate hedging. It is a small, independently maintained build of an enormous codebase. It will have bugs that official builds do not, and it may lag upstream security patches. Treat it accordingly.

7. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, in no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages, or other liability — whether in contract, tort, or otherwise — arising from, out of, or in connection with the Software or its use.

This includes, without limitation: data loss, corrupted profiles, security breaches, financial loss, loss of privacy, service interruption, or damage to your device.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of certain liabilities. Where that is the case, the above apply to the fullest extent permitted, and nothing here limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited — including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

8. Updates and security

The Software does not update itself. New versions must be installed by you.

An un-updated browser accumulates known, published security vulnerabilities. Chromium issues security fixes regularly, and until you install a build containing them, this browser does not have them. We will publish security releases when upstream fixes affect this build, but we cannot install them for you and we make no commitment about how quickly they will appear.

If you are not willing to keep it updated, use a browser that updates itself. That is a sincere recommendation, not a disclaimer.

9. Support

Support is provided on a best-effort basis through whatever public channel is listed at the time. There is no service level, no response time commitment, and no guarantee that any particular issue will be addressed.

10. Privacy

The Software collects nothing and transmits nothing to us. The accompanying Privacy Policy describes what is stored locally and what connections the Software makes.

11. Changes to these terms

These terms may be updated, with the date above revised. Because there is no account and no mailing list, we cannot notify you directly. Continued use of a version after its terms are published constitutes acceptance of those terms.

Terms you accepted with a version you already installed continue to apply to that version.

12. Termination

There is nothing to terminate. There is no account to close and no access to revoke. If you no longer wish to use the Software, uninstall it; your data is on your own disk and goes when you delete it.

13. Severability

If any provision of these terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force.

14. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of [jurisdiction — to be specified before publication], without regard to conflict of law provisions.

15. Contact

[Contact method — to be added before publication.]