Karakoram Decoder is a free Chrome extension published by Karakoram Venture. It labels Gilgit-Baltistan place names on web pages you are reading, so you can see how high a place is and where it sits on a trek without leaving the page. This policy explains exactly what the extension does with data. It covers the extension only, not the rest of this website.
Last updated: 9 August 2026
The short version
The extension makes no network requests of any kind. It reads the text of a page only when you ask it to, matches that text against a list of places stored inside the extension itself, and shows you the result. Nothing is sent anywhere, because there is nowhere for it to be sent. There is no server, no account, no analytics and no advertising.
What the extension does
When you click “Decode this page”, the extension reads the visible text of that page and looks for the names of places in Gilgit-Baltistan — camps, passes, peaks, glaciers, valleys, villages, lakes and forts. Names it recognises are underlined. Hovering over one shows a small card giving that place’s altitude in metres and feet, its region, which trek it sits on and roughly which day, how you get there, and the season.
It can also rewrite the elevations shown on a page between metres and feet, and it draws route elevation profiles in its own popup window. All of that information comes from a dataset built into the extension when it is installed.
Data the extension handles
Website content
To find place names, the extension has to read the text of the page you are viewing. This happens entirely inside your browser, on your own device. The text is examined in memory, used to place the underlines, and is never stored, copied, logged or transmitted.
Google’s Chrome Web Store policies require this to be disclosed as handling “website content” even when the data never leaves your computer, and we disclose it accordingly.
The extension reads a page only when you click its toolbar button, or on a site where you have specifically switched on “Always decode this site automatically”. It does nothing on pages you have not asked it to act on.
Settings stored on your device
Two small preferences are kept locally, using Chrome’s own storage for extensions:
- The list of websites for which you have switched on automatic decoding.
- The route last selected in the extension’s popup.
These stay on your device. They are not sent to us and we cannot see them.
What the extension does not do
- It does not transmit data. It contains no networking code at all.
- It uses no analytics, telemetry, cookies, advertising or tracking of any kind.
- It does not record your browsing history or which pages you visit.
- It does not ask for or store personal information — no name, email address, account or payment details.
- It does not access your location, camera, microphone, files, passwords or form fields.
- It does not sell, share or transfer data to anyone, because it holds none.
Permissions, and why each one is needed
- activeTab — lets the extension read the page in the one tab you are on, and only after you click the button. We use this instead of asking for access to every website when you install.
- scripting — lets the extension add its underlines and hover card to the page you asked it to decode.
- storage — saves the two preferences described above.
- Optional website access — not requested when you install. It is asked for one website at a time, and only if you tick “Always decode this site automatically” while on that site. You can withdraw it whenever you like.
Keeping and deleting data
Because nothing is transmitted, we hold no data about you, and there is nothing for us to delete on request. The two local preferences are removed when you remove the extension from Chrome. You can also clear the site list yourself by unticking the automatic-decoding option.
Children
The extension is a reference tool suitable for a general audience, and it collects no information from anyone, including children.
Changes to this policy
If the extension ever changes in a way that affects how data is handled, we will update this page and the date at the top before that version is released. As things stand the extension has no ability to send data anywhere at all, and any change to that would be a significant one which we would state plainly here.
Contact
Questions about the extension or about this policy are welcome at info@karakoramventure.com.
Karakoram Venture, Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
