Steam Backlog Checker Privacy Policy

**Last updated: September 9, 2026**

Backlog Checker is a Chrome extension that recommends games from a user’s own Steam library and estimates remaining play time. It has no Backlog Checker backend server.

## Information the extension stores

The extension stores the following information locally in the browser’s extension storage:

– Steam Web API key and Steam profile identifier/URL supplied by the user.
– IGDB/Twitch Client ID and Client Secret supplied by the user.
– A cached copy of the user’s Steam library, including app IDs, names, and playtime.
– Cached Steam game details, tags, review summaries, and hours-left results.
– The user’s local exclusion list and a short-lived session history used to avoid immediate recommendation repeats.

This information is used only to provide the extension’s functionality. It is not uploaded to a Backlog Checker server.

## Information sent to third-party services

To provide its features, the extension communicates directly with third-party services:

– **Steam Web API / Steam Store:** to resolve the user’s profile, retrieve owned games, and retrieve game details.
– **SteamSpy:** to retrieve aggregate game tags and playtime data used for matching and fallback hours estimates.
– **IGDB:** to search for games and retrieve time-to-beat information.
– **Twitch OAuth:** to obtain an access token required for IGDB API access.

The extension sends only the information needed for those requests, such as a Steam API key, Steam profile identifier, game app IDs, game names, or the IGDB credentials required to authenticate with IGDB/Twitch.

## Local security

Credentials and cached data are kept in Chrome extension storage and are not exposed directly to Steam web-page scripts. The extension uses Chrome’s trusted-context storage access setting so content scripts receive recommendation data through narrowly scoped runtime messages rather than direct storage access.

## Data retention and deletion

Cached library and game data remain until replaced or removed by the extension. The exclusion list remains until the user removes entries. Session recommendation history is temporary and is not intended as permanent tracking. Removing the extension or clearing its extension storage removes locally stored extension data according to Chrome’s storage behavior.

## Changes

This policy may be updated when the extension’s data practices change. The published policy should always describe the current version of the extension.