et al. Get et al.
Privacy policy

Your content stays private to you.

Last updated: August 2026.

What et al Labs receives

et al Labs does not receive your Library, browsing history, or app usage data. Your highlights and notes stay on your device by default. If you turn on iCloud Sync, Apple stores a copy in iCloud for syncing across your devices.

  • No et al. account, sign-up, or email address is required.
  • No analytics or telemetry.
  • No crash reporting that includes user data.
  • No advertising identifiers.
  • No third-party SDKs or tracking libraries.

Where your highlights and notes live

Safari stores your highlights and notes on your device. By default they stay there, and et al Labs does not receive them.

iCloud Sync (optional, off by default)

et al. includes an optional iCloud Sync feature. It is off until you turn it on, and you can turn it off again at any time.

When iCloud Sync is on, Apple stores a copy of your highlights, notes, folders, tags, and saved source details in iCloud under the Apple Account you already have. Saved source details can include a page title, URL, citation metadata, and a short excerpt used to support citation details. et al Labs does not receive anything you sync and cannot view it. Apple’s handling of data in iCloud is governed by Apple’s privacy policy.

Turning off iCloud Sync stops future syncing. It does not erase the copy Apple already stores in iCloud. Your content also remains on each device until you delete it there.

Deleting saved content in et al. removes it from that device. With iCloud Sync on, et al. also syncs the deletion, but saved source details can remain in iCloud. To remove all of et al.’s iCloud data, use Apple’s iCloud storage controls. For current steps, email support@getetal.com.

et al Labs cannot view or delete this iCloud data for you. Technical deletion markers used to keep deleted highlights, folders, and tags in sync can remain until you delete all of et al.’s iCloud data. They contain identifiers and timestamps, not saved page excerpts.

Smart features on supported devices

On devices that support Apple’s on-device models, et al. offers a few optional smart features. They work with the highlights and notes you’ve saved: short summaries and answers to questions about your highlights, suggested searches based on your Library, suggested names when you create a folder or tag, and suggested citation details from a page you saved. All of this runs on your device, using Apple’s on-device models built into the system. Smart-feature processing does not send your highlights, notes, or browsing to et al Labs or to a third-party AI service.

Ask requires Apple Intelligence on a supported iPhone, iPad, or Mac running iOS 26, iPadOS 26, or macOS 26 or later.

Permissions the extension asks for

et al. asks Safari for a small number of permissions. Here’s what each one is for:

  • activeTab: to read the text on the page you’re looking at, so it can be highlighted.
  • scripting: to draw your highlights on the page.
  • storage and unlimitedStorage: to remember your highlights and notes between visits on your device.
  • nativeMessaging: so the extension can ask the bundled app on your device to run the smart features described above, and to handle iCloud Sync when you turn it on. The messages stay between the extension and the app, both on your device.

Web pages you visit

et al. reads the content of pages you choose to highlight so it can attach highlights and notes. This reading happens on your device. If iCloud Sync is on, Apple stores the saved source details described above, including a short excerpt, in iCloud for syncing across your devices. Page content is not sent to et al Labs or to a third-party AI service.

Third parties

et al. does not send your Library to et al Labs, advertisers, analytics providers, or third-party AI services. If you turn on iCloud Sync, Apple stores a copy in iCloud under the Apple Account you already have. Apple’s handling of that data is described in the Apple privacy policy linked above.

Children

et al. isn’t directed at children under 13. et al Labs doesn’t knowingly collect information from anyone, children included.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes in any meaningful way, the date at the top will be updated and the change noted on this page.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Write to support@getetal.com.