Privacy Policy

LegalBinder — Exhibit Sticker & Bates Tool

Last updated: May 2026

LegalBinder is a Chrome extension built by PixelForgeHub (Yogesh Nichal). This policy explains how the extension handles your PDFs and your data — specifically tailored for the heightened confidentiality requirements of legal work product.

Summary For Attorneys In A Hurry

LegalBinder processes PDFs entirely inside your browser. Your documents never reach a PixelForgeHub server, because we do not run a server for this extension. There are no uploads, no telemetry, no analytics, no third-party calls. Your client documents stay on your machine.

How PDFs Are Handled

You click Open PDF and select a file via the standard browser file picker.
The PDF is read in-memory using the bundled pdf-lib (MIT-licensed) and PDF.js (Apache-2.0-licensed) libraries — both shipped inside the extension package. No CDN fetch, no remote download.
When you place exhibit stickers, apply Bates numbering, watermarks, slipsheets, TOC, or use the merger / image-to-PDF tools, all transformations are performed by pdf-lib locally in your browser.
When you click Download Stamped PDF, the modified PDF is offered to you as a local download via chrome.downloads.download(). The blob URL is in-memory only, revoked 60 seconds after the download finishes.
At no point does the original PDF, the stamped PDF, the sticker positions, or any extracted text leave your browser.

Confidentiality, Privilege, and Work Product

LegalBinder is designed for attorneys, paralegals, and legal support staff who handle privileged client documents. The extension architecture is built around the assumption that any data leakage is unacceptable.

The extension declares zero host permissions in its manifest.
It does not auto-inject any content scripts on any website.
It does not request the tabs permission for page-content reading purposes.
It does not request identity, cookies, or any sensitive permission.
File access is mediated by the standard browser file picker — Chrome never grants the extension blanket filesystem access.

What We Store Locally

The following is saved in Chrome's local extension storage (chrome.storage.local) on your device only. Nothing is transmitted to PixelForgeHub.

Default sticker color, default sticker size, and default settings (center-on-drop, confirm-before-download)
Saved sticker presets (color + label + custom fields like case number / party / deponent / date)
Language preference (English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, or Gujarati)
License key (if entered — local format check only)
Session form values: your last typed label, description, case number, party name, deponent name, date, Bates prefix, watermark text — persisted so they survive panel reload (lawyers hate retyping)
Local audit log (opt-in, default ON): timestamps + operation types (sticker placed, Bates applied, slipsheet inserted, downloaded). Stored locally for your own court-defensibility records. Exportable as JSON via Settings → Audit → Export.

The audit log does not contain PDF content, file paths, or sticker text — only operation names + timestamps + file SHA-256 hashes (when hash-embed is enabled).

All stored data is removed when you uninstall the extension. You can also clear the audit log manually from Settings → Audit → Clear log.

SHA-256 Tamper-Evident Hashing

If enabled (Settings → “Embed SHA-256 hash + timestamp into PDF metadata”), LegalBinder computes a SHA-256 hash of the output PDF using the Web Crypto API (crypto.subtle.digest) and embeds it in the PDF's metadata along with an ISO 8601 timestamp. This is computed entirely in your browser using Chrome's built-in cryptography — no remote service is involved. The hash provides court-defensible tamper-evidence: any later modification of the stamped PDF will produce a mismatched hash.

Permissions Explained

sidePanel:Renders the LegalBinder workbench, Bates configurator, slipsheet generator, and batch tools in Chrome's persistent side panel.
downloads: Saves the stamped PDF to your local Downloads folder via chrome.downloads.download(). This is the only way to deliver the output — without this permission, the extension cannot give you the finished PDF.
storage: Saves your preferences, sticker presets, license key, session values, and audit log locally in chrome.storage.local. Never synced to any cloud.

Host Permissions

None requested. LegalBinder declares no host_permissions in its manifest. It does not request access to any website. It does not inject content scripts on any page. It works exclusively with PDFs you explicitly open through the file picker.

What We Do Not Do

We do not collect analytics or telemetry of any kind.
We do not require an account, sign-up, or login.
We do not have servers that receive your PDFs — there is nowhere for them to go.
We do not sell or share any user data with third parties (because we have no user data to share).
We do not read or modify any website you visit. The extension does not interact with web content.
We do not perform OCR or text extraction from PDFs that would identify individuals.
We do not transfer data for advertising, credit scoring, or any purpose unrelated to the extension's single function.

Third-Party Services

LegalBinder does not communicate with any third-party service during operation. All processing libraries (pdf-lib, PDF.js) are bundled inside the extension package and run locally. No fonts are downloaded — the embedded Helvetica Bold typeface comes from pdf-lib's standard 14 fonts and is written into the output PDF locally.

License Key & Pro Features

The Settings tab contains a license key field that unlocks Pro features (Batch tab, Bates numbering, Slipsheets, Confidentiality Watermarks, Sticker Presets, Audit Log Export, etc.). Validation is purely a local regex format check matching the pattern PFH-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. The extension never contacts a license server. License keys are generated and emailed to you off-extension via Lemon Squeezy when you purchase a Pro license — that purchase interaction is governed by Lemon Squeezy's privacy policy, not ours.

HIPAA, GDPR, and Compliance Notes

Because LegalBinder does not transmit, store, or process any data outside the user's own browser, traditional data-processor frameworks (HIPAA Business Associate Agreements, GDPR Data Processor obligations, CCPA “sale of data”) do not apply — PixelForgeHub never becomes a data processor of your client information.

That said, attorneys remain responsible for their own ethical obligations under their state bar rules, ABA Model Rule 1.6 (Confidentiality), and any operative protective order. LegalBinder is a tool for local PDF processing; the attorney remains the data controller and confidentiality fiduciary.

Children's Privacy

LegalBinder is a professional tool for legal practitioners, not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.

Changes to This Policy

If we update this policy, the “Last updated” date at the top will change. Material changes (e.g. any new data collection — which is not currently planned) will be announced in the extension's release notes on the Chrome Web Store.

Contact

For questions about this policy or to report a privacy concern: