Local Locator privacy policy
Last updated October 17, 2026
Local Locator is a Chrome extension that labels places on Google Maps by how local they are (one of a kind, local chain, regional chain or national chain). This page explains exactly what it sends, and what it doesn't.
The short version
- No account, no sign-in, no name, email or cookie. The extension creates one random number when it's installed (an "install ID") and sends it with reports and additions; it isn't linked to you, your Google account or anything else (more below).
- We don't collect your searches or your location, or keep a list of the places you look at.
- A few business details (like a shop's name and address coordinates) are sent when our data is missing or out of date, so the next update can fix it.
- We don't sell or share data, and don't use it for advertising.
What the extension sends, and when
| When | What is sent | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You look at places on Google Maps | A request for a data file covering a few square kilometres around those places (one file per map area, identified by an area code, not by the place). The same files are served to everyone. | To show the labels. Labels are worked out on your computer from these files. |
| A place isn't in our data, Google shows it as permanently closed, or Google lists a different phone number or website than our data | That place's public business details as shown on Google Maps: its name, Google Maps place ID, map coordinates, phone number and website, plus the kind of mismatch. | To add new businesses, remove closed ones and fix chain groupings in the next weekly update. |
| You look at a place that was added or corrected because of earlier mismatch notices | That place's Google Maps place ID only, at most once a day. | So the correction is kept while people still see the place, and dropped about a year after nobody has. |
| You click "Suggest a change" on a label and send it | The same business details, the label you were shown, and what you checked and typed: who owns the place, a note, the chain's name, that the place isn't part of the chain (or is part of one), how many locations it has, and a comment for us. Plus the install ID. | An owner, note or chain name appears for everyone after the next weekly update, marked "added by a user", unless we set it ourselves; then it, and everything else, is reviewed by a person first. Comments are only read by us. When two different installs report the same place, its label is shown as "Disputed" until it's reviewed. |
| You click "Wrong?" or "Add info" (versions before 1.0.4) and send it | The same business details, the label you were shown, the comment, owner or note you typed, and the install ID. | As above. |
These details describe a business, not you. Don't type personal information into "Suggest a change": suggestions are read by a person reviewing them, and owners, notes and chain names are shown publicly.
The install ID
A random number created when the extension is installed and kept in your browser. It's sent with "Suggest a change" (and, before 1.0.4, "Wrong?" and "Add info") only, so that two reports from the same browser count as one person, and so one browser can't send more than 20 a day. It contains nothing about you and isn't combined with any other information. Removing the extension deletes it; reinstalling creates a new one.
What is stored, and for how long
Mismatch notices and reports are stored in a database on Amazon Web Services (United States) and are deleted automatically about 13 months after the place was last reported or seen. Like any web server, the services that receive requests see your IP address while handling them; Local Locator doesn't record it or store it alongside the data above.
On your computer, the extension stores your on/off setting (synced by Chrome if you use Chrome sync), the install ID (this browser only), and a cache of the downloaded data files.
What the extension can access
The extension only runs on Google Maps pages (https://www.google.com/maps/*). It reads the
place names, phone numbers, websites and map coordinates shown on the page in order to label them. It
doesn't read or change any other website, and it doesn't access your Google account.
Data sources
Business locations come from Overture Maps Foundation data (CDLA-Permissive-2.0 and other open licences) and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.
Changes and contact
If this policy changes, the date at the top changes too, and anything that collects more data will be described here before it ships. Questions: use the contact email on the extension's Chrome Web Store page.