What Shelf does
Shelf is a Chrome and Safari browser extension with a native macOS app for browsing and managing saved items. Shelf saves pages you choose to your private Telegram bot chat. When you click Shelf, it sends the current page title and URL. If you highlighted text before saving, Shelf saves that selected text with the link.
Browser permissions
Shelf uses activeTab to read the current tab only after you click the extension or the Add to Shelf right-click item, scripting to run a one-time selection reader on that active tab, storage to keep your extension connection token locally, contextMenus to add the Add to Shelf right-click option, and a host permission for the Shelf backend so the extension can connect, save links, and check plan status. The native macOS app connects to the same Shelf backend to show, search, export, archive, and organize the saved items for your connected account.
What we collect
When you connect and use Shelf, we store your Telegram user ID, Telegram chat ID, connection code status, extension and app token hashes, saved page titles, saved URLs, domains, selected text you choose to save, collection/archive metadata, search metadata, timestamps, Telegram delivery metadata, plan status, and related Polar customer, order, checkout, or subscription IDs. Our hosting provider may process basic server logs such as request time, IP address, user agent, and error logs to keep the service secure and reliable.
What we do not collect
Shelf does not read your full browsing history, does not track pages you do not save, does not continuously monitor tabs, does not collect full page content, and does not collect form inputs unless you explicitly highlight that text and save it. Shelf does not store your Telegram bot token or payment card details in the extension.
How data is used
Saved data is used to deliver links to your Telegram bot chat, show saved items in the Shelf app, organize items into collections, prevent duplicate saves, restore links when a Telegram message was deleted, power /find, /recent, /export, /settings, and /reset, manage trial or subscription access, troubleshoot errors, prevent abuse, and keep Shelf working.
Limited use
Shelf uses browser data only to provide and improve its single purpose: saving pages you choose to Telegram. We do not sell user data, do not use it for personalized ads, and do not transfer it except as needed to provide Shelf, comply with law, protect security, or transfer the service as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale. Humans do not read saved links or selected text except with your consent for support, for security and abuse investigation, to comply with law, or in aggregated and anonymized internal operations.
Third parties
Shelf uses Telegram to deliver saved links, Polar to process checkout and subscriptions, and hosting infrastructure to run the backend. These services process data needed for those roles. Shelf does not store full payment card details.
Security
The extension and native macOS app send data to the Shelf backend over HTTPS in production. Extension tokens are stored locally in browser storage, native app tokens are stored locally in macOS Keychain, and backend tokens are stored only as hashes. Production backend storage is hosted on infrastructure that provides encryption at rest at the platform or storage layer. No system is perfect, but we keep data collection narrow and use reasonable safeguards for the size and scope of the service.
Adult-site blocking
Shelf checks saved URLs and page titles against a basic adult-site filter. Obvious adult sites are blocked and are not sent to Telegram.
Deleting data
Use /reset in the bot to export and erase Shelf's saved-link records for your Telegram user. Deleting a Telegram message by itself does not automatically delete Shelf's internal saved-link record, because Shelf uses that record for duplicate checks and restore behavior. You can also contact support to request deletion help.
Retention and control
Shelf keeps saved-link records and account records while your Shelf connection exists or while needed to provide the service, comply with law, resolve disputes, prevent abuse, or maintain security. You can revoke local access by removing or resetting the extension, disconnecting the native app, or switching accounts. You can revoke Shelf's stored saved-link data with /reset or by contacting support.
Contact
For privacy questions, contact us at useshelfsupport@gmail.com using your account ID.