Privacy

WordStride reads your writing so it can count it. This page says what, if anything, leaves your computer, what we keep, and how to reach us about it.

Integration Lab Limited, Christchurch, New Zealand. In force from 26 October 2026.

The short version

In Word, your document never leaves your computer; the only thing the pane sends anywhere is your licence key, to check it is active. In Google Docs the add-on runs inside your own Google account and we never receive your text. We keep the details Stripe gives us when you buy: your name, email address and what you bought. We do not run analytics or advertising on the plugin or this site.

What we collect, and why

When you buy

Payment is taken by Stripe, which collects your name, email address, card details and billing country. We never see your card number. Stripe passes us your name, email address, the plan you bought and its own reference numbers, and we use those to issue your licence key, send it to you, answer support questions and handle refunds. Stripe's own handling of your details is covered by Stripe's privacy policy.

When the plugin checks your key

The pane sends your licence key to our licence service once a day or so, and the service answers whether the key is active. For a weekly plan that means asking Stripe whether the subscription is still paid. The request carries the key and nothing else: no document text, no counts, no file names. Our hosting provider, Netlify, keeps ordinary server logs of these requests, which include your computer's internet address, for a short period.

In Microsoft Word

The pane reads the text of the open document to count it, on your computer, in Word's own add-in frame. It stores your settings (reference style, colour, your key) on your computer and stores the counting method and goals inside the document itself, so they travel with the file. On a Mac, the WordStride Overlay app uses the Accessibility permission to find where your cursor is on screen so the counter can sit beside your line; it reads nothing else and never writes to the document. The pane and the Overlay talk to each other only within your Mac.

In Google Docs

The add-on is a Google Apps Script that runs inside your Google account. It asks for two permissions: to see the current document, and to show a sidebar. It reads the document's text to count it, within Google's infrastructure, and stores your settings in your Google account's script properties and the goals in the document's properties. None of that reaches us. The sidebar itself sends your licence key, and nothing else, to our licence service, as described above. Google's handling of your account is covered by Google's privacy policy.

When you write to us

We keep support emails so we can follow up and improve the plugin. If you send us a sentence to check a count, we use it for that and nothing else.

Google user data

In Google Docs, WordStride uses two Google permissions. See the current document (documents.currentonly) lets it read the text of the document you have open, and only that document, so it can count the words in each paragraph and section. Show a sidebar (script.container.ui) lets it display the counts, goals and settings next to the document.

The document text is read and counted inside Google's own infrastructure while the sidebar is open. It is not sent to Integration Lab or anyone else, not stored outside your Google account, not used for advertising, not sold, and not used to train any model. People at Integration Lab never read it. The only data WordStride keeps is what you set: your preferences in your Google account's script properties, and the counting method and goals in the document's properties, both of which stay in your Google account and are removed when you delete the document or remove the add-on.

WordStride's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

What we do not do

We do not receive, store or read your documents. We do not use analytics, tracking pixels or advertising networks on the plugin or this site. We do not sell or rent your details to anyone. We do not send marketing email unless you have asked for it, and every such email will carry an unsubscribe link.

Where your details are held

Stripe and Netlify hold data on servers outside New Zealand, mainly in the United States, under their own privacy commitments. Our support email is in Google Workspace. We choose providers with recognised privacy and security standards, but we cannot change where they store data.

How long we keep things

Purchase records are kept for seven years, as New Zealand tax law requires. Support emails are kept for as long as they are useful and deleted on request. Server logs are kept by Netlify for a short period and then discarded.

Your rights

Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 you can ask what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, and ask us to delete it where we are not required to keep it. Email hello@charlotteprice.co.nz with "WordStride privacy" in the subject and we will reply within 20 working days, usually much sooner. If you are not satisfied with our answer you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Children

WordStride is sold to adults and to students at tertiary level. We do not knowingly collect details from anyone under 16; if you think we have, tell us and we will delete them.

Changes

If this page changes in a way that matters, we will put the date of the change here and, for anything significant, email people who have bought WordStride.