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Media Sniffer

Privacy policy

Media Sniffer is designed for self-hosted use. This page explains what the service processes when you use the web app or extension.

Last updated: 5 September 2026

Summary

This instance processes the video URLs you submit so the server can resolve formats and prepare downloads. There is no advertising tracker and no Chrome Web Store account linking.

Data we process

  • Page URLs you paste or send via the extension — used to detect the platform and fetch media metadata.
  • Download jobs — temporary files and short-lived download tokens on the server, cleaned up after a TTL.
  • IP address — used for rate limiting and abuse prevention.
  • YouTube cookies — only if you approve cookie sync from the extension after an auth/bot challenge. Cookies are stored on the server for yt-dlp and are not sold or shared.

Cookies and local storage

The website itself does not require login cookies. Your browser may store normal technical state. The extension reads site cookies only when syncing to fix YouTube authentication errors, and only after the API issues a short-lived cookie sync token.

Third parties

Resolve requests contact the platforms behind the URLs you provide (via yt-dlp / network fetch). Those platforms have their own privacy policies.

Retention

Resolved cache entries (if Redis is enabled), job files, and tokens expire automatically. Operators of a self-hosted instance control longer-term logs on their machine.

Contact

If you run your own instance, contact the server operator. For product questions see the FAQ or About page.