Data Pack: Read&Write (Chrome)
Read&Write is an inclusion tool that supports people who think, learn and work differently. It’s a powerful set of reading and writing tools that help make digital text easier to understand for everyone.
With Read&Write, your organization is providing instant support to neurodivergent users, those with low literacy, those with English as a second language, and beyond.
They’re empowering 100% of people to understand and communicate in their own way.
Version Control
Policy Owner(s): | Effective Date: | Last Reviewed Date: | ||
CTO | 26-MAR-2025 | 26-MAR-2025 | ||
Version | Date | Description | Author | Approved By |
1.0 | 26-MAR-2025 | Initial document creation | VP, Engineering Engineering Manager Global Compliance Officer | VP, Engineering IA & COM Specialist |
Read&Write for Google Chrome
Read&Write for Google Chrome is a chrome extension which runs at all times on a user’s machine to provide assistive technology within other applications.
It integrates natively with Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Slides, Microsoft Word and many websites to provide additional functionality within the products.
The application is one code base but produces several distinct extensions.
- Read&Write for Google Chrome
Read&Write for Google Chrome is a locally installed assistive extension, installed by the Chrome Webstore or deployed by group policy or the Google Admin Console. It is a standard Chrome extension, meaning that standard deployment methods can be used for easy installation and management. Users interact with it through a toolbar that integrates with various websites and web applications in Google Chrome, offering features like text-to-speech, screen masking, and word prediction. While some features work offline, certain functions, such as the grammar checker, picture dictionary, and online voices, require access to Texthelp servers. Additionally, Read&Write will use the browsers offline voices to ensure core functionality without an internet connection. - Read&Write for Microsoft Edge
The Read&Write for Microsoft Edge extension is required for the software to interact with Microsoft Edge browser. It provides exactly the same features and functionality as Read&Write for Google Chrome excepting defaulting to a Microsoft account. The Read&Write for Microsoft Edge extension offers the same features and functionality as the Read&Write for Google Chrome extension, with the exception that it defaults to a Microsoft account. This extension is necessary for the software to interact with the Microsoft Edge browser.
- Screenshot Reader
The Screenshot Reader, an offline OCR engine, is a support extension for Read&Write for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. It can read inaccessible text from images and videos. Licensing etc is provided by Read&Write.
Data Flow
Login
The default setting for Read&Write for Google Chrome is to use the de-identified version of the account that is signed into the browser for licensing purposes. However, users have the option to sign into a different account through the settings dialog. This allows for Google and Microsoft accounts to be signed in via oAuth, and other accounts to be signed in via the Everway Identity service.
Subprocessors
Everway sub processors can be found in our publicly available sub processor list.
Data Processing
Feature Name | Data Collected | Purpose of Collection | Processing Location | Retention Period | Data Sensitivity | Subprocessor |
CheckIt (Google Docs only) | Google Docs | Grammar checking | USa | Session-based | Low | Amazon Web Services, Inc. |
Prediction | Text before cursor | Word prediction | Local machine | N/A | Low | None |
Legacy Prediction | Text before cursor | Word prediction | EU/US | Session-based | Low | Amazon Web Services EMEA Sàrl Amazon Web Services, Inc. |
Dictionary | User selected text | Word lookup | EU/US | Session-based | Low | Amazon Web Services EMEA Sàrl Amazon Web Services, Inc. |
Picture Dictionary | User selected text | Visual dictionary | EU/US | Session-based | Low | Amazon Web Services EMEA Sàrl Amazon Web Services, Inc. Widget Software Ltd. |
Text to Speech | User selected text | Text-to-speech conversion | EU/US | Session-based | Medium | Amazon Web Services EMEA Sàrl Amazon Web Services, Inc. Cereproc ElevenLabs |
Screenshot Reader | Selected image data | Convert image to text. | Convert image to text. User local machine See the Text to Speech feature for playback. | N/A | Low | None |
Audio Maker | User selected text | Convert text to audio | EU/US | Session-based | Medium | Amazon Web Services EMEA Sàrl Amazon Web Services, Inc. (for online voices) |
Talk&Type (dictation) | User dictation | Speech to text conversion | Handled by the browser | Session-based | High | Google if Chrome, Microsoft if Edge |
Translator | User selected text | Text translation | Ultralingua Inc. (USA) | Session-based | Medium | UltraLingua Inc. Google LLC |
Highlights | User selected text | Highlight text for study | User local machine | N/A | Low | None |
Collect Highlights | User selected text | Collect multiple highlights | Google Docs, Microsoft OneDrive depending on the account type. Google or Microsoft. | Document is created in Google Drive or OneDrive | Low | Google for Google Drive accounts and Microsoft for OneDrive accounts |
Vocabulary List | User selected text and word lists | Create vocabulary lists | Google Docs, Microsoft OneDrive depending on the account type. Google or Microsoft. Widgit for images. | Document is created in Google Drive or OneDrive | Low | Google for Google Drive accounts and Microsoft for OneDrive accounts Widgit for images. |
Voice Note | User audio | Record voice notes | Google Docs, Microsoft OneDrive depending on the account type. Google or Microsoft. | Voice note audio is created in Google Drive or OneDrive | Medium | Google for Google Drive accounts and Microsoft for OneDrive accounts |
Simplify | The current pages/web applications content | To provide a simplified version of the content. | USA | Session-based | Medium | Amazon Web Services, Inc |
Rewordify | The current pages/web applications content | Rephrases difficult words on the page. | Local-machine | N/A | Low | None |
User Settings | User settings, no PII. | User preferences storage, UI display purposes the user's account. | Google account if in Chrome with a signed in Google account and chrome sync on. | Until removed | Low | |
User Authentication | Email address | Authentication | User local machine | Until removed | Medium PII | Google, Microsoft, NYC |
Licensing | Hashed email address, OR MAC address/username | License verification | USA | Until removed. Licence information will be retrained inline with our lawful bases or legitimate interests | Medium | Amazon Web Services, Inc. |
Analytics | Event data, User ID (hashed) | Usage analytics | Google Analytics | 2 Years | Low |
AI Voice Functionality and Data Security Statement
Our AI voices are powered by ElevenLabs’ advanced speech synthesis technology, specifically the eleven_turbo_v2_5 model, which falls under their “Generative AI” voice models.
To ensure the highest standards of data privacy and security, we use Zero Retention Mode under our enterprise agreement with ElevenLabs. This means:
Text-to-speech data is processed in real-time: The text you enter is securely sent to ElevenLabs to generate the voice, and the resulting audio is returned immediately.
No data is stored: Once the voice generation request is completed, the input data is immediately deleted by ElevenLabs and not retained for any purpose.
No data is used for training: Your input is not used to improve or train ElevenLabs’ models. This includes any confidential or sensitive information.
Secure infrastructure: ElevenLabs maintains strict security practices and compliance protocols to protect data in transit and during processing.
Definitions
Word | Meaning |
Session-based | Data is only used while the feature is in use. |
User local machine | The computer that R&W is on |
Public Information