Lens analyzes images entirely on your device. It does not have a server, does not collect your images, and does not track you. This page explains exactly what does and doesn't happen when you use it.
What Lens does with your images
When you right-click an image and choose "Analyze with Lens," the image is handed to a small AI model running locally inside your browser, in an isolated part of the extension called an offscreen document. The image is never uploaded, emailed, logged, or transmitted to Lens's developer or to any third party — because there is nowhere for it to go. Lens does not operate a backend server.
What does get downloaded — and why
The first time you use Lens, it downloads the AI model's files (roughly 200–300MB) from Hugging Face's public model hub so it can run locally. This is a one-time download of the model, not a transmission of your data — no image or personal information is sent as part of that download. The model files are cached in your browser afterward, so this download only happens once (or again if you clear your browser's cache).
What is stored on your device
Lens keeps a small local cache of past results (the caption and tags for images you've already analyzed) using Chrome's built-in storage.local API, so re-analyzing the same image is instant the second time. This cache:
- Never leaves your device and is never transmitted anywhere.
- Is keyed by a one-way hash of the image's URL, not the image itself.
- Can be cleared at any time by removing the extension, or via
chrome://extensions→ Lens → Details → Clear storage. - Automatically expires after 30 days per entry.
Permissions Lens requests, and why
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
| contextMenus | Adds "Analyze with Lens" to the right-click menu on images. |
| activeTab | Lets Lens show its result overlay on the tab you're using, without needing standing access to every open tab. |
| storage | Powers the local result cache described above. |
| offscreen | Creates the isolated document that runs the AI model — required because Chrome's background service workers can't run it directly. |
| scripting | Reserved for maintaining the overlay across page updates; not used to inject anything beyond Lens's own interface. |
What Lens does not do
- Does not collect, sell, or share any personal data.
- Does not use analytics, tracking pixels, or advertising SDKs.
- Does not require an account, login, or email address.
- Does not read the content of pages beyond the image you explicitly right-click.
The "Copy & Share" feature
When you click "Copy & Share," Lens copies a short text summary to your clipboard — this action happens locally in response to your click and only writes to your own clipboard. Lens has no visibility into where you paste it afterward.
Children's privacy
Lens is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from anyone, regardless of age — it doesn't collect information from anyone at all.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the "Last updated" date above will change too. Material changes will also be reflected in the extension's Chrome Web Store listing.
Questions
For privacy questions specifically, or anything else, see the Support page.