Privacy Policy Reading Time Estimator

WHAT IT DOES

Privacy Policy Reading Time Estimator helps you understand the scope of legal documents before you start reading. It automatically scans any privacy policy, terms of service, or legal document page, counts the total word count, and estimates how long it will take to read based on your personal reading speed. The panel displays word count, estimated reading time, section count, and a readability score (Flesch Reading Ease) with grade-level equivalents. A section breakdown shows the length of each major section of the document—such as data collection, third-party sharing, user rights, security, cookies, and more—with estimated reading time per section. The optional progress bar tracks your reading progress as you scroll through the document, helping you see how much you've read and how much remains. Perfect for privacy-conscious users, researchers, legal professionals, and anyone who wants to make informed decisions about their data.

WHERE IT RUNS

This script runs on any webpage containing a privacy policy or legal document. It operates entirely within your browser tab, scanning the page's text content and structure using common section identifiers and semantic elements. The script cannot access other tabs, your browsing history, bookmarks, downloads, or any data outside the current page. All settings—including reading speed, time format, progress bar visibility, auto-detect preference, and section breakdown preference—are stored locally using GM_setValue and never transmitted anywhere.

HOW TO USE

After installing with the BotGentz extension, the script automatically detects legal documents on pages you visit (if auto-detect is enabled). Click "Analyze Document" to scan the current page and display a complete reading report. The report shows total word count, estimated reading time based on your selected reading speed, section count, and a readability score with grade-level rating. The section breakdown lists each major section of the document with its word count and estimated reading time, helping you prioritize which sections to read first. Enable the progress bar to see your reading progress as you scroll. Adjust your reading speed to match your personal pace—the default is 250 words per minute, with a range of 50-800 wpm. Choose between minutes or seconds for time display. Click "Copy Report" to export the full analysis to your clipboard.

THE REAL MECHANISM

The script uses a multi-layered detection strategy to identify legal document content. First, it checks for common indicators in the page title, headings, and body text—keywords like "privacy," "policy," "terms," "service," "GDPR," and "CCPA." It then locates the main content container using common selectors (.privacy-policy, .terms, .legal, .content-section, etc.) and extracts the full text. The script also identifies section boundaries by detecting headings (h1-h6) and section-title class elements, creating a structured breakdown of the document. For each section, the script detects the type of content by scanning for keywords associated with 11 common legal categories. The word count uses a simple space-split tokenizer. Reading time is calculated as words divided by the user's words-per-minute setting. The readability score uses a simplified Flesch Reading Ease formula that analyzes word, sentence, and syllable counts to produce a score from 0-100 with a grade-level rating. The progress bar monitors scroll position relative to the total document height.

THE PANEL

The Reading Time Estimator panel is a BGPanel component that you can drag anywhere on your screen by its header. It snaps to the nearest edge when released, keeping your workspace organized. The panel collapses to a small bubble showing only the emoji icon when minimised—click to expand it again. You can resize the panel horizontally to see more of the section breakdown. Press the Escape key to collapse the panel instantly. Your panel position and size are saved per-site.

PLEASE NOTE

This script requires the free BotGentz browser extension to function. The section detection relies on HTML headings and class names—documents with non-standard structure may not be parsed correctly. The readability score is an approximation and should be used as a general guide, not a definitive measure of comprehension difficulty. The script never reads or writes password fields, hidden inputs, or file inputs. It stores only your reading speed, time format, progress bar preference, auto-detect preference, and section breakdown preference locally. No document content, reading data, or personal information is ever collected, transmitted, or shared.