Last updated: September 6, 2026
SortBuddy is a browser extension that sorts Instagram reels and posts by engagement metrics (views, likes, comments) and lets you export those metrics to CSV or JSON. This policy explains what data SortBuddy handles and how.
SortBuddy processes everything locally in your browser. It has no servers, sends nothing to the developer or any third party, contains no analytics or tracking, and does not collect, sell, or share any personal data.
When — and only when — you start a sort, SortBuddy accesses:
This data is used solely to sort the page you are looking at and to generate the CSV/JSON export if you request one. It is processed in memory, in your browser, and is discarded when the page is closed or reloaded.
SortBuddy does not read your Instagram password, and it never reads, copies
or stores your session cookies: where a browser exposes a request's Cookie
header to the extension at all, it is dropped the moment the request is
observed and never kept. It works within your existing, logged-in Instagram
session: SortBuddy replays a request from the Instagram tab itself, so the
request is made by that page, in that page's own session, exactly like the
requests Instagram's own page makes — the browser attaches the appropriate
Instagram cookies, and SortBuddy neither sees nor handles them. SortBuddy does
not implement a separate sign-in flow.
Your sort preferences (chosen sort type and post count) are saved using
Chrome's local extension storage (chrome.storage.local) so the popup
remembers them. This data never leaves your device.
Transient sort state, while a sort is running: the details of the
requests Instagram's own page made (their addresses and parameters), which
SortBuddy needs in order to re-read the engagement data. This is held in
Chrome's session storage (chrome.storage.session), which is kept in memory,
is never written to disk, is readable only by the extension itself, and is
cleared when your browser closes. SortBuddy also discards it as soon as the
sort finishes or is cancelled.
This exists so that a sort survives Chrome shutting down the extension's background worker mid-scroll, which it does routinely to save memory. The request headers kept alongside are filtered down to a short list of the technical headers Instagram's API needs, including CSRF and request-validation tokens. Request parameters may also contain Instagram's validation tokens. Cookie and Authorization headers are excluded from extension storage.
Nothing else is stored.
SortBuddy sends replay requests only to Instagram itself, within your browser, using the requests Instagram's own website made to display the page. Those requests are made from the Instagram tab you are sorting, within that page's own session — they go to the same address, with the same parameters, as the page's own requests. No data is transmitted to the developer or to any third party. There are no analytics, telemetry, advertising, or tracking components of any kind.
CSV/JSON exports are generated locally in your browser and saved to your device only when you click a download button. What you do with exported files is entirely under your control.