Hidden Tokens / Academy / Lesson 4

ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot in the browser

Lesson 4 of 9 · 4 min · app 0.14.4 · connector 2.42.0

Before you start

You need the Hidden Tokens app running on your computer, with at least one watched folder: the extension does not code anything by itself, it asks the app. It works in Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc; Firefox and Safari are not supported yet.

Step by step

1. Start from a watched folder

   The extension codes your messages with the key of a folder the Hidden Tokens app watches, so that NAME-001 is the same person in ChatGPT and in your coded files. If you followed lesson 2, use your Academy practice folder; otherwise, watch an empty folder first. The app must be running.

   Done

2. Install the extension

   From the extension page, add Hidden Tokens to Chrome, Edge, Brave or Arc from the Chrome Web Store; it is listed as Hidden Tokens — anonymize your AI prompts. Pin it from the puzzle-piece menu so that its H icon stays in the toolbar.

   Done

3. Copy the pairing code from the app

   In the Hidden Tokens menu, choose Pair browser… and click Copy code. The code only works on this computer.

   Done

4. Pair the extension

   Click the H icon, paste the code into the field pairing code (64 characters) and click Pair. The popup answers Paired: the app responds. and shows the app as running.

   Done

5. Choose the folder whose key codes your messages

   In the same popup, under Folder whose key encodes your messages, choose Academy practice. By default the extension uses the first watched folder.

   Done

6. Send a message with invented client names

   Open chatgpt.com (or Gemini, Copilot, claude.ai, Le Chat, Perplexity, DeepSeek) and send, for example: Draft a two-line reminder to Rowena Kettleby of Quillon Freight Ltd: Brackwater Systems Ltd missed the 30 June delivery. Before it leaves, a banner says how many items were protected, for example 3 items protected before sending · folder Academy practice.

   Done

7. Read the reply, translated back on your screen

   The reply comes back with codes, and the extension shows the real names in their place, on your computer only: Codes in this conversation are translated back on screen, on this computer. The site only received codes.

   Done

8. Check what the site really received

   Open the same conversation where the extension is not installed: the ChatGPT app on your phone, or another browser. There you see what the provider stored: codes, not names. That is the check to show a sceptical colleague.

   Done

What can go wrong

• A red banner says your messages are sent without protection. The extension has never been paired: until the first pairing it lets messages through, and says so. Pair it (steps 3 and 4) before typing anything real.
• "Message held, nothing was sent." The app is closed, not paired any more, or could not write the coded text into the site's message box. Open the app, then send again. This is the extension doing its job: it would rather hold a message than let it go in clear.
• You are in a private window. Chrome turns extensions off there, so a message typed in a private window leaves in clear. To cover them: Extensions › Hidden Tokens › Details › Allow in Incognito.
• You used the ChatGPT desktop app, your phone or another browser. The protection lives in the browser where the extension is installed. Anything typed elsewhere is not coded.
• The extension was just updated. Reload the AI's open tabs (⌘R or Ctrl+R): the old page script holds your messages and says so until you do.
• An AI site that is not listed (for example Grok or Meta AI) is not covered: the message leaves as it is.

✓ Lesson done: every step ticked and every answer right. Your progress stays in this browser only.

Written for app 0.14.4 and connector 2.42.0 on 27/10/2026. Not yet replayed on screen on Mac and Windows: if a label differs from what you see, trust your screen and tell us.