Credible - Privacy Policy

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Credible ("we," "our," or "us"), a product of Credible AI. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Credible Chrome Extension.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect minimal information to provide and improve our service:

a) Current URL Information: We access the URL of the web page you are currently viewing only when the Extension is active on that page, solely for the purpose of analyzing its content and providing credibility assessments in real-time. This current URL is not stored long-term associated with your account.

b) Authentication Information: When you log in using Google (our identity provider), we receive the following information as provided by Google: your email address, first name, last name, profile picture URL, and Google's unique user ID ("google_id"). We use "google_id" as a pseudonymous identifier for your account.

c) Usage and Session Data: i. We collect anonymized analytics data via Google Analytics about how you interact with the features of our extension (e.g., clicks on buttons, settings changes) to improve functionality and user experience. This data is aggregated and not linked to your individual account. ii. To provide user-level analytics and manage our subscription tiers (e.g., enforce usage limits for freemium users), we also collect the specific URLs of websites you visit when the Extension is actively running on those sites. This includes sites where the Extension may be enabled by default (currently focused on news-related websites, but potentially expanding to other categories like social media in the future) and any site where you manually activate the Extension for analysis. This collected URL information is linked to your pseudonymous "google_id". We do not collect browsing history from sites where the Extension is inactive or disabled. iii. We may use browser session storage for temporary information related to the extension's current state, such as loading status or UI timeouts. This data is cleared when the session ends.

d) Preferences: We store your preferences locally on your device using Chrome's storage API ("chrome.storage") to customize your experience.

We do not collect sensitive personal information.

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use the information we collect to:

Provide, maintain and improve our extension
Develop new features and functionality
Analyze usage patterns (both aggregated and user-level) to enhance performance and user experience
Enforce usage limits and manage subscription tiers
Communicate with you about the service (e.g., account status, updates)
Protect against unauthorized access and abuse

DATA STORAGE AND SECURITY

We store our primary service data on AWS and Render servers. Certain essential user data required for authentication (like access tokens, refresh tokens, name, and email) is stored securely in cookies on your device, as detailed in Section 6. User preferences are stored locally using Chrome's storage API. We implement appropriate security measures for both server-side and client-side stored data. However, no electronic transmission or storage method can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

a) Google Authentication: We use Google's authentication services. Their privacy practices are governed by Google's privacy policy.

b) AI Services: We use AI services from Google (Gemini), OpenAI, Anthropic, and potentially other providers to analyze page content. The content analysis is performed by sending page content to these services, but this information is not linked to your personal identity.

c) Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand usage patterns. This information is aggregated and anonymized, used solely to improve our services.

COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

We use cookies and browser storage mechanisms for essential functionalities. Specifically:

Authentication & Backend Communication: To securely communicate with our backend services and maintain your logged-in state, we store essential authentication data, including access tokens, refresh tokens, your name, and email address, in first-party HTTP-only cookies. We use secure cookies for this purpose as they offer enhanced security compared to browser storage APIs like "localStorage" or "sessionStorage" for handling sensitive tokens. These cookies are used solely for authentication and enabling core Extension functionality.
Preferences: As noted in Section 2d, we use Chrome's storage API ("chrome.storage.local" or "chrome.storage.sync") to store your user preferences locally.
Session Information: As noted in Section 2c(iii), we use browser session storage for temporary, non-sensitive operational data.
No Tracking for Advertising: We do not use cookies or other tracking technologies for advertising, cross-site tracking, or analytics purposes beyond the aggregated, anonymized data collected via Google Analytics as described in Section 2c(i). You can control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling essential cookies will impair the Extension's functionality.

SHARING YOUR INFORMATION

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your information to third parties except:

With service providers who assist in our operations
To comply with legal obligations
To protect our rights or the safety of others
In connection with a business transfer (merger, acquisition, etc.)

INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

By using our Extension, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.

U.S. STATE PRIVACY RIGHTS

Depending on your state of residence, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information under applicable U.S. state privacy laws, including the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) and others. These rights may include:

The right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and potentially sell or share.
The right to request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
The right to correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.
The right to opt-out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information (as defined by applicable law). We do not "sell" or "share" personal information in the traditional sense or for cross-context behavioral advertising.
The right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information (we do not collect sensitive personal information).
The right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising your privacy rights.

To exercise any rights available to you under applicable state privacy laws, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law.

CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our extension is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

DATA RETENTION

We retain your authentication information (including "google_id") and the associated pseudonymous browsing data (URLs of websites visited while the Extension was active), along with anonymized usage data, for up to 24 months after your last activity, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Anonymized analysis results (not tied to individual users) and aggregated analytics data may be stored indefinitely. When information is no longer needed for its specified purpose, we will securely delete or further anonymize it.

YOUR CHOICES

You may contact us at [email protected] to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we have about you.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the new Policy on our website with an updated "Last Updated" date. It is your responsibility to review this Privacy Policy periodically for changes. Significant changes may also be communicated through our website or extension.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected].