Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how Footnote ("we", "our", or "the application"), including the Footnote Web Application (footnote-90bdd.web.app) and the Footnote Chrome Browser Extension, collects, uses, and protects your information.

2. What Data We Collect & How It Is Used

We believe in strict data minimization. We only collect the minimal information necessary to deliver fact-checking and source verification results:

• User-Initiated Fact-Checking Content: When you deliberately submit a query, highlight text on a webpage, or check a URL or image excerpt via the extension or website, that specific content is sent to our verification service to analyze facts against grounded source trails. We do not passively capture background web activity.
• Authentication Information (Optional): If you choose to sign in to your Footnote account (e.g. via Google Sign-In), we receive your basic profile information (name, email address, and unique user ID) provided through Firebase Authentication to manage your daily check quotas and saved checks.
• Local Extension & Web Preferences: Local settings, including theme preference (light/dark mode) and optional hotkey triggers, are stored locally on your device via browser storage (chrome.storage.local or localStorage).

3. What We Never Do

• No Passive Browsing Tracking: The extension does not collect, record, or transmit your browsing history, tabs, or web surfing activity.
• No Keystroke Logging: We never monitor or log keystrokes.
• No Data Selling: We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to data brokers, advertisers, or third parties under any circumstances.
• No Credit or Lending Uses: We do not use or transfer user data to assess creditworthiness or for lending purposes.

4. Third-Party Services & Infrastructure

Footnote utilizes reputable infrastructure providers strictly to execute its primary features:

• Google Firebase: Used for secure authentication (Firebase Auth) and web application hosting (Firebase Hosting).
• Google Gemini with Search Grounding: Used to analyze submitted claims and discover verified factual citations on public web sources.

5. Limited Use Compliance

Footnote's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy and the Chrome Web Store Developer Program Policies, including the Limited Use requirements.

6. Data Retention & Deletion

Temporary analysis payloads are kept only as long as necessary to complete verification and cache non-personal evidence citations. You can clear your local extension data at any time via your browser settings. To request the deletion of your account and any associated data, contact us at the email address below.

7. Contact & Developer Information

If you have any questions, feedback, or data requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact:

Footnote Development Team
Email: tayeb.bentria@gmail.com
Website: https://footnote-90bdd.web.app