Privacy Policy — Social Media Screener Extension

Effective date: September 16, 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how Social Media Screener ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, discloses, stores, and deletes information when you use the Social Media Screener Chrome extension (the “Extension”). This policy is written to meet Chrome Web Store requirements for transparency about what data the extension accesses and sends off the user’s device.

By installing or using the Extension you agree to the terms below.

1. Summary (short version)

You control which posts are fetched and which posts are sent for analysis.
The Extension only collects publicly visible social media posts you select on your active tab and the email you enter to receive results.
Data you submit is sent to our backend and stored temporarily in Firebase for processing by a scheduler (hosted on a separate machine) that runs an on-prem Mistral model; analysis results and a Screening ID are returned and an email notification is sent.
Stored data is deleted automatically after processing completes plus a retention window (default: 30 days). You can request deletion sooner — see “Your rights”.

2. What information we collect

We collect only the minimum information needed to provide the service and only with your explicit action:

A. Data collected from the page (only when you initiate a fetch):

Public social media posts visible on the profile/page you have opened and that you choose to fetch and/or select for analysis.
- These are page contents (post text) — we do not collect private messages or login credentials.
- Content is collected by the extension’s content script when you press Start Fetching and finalized when you press Analyze Selected.

B. User-supplied data:

An email address you supply in the popup to receive results and the generated Screening ID (used for sending confirmations and analysis results).

C. Metadata (limited):

Timestamps and a small processing request record (e.g., request ID, platform name) to track processing status and usage limits.

3. How and why we use your data (purposes)

We use the data for these purposes only:

Analysis — to run AI analysis on the selected posts (the Extension sends selected posts + email to our backend).
Notifications — to email results (we may send the Screening ID and results summary to the email you provided).
Processing & troubleshooting — to store processing state and logs necessary to deliver results and to debug errors if processing fails.
Usage limits — to enforce per-user limits (trial vs Pro) and prevent abuse.

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling for marketing purposes, or sell it to third parties.

4. Where data is sent and who processes it

Third-party processors used:

Vercel — hosts our external API that receives your selected posts and writes to Firebase.
Firebase — stores the submitted request (posts, email, request ID) temporarily.
Resend or other email provider — used to send confirmation/notification emails.
On-premises scheduler — a separate computer you (or we) operate which reads requests from Firebase and performs inference using a locally installed Mistral model; analysis results are written back to Firebase.

Notes:

The on-prem Mistral processing machine does not receive credentials or other private account information; it only processes the post text you selected.
All network communications between your extension and our API use HTTPS.

5. Data retention and deletion

Retention policy :

Submitted posts and email are retained in Firebase until analysis completes and for an additional 30 days to allow reprocessing and troubleshooting. After that, the data is permanently deleted.
If an analysis fails and is retried, retention may extend until the retry completes, but automatic deletion will still occur within the retention window

User-initiated deletion:

You may request deletion of your data at any time by emailing socialmediascreenerextension@gmail.com with your Screening ID and email used. We will confirm and delete records from Firebase within 30 days (we aim to complete sooner where possible and will confirm completion by email).

6. What the extension does NOT collect

We do not collect or store your social media passwords, OAuth tokens, private messages, or other private account details.
We do not continuously monitor your browsing — the content script runs only on pages matching the manifest and acts only when you click the extension actions (Start Fetching / Analyze Selected).

7. Chrome permissions and why we need them

activeTab — required to read the contents of the active social media page when you initiate a fetch (so the extension can collect the posts you explicitly requested).
content_scripts with matches for social media domains — required so the content script can read page content for Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Reddit only when you open that page and initiate fetch.
Host permissions for https://socialmediascreenerapp.vercel.app/* — required so the extension can send selected posts to our backend API.

We only access page content when you explicitly ask the extension to fetch posts. This is disclosed prominently in the extension UI.

8. Security measures

Data in transit: HTTPS/TLS for all network requests.
Data at rest: Firebase security rules restrict access to our backend and the on-prem scheduler uses private credentials and is not publicly accessible.
Access: Only necessary backend services and the on-prem processing machine have access to submitted posts.

No method is 100% secure — we describe reasonable steps taken above.

9. Your rights

Access: Request copies of your data (submit Screening ID + email).
Rectification: Request corrections if data is inaccurate.
Deletion: Request deletion; we’ll remove data from Firebase and backups within 30 days.
Support: Contact socialmediascreenerextension@gmail.com for any request; include your Screening ID and the email used.

10. Children

This Extension is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. When material changes occur we’ll update this page and change the “Effective date” above.

12. Contact

Email: socialmediascreenerextension@gmail.com
Include your Screening ID and email used for faster handling.