Privacy Policy for the FYI browser extension

The extension runs only when you open its side panel on a page. When you do, it reads the text content of the article on the current tab so it can detect factual claims in it. It does not read pages in the background, and it does not run on tabs where you have not opened the panel.

You may also upload a CSV file yourself, in order to explore the data behind a claim.

The AI features are off until you enter your own API key, under API keyin the panel menu or on the extension’s options page. There is no shared key: nothing is sent to an AI provider until you have chosen one and supplied credentials for it.

To detect claims and answer your questions, the extension sends the following to the FYI backend, which relays it to the AI provider you configured:

• the text of the article you are analysing
• the specific claim you select
• messages you type into the AI chat
• the contents of any CSV file you upload for analysis
• your API key, sent as a request header on each call

The key is used to authenticate that one request against your provider and is then discarded. It is not stored, logged, or written to disk on the backend, and the backend keeps no key of its own.

Which provider receives your content is your choice. The default is OpenRouter, and you may point the extension at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint instead. When you enable the Web Search option, the search step runs on whichever search-capable model your provider offers, Perplexity Sonar in OpenRouter’s case.

Your data is therefore processed under your chosen provider’s policies as well as this one, and the usage is billed to your account with them. Do not use the extension on pages containing information you are not willing to send to that provider.

• Interaction history. The extension records your actions during a session (claims opened, tools used, verdicts submitted). This stays in your browser and is never transmitted to us. It is saved locally so that closing the panel or reloading the page does not lose your work, and it is erased when you reset the session or start on a different article. It leaves your device only if you explicitly click Export session, which downloads it as a JSON file to your computer.
• Claims and chart-builder state, saved in your browser’s local storage for the same reason.
• Your API key and model settings, saved in Chrome’s extension storage on this machine. They are not synced to your Google account and are not sent to us except as the per-request header described above. Clearing the key from either settings screen removes it and turns the AI features back off.
• Your custom FYI backend URL, if you set one, saved in Chrome’s extension storage.

• We do not sell or transfer your data to third parties, beyond the AI provider you chose, which is required to operate the features you invoke.
• We do not use your data for advertising, credit scoring, or lending.
• We do not collect your passwords or your login credentials for any website. The one credential involved is the API key you enter yourself, which is handled as described above: stored on your machine, sent with your own requests to your own provider, never retained by us.
• We do not collect payment information, health information, or personal communications.
• We do not run analytics or telemetry, and the extension does not report your browsing back to us.

The Python data-analysis tool runs entirely inside your browser, using a Python runtime bundled in the extension package. Code you write there, and the data it operates on, are not sent anywhere.

Questions about this policy or about the extension: truongthinh.nguyen03@gmail.com, or open an issue at github.com/DataVisards/FYI.