BuyShield – Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 14, 2026

Contact: helpfulextensions@gmail.com

Version: 1.1.6

Plain-English Summary

BuyShield does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data to our servers.
All analysis history and settings are stored locally in your browser only.
Your Gemini API key is stored locally and sent only to Google's own API — never to us.
We do not track your browsing, sell data, or use analytics.
You can delete all data at any time from the Settings page.

1. What BuyShield Does

BuyShield is a Chrome extension that analyzes Amazon product pages to help buyers make informed purchase decisions. When you visit an Amazon product page, BuyShield reads publicly visible page data (product title, reviews, ratings, seller information) and uses heuristic algorithms and optionally Google's Gemini AI to generate a trust score and safety summary.

BuyShield operates on the following Amazon storefronts: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.co.jp, amazon.in, amazon.com.br, amazon.com.mx, amazon.sg, amazon.ae, amazon.sa, amazon.nl, amazon.pl, amazon.se, amazon.com.be, and amazon.eg.

2. Data We Collect and How It Is Used

Data collected from Amazon product pages

Product information: title, ASIN, price, overall rating, review count, rating breakdown, Best Seller Rank, listing date, seller name, and fulfilment method. This data is read from the page you are already viewing and is used solely to generate the trust score displayed to you.
Review text samples: up to 20 publicly visible review titles and bodies from the current page. Used only to generate the AI analysis. Never stored beyond the current session cache (cleared within 10 minutes).
Analysis results: trust scores, verdict labels, and heuristic breakdowns. Stored locally in your browser via chrome.storage.local to power the history and tracking features. Never transmitted to any server.
Tracked product list: ASINs and titles of products you explicitly choose to track. Stored locally only.
Extension settings: preferences such as auto-analyse toggle and badge display. Stored locally only.
Install ID: a randomly generated UUID created on first install, stored locally. Used only to manage freemium usage counts if a Cloudflare Worker proxy is deployed. Not linked to any personal identity.

We do NOT collect any of the following:

Your name, email address, or any contact information
Amazon account credentials or login information
Purchase history or order data
Browsing activity outside Amazon product pages
Any data from non-Amazon websites
Device identifiers, IP addresses, or location data
Crash reports or usage analytics

3. Data Storage

All data collected by BuyShield is stored exclusively in your browser using Chrome's chrome.storage.local API. This storage is:

Local to your device — it never leaves your browser.
Isolated to BuyShield — no other extension or website can access it.
Retained until you clear it via Settings or uninstall the extension.

BuyShield does not operate any servers or databases. We have no ability to access, retrieve, or view any data stored in your browser.

4. Third-Party Services

Google Gemini API (optional)

If you provide a Gemini API key in Settings, BuyShield will send product data (title, ratings, and a sample of review text from the current page) to the Google Generative Language API for AI-powered analysis.

Your API key is stored locally in your browser and transmitted directly to Google's API endpoint (generativelanguage.googleapis.com). BuyShield never receives, logs, or has access to your API key.
Data sent to Google is subject to Google's Generative AI Terms of Service and Google's Privacy Policy.
Providing a Gemini API key is entirely optional. BuyShield's heuristic scoring works fully without it.

Cloudflare Workers (production proxy — optional)

In a production deployment, BuyShield may route Gemini API calls through a Cloudflare Worker proxy. In this case, the product data described above is sent to the proxy, which forwards it to Google's API. The proxy does not log, store, or share any product data. Usage counts (tied only to the anonymous install ID) may be stored in Cloudflare KV to enforce freemium limits.

5. Chrome Permissions Explained

BuyShield requests only the permissions necessary for its core functionality:

Permission	Why It Is Required
storage	Store analysis history, tracked products, and settings locally in your browser.
activeTab	Read the Amazon product page you are currently viewing to extract product data for analysis.
tabs	Query the current tab URL to confirm you are on an Amazon product page before running analysis.
scripting	Inject the BuyShield badge and analysis overlay into Amazon product pages.
alarms	Reserved for future background re-scan alerts. Not currently active.
clipboardWrite	Copy the contact email address to your clipboard when using the waitlist feature, as a fallback if your email client is not configured.
host_permissions (Amazon domains)	Allow BuyShield's content script to run on Amazon product pages across all supported storefronts listed in Section 1.
host_permissions (generativelanguage.googleapis.com)	Allow the extension to send product data to Google's Gemini API when you have provided an API key.

6. Data Sharing and Sale

BuyShield does not sell, rent, share, or otherwise transfer any user data to third parties. The only external data transmission is the optional, user-initiated sending of product data to Google's Gemini API (described in Section 4). No advertising networks, analytics providers, or data brokers receive any information from BuyShield.

7. Your Rights and Data Deletion

You have full control over all data BuyShield stores. You can delete it at any time:

Open the BuyShield extension and click the settings icon.
Scroll to the Data section.
Click Clear All Data to permanently delete all locally stored analysis history, tracked products, settings, and the install ID.

Uninstalling the extension from Chrome also permanently removes all associated data from your browser.

Because we do not operate servers or hold any user data ourselves, there is no remote data to request deletion of.

8. Children's Privacy

BuyShield is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect any information from children. If you believe a child has used this extension and you have concerns, please contact us at the address below.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when adding new features or in response to changes in applicable law. When we do, the Last updated date at the top of this page will be revised. Continued use of BuyShield after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

10. Contact

For questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

helpfulextensions@gmail.com

We aim to respond within 5 business days.