Privacy Policy

Last Updated: April 10, 2025

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Information We Collect
  3. How We Use Your Information
  4. Information Storage and Security
  5. Your Choices and Rights
  6. Children's Privacy
  7. Changes to This Privacy Policy
  8. Contact Us

1. Introduction

Welcome to RefOwl ("we," "our," or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Chrome extension.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access or use RefOwl.

2. Information We Collect

RefOwl is designed with privacy in mind. All citation data is stored locally in your browser, and we collect minimal information:

Local Storage Data

Our extension stores the following information locally in your browser:

  • Saved citations and bibliographies
  • User preferences and settings
  • Citation formatting preferences

This data never leaves your device and is not sent to our servers.

Anonymous Usage Data

We may collect anonymous usage data through the Chrome Web Store Developer Dashboard, such as:

  • Installation and uninstallation statistics
  • Crash reports
  • Feature usage patterns (anonymized and aggregated)

This information helps us improve our extension and fix bugs. It does not include any personally identifiable information.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the limited information we collect to:

  • Improve and maintain the functionality of RefOwl
  • Understand how users interact with our extension
  • Fix bugs and address technical issues
  • Develop new features based on user behavior patterns

4. Information Storage and Security

Your citation data and preferences are stored locally on your device using the Chrome Storage API. This data is not accessible to us or third parties.

The anonymous usage data we collect is processed securely and in accordance with standard industry practices. We implement appropriate technical and organizational safeguards to protect the limited information we process.

5. Your Choices and Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

  • Access and Control: You can access, export, or clear your saved citations at any time through the extension's interface.
  • Deletion: Uninstalling the extension will remove all locally stored data.

Since we don't collect personally identifiable information, many traditional data subject rights (such as erasure, portability, etc.) don't apply in the traditional sense.

6. Children's Privacy

RefOwl is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information.

7. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Email: [email protected]