ByteThirst Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 3, 2026 · Version 2.5

Data Controller

ByteThirst is operated by:

ByteThirst
109 Yorkshire Dr PMB 1006
Princeton, TX 75407
United States
hello@bytethirst.com

We are the data controller responsible for your personal data under the GDPR and applicable data protection laws.

What We Collect

Data stored locally on your device (chrome.storage.local):

• Platform identifier (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Studio, Copilot, Perplexity, Poe, You.com, Mistral, HuggingChat, Figma AI, Lovable.dev, Bolt.new, NotebookLM)
• Estimated input and output token counts per interaction
• Model tier (e.g., "standard", "large", "reasoning", "code generation")
• Date of interaction (YYYY-MM-DD format only — no time of day)
• Daily query count per platform
• Aggregated daily environmental impact estimates (water, energy, CO₂)
• User preferences (unit system, display mode)
• Achievement badge progress
• Social card generation count (for rate limiting)

AI code builder platforms (Lovable.dev, Bolt.new)

For AI code builder platforms, ByteThirst estimates the environmental impact of the AI model powering the code generation (e.g., Claude Opus 4.5 for Lovable.dev, Claude 3.5 Sonnet for Bolt.new). ByteThirst does not monitor, access, or collect any data from the code execution environment (such as WebContainers or preview sandboxes). Only the AI conversation panel is observed for token estimation, using the same DOM metadata approach as all other platforms.

This data is stored in Chrome's local extension storage and is not accessible to any website, server, or third party — unless you explicitly opt in to Community Benchmarks (see below).

Community Benchmarks (opt-in, all tiers):

Users on any tier (Free, Premium, Teams, and Enterprise) may opt in to Community Benchmarks from the extension settings. The setting description reads: “Shares query counts and calculated impact estimates (water mL, energy Wh, CO₂ g). No personal information or conversation content is ever collected. Enables Community Benchmarks in Analytics.”

When enabled, the following is transmitted:

• A random, non-reversible device identifier (not your email or Google account)
• Query counts per platform
• Calculated impact estimates (water mL, energy Wh, CO₂ g)
• Date (YYYY-MM-DD only)

Community Benchmarks never collects personal information, conversation content, prompts, responses, browsing activity, or any data that could identify you. You may opt out at any time from the extension settings. Opting out permanently deletes your anonymous benchmark data from our servers.

Data transmitted for premium subscribers only:

• Email address (via Google Sign-In) — used for account creation, authentication, and subscription management
• Subscription status — synced between your device and our server (Firebase/Google Cloud) to verify premium access

Premium network calls are limited to:

1. Firebase Authentication (Google Sign-In on initial upgrade; periodic silent token refresh to maintain your session)
2. Stripe payment processing (on initial upgrade and subscription renewal, managed by Stripe's PCI-compliant infrastructure)
3. Firestore subscription status verification (on extension popup open, maximum once per 24 hours, to confirm active premium access)
4. Stripe Customer Portal (when you click "Manage Subscription")

Data transmitted for Teams subscribers:

In addition to the premium data above, Teams members who opt in share the following with their team admin via the ByteThirst team dashboard:

• Daily aggregate QueryWeight per platform (total estimated water, energy, CO₂ by platform by day)
• Team membership status

Admins never see individual prompts, responses, conversation content, detailed usage patterns, exact timestamps, or per-query breakdowns. By default, only daily aggregate totals are shared. Team members may voluntarily opt in to share per-member usage breakdowns with admins. Team members are informed of data sharing through an employee monitoring disclosure during onboarding, as required by applicable labor laws.

Legal Basis for Processing

Under the GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases for processing personal data:

Processing Activity	Data Involved	Legal Basis (GDPR Art. 6)
Local usage estimation (free tier)	Platform identifiers, token counts, model tier, dates, daily aggregates	Legitimate interest — providing the core extension functionality you installed. Data never leaves your device.
AI platform domain detection	Whether you visit a supported AI platform domain (domain-level only, not full URLs)	Legitimate interest — required to activate the extension on supported platforms. No browsing history is collected or transmitted.
Beta email signup	Email address, optional survey responses	Consent — given when you submit the beta signup form. Withdrawable at any time.
Premium subscription (authentication & access)	Email address, subscription status, authentication tokens	Contract — necessary to authenticate your identity, verify your subscription, and provide the premium features you purchased.
Payment processing (via Stripe)	Payment details (handled entirely by Stripe)	Contract — necessary to process your subscription payment.
Product analytics (Chrome extension, CLI, web dashboard)	Anonymous install ID, surface name, client version, event name, environmental estimate metadata; user ID added after sign-in. Never includes prompt content, response content, file contents, or account credentials.	Legitimate interest for non-EEA/UK/Swiss visitors — measuring product activation, retention, and conversion to improve the product. Consent for EEA/UK/Swiss visitors (default-denied via Ketch CMP on web surfaces; default-denied via locale proxy in the extension; opt-in default for the CLI with prominent disclosure of the bytethirst config telemetry off command at first run). See “Product Analytics (All Users)” section below for details.
Marketing website analytics (bytethirst.com only, not the extension or CLI)	Page views, referrer, browser/device type, approximate location, first-party Google Analytics cookies (_ga, _ga_*)	Legitimate interest for non-EEA/UK/Swiss visitors — understanding aggregate site usage to improve the marketing website. Consent for EEA/UK/Swiss visitors. See “Website Analytics” section below for details and opt-out instructions.
Marketing website advertising and conversion measurement (bytethirst.com only, not the extension)	Page views, referrer, browser/device type, approximate location, click identifiers from Reddit and LinkedIn ads, advertising cookies set via Google Tag Manager (Reddit Pixel: _rdt_uuid; LinkedIn Insight Tag: li_fat_id, UserMatchHistory, AnalyticsSyncHistory, bcookie, lidc)	Consent — advertising tags only fire after you grant ad_storage / ad_user_data / ad_personalization consent through the Ketch CMP. For non-EEA/UK/Swiss visitors, advertising consent is granted by default subject to GPC and the Ketch jurisdictional rules; visitors can decline at any time via the Privacy Choices link.

Beta Signup & Email Communications

When you sign up for the ByteThirst beta on our website, we collect:

• Email address — stored in Firebase (Google Cloud) Firestore
• Optional survey responses — whether you are a power user and whether you would share impact cards (stored alongside your email)
• Signup timestamp — generated server-side

How we use your email

We use your email address exclusively for:

• Beta access confirmation and onboarding
• Product launch announcements
• New feature updates

We will never sell, share, or provide your email address to third parties for marketing purposes.

Lawful basis (GDPR)

Our lawful basis for processing your email is consent, given when you submit the beta signup form. You may withdraw consent at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting hello@bytethirst.com.

Email data retention

Beta signup emails are retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion. Upon unsubscribe or deletion request, your email and associated data are permanently removed from our database within 30 days.

What the ByteThirst Extension NEVER Collects

The ByteThirst Chrome extension never collects, stores, processes, or transmits:

• Your AI conversations, prompts, or responses (we structurally cannot — the extension only reads DOM metadata like model selector labels, never conversation content)
• Per-query records on any server (all usage data stays in local storage)
• Exact timestamps of your AI usage (we store only the date, never the time)
• URLs you visit (the extension activates only on supported AI platform domains: chat.openai.com, chatgpt.com, claude.ai, gemini.google.com, aistudio.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com, bing.com/chat, perplexity.ai, poe.com, you.com, chat.mistral.ai, huggingface.co/chat, figma.com, lovable.dev, bolt.new, and notebooklm.google.com)
• Browsing history or activity outside of supported AI platforms
• Browser fingerprinting data (canvas fingerprints, WebGL hashes, audio context data, etc.)
• Cookies or tracking identifiers used for advertising (the extension contains no Google Analytics, no advertising SDKs, no Reddit Pixel, no LinkedIn Insight Tag, and no autocapture or session recording — see the “Product Analytics (All Users)” section below for the separate, explicit-events-only product analytics we run across all ByteThirst surfaces, and the “Website Analytics” section for the separate analytics used on our marketing site at bytethirst.com)
• Content of files you upload to AI platforms
• IP addresses — our application code never logs or stores IP addresses. However, Firebase and Stripe may process IP addresses as part of their standard infrastructure operations (e.g., fraud detection, abuse prevention), and Google Analytics processes truncated IP addresses on our marketing website (see “Website Analytics” below). This processing is governed by their respective privacy policies and Data Processing Agreements, and we do not have access to these IP logs.

Third-Party Services (Premium Subscribers Only)

Firebase (Google Cloud)

We use Firebase Authentication for Google Sign-In (to authenticate your identity and maintain your premium session) and Cloud Firestore to store your subscription status. Firebase processes your email address, a unique user identifier, and authentication tokens. Firebase's data handling is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. We have a Data Processing Agreement with Google that governs Firebase's handling of personal data on our behalf. Our Firestore database contains only your email, subscription tier, and subscription expiration date — no usage data.

Stripe

Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe. ByteThirst never sees, stores, or has access to your credit card number, bank account details, or full payment information. Stripe is PCI DSS Level 1 certified. Stripe's data handling is governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy. We have a Data Processing Agreement with Stripe that governs their handling of personal data on our behalf.

Ketch (Consent Management Platform)

We use Ketch on our marketing website at bytethirst.com to manage consent for cookies, analytics, and other regulated data processing activities. Ketch is provided by Ketch Kloud, Inc. Ketch processes the minimum information needed to determine your jurisdiction (approximate location derived from your IP address) and to record and store your consent choices (a small consent record stored in your browser's local storage and on Ketch's servers). Ketch's data handling is governed by Ketch's Privacy Policy. See the “Website Analytics” section below for full details on how Ketch interacts with Google Analytics on bytethirst.com. Ketch is not used in the ByteThirst Chrome extension.

Brevo (Transactional Email — Teams only)

When a ByteThirst Teams admin sends a team invite, the invite email is delivered via Brevo (formerly SendinBlue), a transactional email service operated by Sendinblue SAS in France. Brevo processes the recipient's email address and the invite payload solely to deliver the message. We do not use Brevo for marketing email. Brevo's data handling is governed by Brevo's Privacy Policy. Because Brevo is based in the EU, transfers into Brevo are intra-EEA or covered by Standard Contractual Clauses depending on the admin's location. Brevo is not used for the free Chrome extension or for non-Teams subscribers.

Stripe Climate (Carbon Removal — informational link only)

A portion of our revenue is contributed to Stripe Climate, a program operated by Stripe that funds carbon removal projects. The “Climate” link in our website footer is an informational badge provided by Stripe (embedded as an iframe from climate.stripe.com). Loading the badge may cause your browser to make a request to Stripe, which is governed by Stripe's Privacy Policy. We do not transmit any additional personal data to Stripe Climate beyond what is required to render the badge.

Product Analytics (All Users)

This section applies to all three ByteThirst product surfaces: the Chrome extension, the IDE/CLI (@bytethirst/cli on npm), and the web dashboard at bytethirst.app. It is separate from the marketing-site analytics described in “Website Analytics” below.

PostHog (product analytics)

We use PostHog to measure how people use our products so we can improve them. PostHog is configured with autocapture off, session recording off, and person profiles created only on explicit sign-in. The only events recorded are the ones we have written into the source code by name; the locked schema lives in our open-source @bytethirst/telemetry package and is reviewable in our public methodology and code repositories.

What each event carries (the “BaseEventProps” required on every event):

• Anonymous install ID — a random UUID generated locally on first use of each surface (CLI: ~/.bytethirst/install_id; extension: chrome.storage.local; web: cookie/localStorage). Not linked to your identity.
• Surface — one of ide, extension, web, mobile. Lets us measure each product separately.
• Client version — the surface's software version, used for version-floor enforcement and bug triage.
• User ID — your Firebase user identifier, added only after you sign in. PostHog's identity merge then ties prior anonymous events from the same install to that user, so events from your CLI, extension, and dashboard merge into one view.
• Environmental estimate metadata — the water/energy/CO₂ figures the product computed for the relevant session, plus the methodology version under which they were computed. These are aggregate estimates, never per-prompt content.

What is never sent to PostHog or any analytics service:

• Prompt content (the text you type into AI platforms)
• Response content (the AI's text output)
• File contents read by the CLI wrapper
• Account credentials, Firebase tokens, OAuth secrets
• Browser-tab content from any domain other than the AI platforms detected by content scripts (and even within those platforms, only message length and platform identifier are captured — never the message text)
• IP addresses (anonymized by PostHog at ingest)

This is enforced in our test suites with privacy lint tests that fail CI if any event property name reads from a content variable.

Region-aware default state:

• On bytethirst.com (marketing site, when PostHog is wired there) and bytethirst.app (web dashboard), product-analytics events follow the same Ketch CMP consent state as our Google Analytics events — default-denied for EEA/UK/Swiss visitors until consent, default-granted on legitimate-interest basis for the rest of the world. The Ketch cookie is shared (parent-domain scope) so the same default state applies on both surfaces.
• In the CLI, anonymous telemetry is on by default (no IP geolocation is available on the user's machine). The first-run wizard surfaces the opt-out command. You can opt out at any time with bytethirst config telemetry off; the CLI also honors BYTETHIRST_NO_TELEMETRY=1 and CI=true as environment-variable opt-outs (CI is opt-out by default).
• In the Chrome extension, the default uses navigator.language as a coarse region proxy — default-denied for EEA/UK/Swiss locale codes, default-granted otherwise. The opt-out toggle is in the extension's options panel and persists via chrome.storage.sync.

Trial behavior. Premium and Teams subscriptions include a 7-day free trial. We collect a payment method via Stripe Checkout at signup; if you don't cancel before the trial ends, your card is charged automatically. Stripe processes the card details directly — ByteThirst never sees your card number. The trial-related events web.trial_started and web.trial_converted are recorded under the rules above (anonymous install ID, surface, user ID after sign-in; never card numbers, billing addresses, or other Stripe-managed PII).

Sub-processor: PostHog Inc., 2261 Market Street #4008, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA. PostHog's data handling is governed by PostHog's Privacy Policy. We have a Data Processing Agreement with PostHog that governs their handling of personal data on our behalf.

The @bytethirst/telemetry event schema is open source; the locked list of events and the technical configuration of our PostHog project are documented in our internal architecture decision records (available on request).

Website Analytics (Marketing Site)

This section applies only to our marketing website at bytethirst.com. The Google Analytics, Reddit Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight Tag described below are not present in the ByteThirst Chrome extension, the CLI, or the web dashboard. Those surfaces use only the explicit-events product analytics described in the “Product Analytics (All Users)” section above.

Google Analytics 4

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) on bytethirst.com to understand aggregate visitor behavior so we can improve the site. GA4 is provided by Google LLC. When you visit a page on bytethirst.com, GA4 collects:

• Pages viewed and the order in which they were viewed
• Time spent on each page
• Referrer (the site or search engine that sent you to us)
• Browser type and version, operating system, and device type (mobile, tablet, desktop)
• Approximate location (country and region only) derived from your IP address
• A randomly generated client identifier stored in first-party cookies named _ga and _ga_ENYMYXT92P (cookie expiration: 2 years)
• Anonymous interaction events (e.g., outbound link clicks)

GA4 truncates IP addresses before storing them and does not provide us with full IP addresses. We do not use Google Signals, Google Ads remarketing, advertising features, demographics, or interests reporting. We do not link GA4 data to any individual user account.

Google Tag Manager

We use Google Tag Manager (GTM) on bytethirst.com to manage tags — small code snippets such as analytics pixels and advertising conversion tags — without modifying the underlying website code. GTM is provided by Google LLC. Our GTM container ID is GTM-5T2PRWLH. GTM itself is a tag delivery and management platform; it does not set cookies or collect personal data on its own beyond a small request to load its container configuration. The tags loaded through GTM may collect data, and each such tag is described separately in this policy.

Tags loaded through our GTM container are limited to website analytics and advertising/conversion measurement integrations — specifically Google Analytics 4 (described above), the Reddit Pixel with its server-side Reddit Conversion API, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag with its server-side LinkedIn Conversion API. These advertising tags are used to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns we run on Reddit and LinkedIn (e.g., counting how many visitors who clicked an ad eventually installed the extension or signed up). We may add or remove tags from this container over time; the active list is available on request via the contact details at the end of this policy.

All tags loaded through GTM are gated by Google Consent Mode v2 and the Ketch CMP. Advertising and analytics tags only fire after the corresponding consent signal (analytics_storage, ad_storage, ad_user_data, ad_personalization) has been granted. For EEA, UK, and Swiss visitors, consent is collected via the Ketch banner before any tag fires. For California visitors, Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals are honored as a request to opt out of sale or sharing under the CCPA, which causes advertising tags to remain disabled. GTM is not used in the ByteThirst Chrome extension, the CLI, or the web app; it runs only on the marketing website at bytethirst.com.

Reddit Pixel and Reddit Conversion API

We use the Reddit Pixel (a JavaScript tracking tag) and the Reddit Conversion API (server-side event forwarding) on bytethirst.com to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns we run on Reddit. These integrations are operated by Reddit, Inc. and may collect: pages viewed on bytethirst.com, the URL or referrer that brought you to the site, browser and device information, an IP-derived approximate location, and a Reddit-issued advertising identifier stored in cookies (e.g., _rdt_uuid). For visitors who clicked a Reddit ad, the pixel may also receive the click identifier so Reddit can match the visit to the corresponding ad. We do not share email addresses, names, or account information with Reddit. Reddit's data handling is governed by Reddit's Privacy Policy and Reddit's Pixel Privacy and User Choice page. The Reddit Pixel and Conversion API only fire after you grant ad_storage / ad_user_data / ad_personalization consent through the Ketch banner; if you decline (or are subject to GPC), neither runs.

LinkedIn Insight Tag and LinkedIn Conversion API

We use the LinkedIn Insight Tag (a JavaScript tracking tag) and the LinkedIn Conversion API (server-side event forwarding) on bytethirst.com to measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns we run on LinkedIn. These integrations are operated by LinkedIn Corporation (a subsidiary of Microsoft) and may collect: pages viewed on bytethirst.com, the URL or referrer that brought you to the site, browser and device information, an IP-derived approximate location, and a LinkedIn-issued advertising identifier stored in cookies (e.g., li_fat_id, UserMatchHistory, AnalyticsSyncHistory, bcookie, lidc). We do not share email addresses, names, or account information with LinkedIn. LinkedIn's data handling is governed by LinkedIn's Privacy Policy. The LinkedIn Insight Tag and Conversion API only fire after you grant ad_storage / ad_user_data / ad_personalization consent through the Ketch banner; if you decline (or are subject to GPC), neither runs.

Cookies set by the marketing website

Cookie	Set by	Purpose	Expiration
_ga	Google Analytics 4	Distinguishes unique visitors	2 years
_ga_ENYMYXT92P	Google Analytics 4	Persists session state for our specific GA4 property	2 years
_rdt_uuid	Reddit Pixel (via Google Tag Manager)	Identifies the visitor to Reddit so the pixel can attribute ad clicks to conversions. Set only after advertising consent is granted.	3 months
li_fat_id	LinkedIn Insight Tag (via Google Tag Manager)	First-party identifier used by LinkedIn to attribute ad clicks to conversions. Set only after advertising consent is granted.	30 days
UserMatchHistory, AnalyticsSyncHistory, bcookie, lidc	LinkedIn Insight Tag (via Google Tag Manager)	Third-party LinkedIn cookies for user matching, analytics syncing, and load-balancing. Set only after advertising consent is granted.	Up to 2 years (LinkedIn-controlled)

The Google Analytics cookies are first-party cookies set under the bytethirst.com domain and are not used for advertising. The Reddit and LinkedIn cookies are set in connection with our advertising and conversion measurement programs and only after you grant advertising consent through the Ketch CMP. The LinkedIn cookies UserMatchHistory, AnalyticsSyncHistory, bcookie, and lidc are third-party cookies set by linkedin.com.

Consent management (Ketch CMP)

We use Ketch as our Consent Management Platform (CMP) on bytethirst.com. Ketch detects your jurisdiction and presents the appropriate consent experience, and it gates both Google Analytics 4 and the advertising tags loaded through Google Tag Manager (Reddit Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and their Conversion APIs):

• EEA / UK / Switzerland visitors: Ketch presents a consent banner before any analytics or advertising cookies are set or any analytics or advertising data is collected. Google Analytics, the Reddit Pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag are all loaded in Google Consent Mode v2 with the analytics_storage, ad_storage, ad_user_data, and ad_personalization signals defaulted to denied. No personal data is sent to Google, Reddit, or LinkedIn until you grant consent through the Ketch banner.
• California visitors: Ketch honors Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals and presents a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link as required by the CCPA/CPRA. When GPC is enabled, the Reddit Pixel, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and the Reddit/LinkedIn Conversion APIs are not loaded. ByteThirst does not sell personal information.
• All other visitors: Ketch grants analytics and advertising consent automatically based on the legal basis of legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR equivalents), since these jurisdictions do not require prior consent for limited first-party analytics. Visitors can decline at any time using the Privacy Choices link.

You can change your consent preferences at any time by clicking the “Privacy Choices” link in the Ketch banner or footer of any page on bytethirst.com. Withdrawing consent stops all future data collection through Google Analytics, the Reddit Pixel, the LinkedIn Insight Tag, and the corresponding Conversion APIs; previously collected anonymous aggregate data is retained per the data retention schedule below unless you specifically request deletion.

Legal basis (GDPR)

For visitors located outside the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, our lawful basis for processing analytics data is legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) — understanding aggregate site usage to improve the website. The processing is limited, the data is aggregated, and we do not use it for profiling or advertising.

For visitors located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, the lawful basis is consent (Art. 6(1)(a)), collected and managed through the Ketch CMP described above. Consent is freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, and can be withdrawn at any time with the same ease with which it was given.

How to opt out

You can prevent GA4, the Reddit Pixel, the LinkedIn Insight Tag, and the corresponding Conversion APIs from collecting data about your visit by any of the following methods:

• Use the Ketch “Privacy Choices” banner on bytethirst.com to decline analytics and/or advertising consent at any time. This is the primary mechanism for managing your preferences and is available from every page on the marketing site. Declining advertising consent disables the Reddit Pixel, the LinkedIn Insight Tag, and both Conversion APIs.
• Enable Global Privacy Control (GPC) in your browser settings — the Ketch CMP automatically honors GPC signals and treats them as a request to opt out of sale/sharing under the CCPA and as a withdrawal of analytics and advertising consent under the GDPR.
• Install the official Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on as a defense-in-depth measure for GA4.
• Manage Reddit ad personalization and tracking from your Reddit account at reddit.com/settings/account, and review Reddit's pixel choices at Reddit's Pixel Privacy and User Choice page.
• Manage LinkedIn ad personalization and opt out of LinkedIn-served advertising at linkedin.com/psettings/guest-controls.
• Block third-party scripts using a content blocker such as uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger.
• Use your browser's private/incognito mode and clear cookies after each session.

Note again: these opt-out methods apply only to bytethirst.com. The ByteThirst Chrome extension, CLI, and web app do not run Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, the Reddit Pixel, the LinkedIn Insight Tag, or Ketch, so no opt-out is necessary for those products.

Data Processing Agreement

We have accepted Google's Google Ads Data Processing Terms and Google Analytics Data Processing Terms (which also cover Google Tag Manager and Google Consent Mode), Reddit's Reddit Advertising Data Processing Addendum, and LinkedIn's LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Data Processing Agreement, which govern each provider's handling of personal data on our behalf as a processor.

International Data Transfers

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, your personal data may be transferred to and processed in the United States through our use of Firebase (Google Cloud), Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, the Reddit Pixel and Reddit Conversion API, the LinkedIn Insight Tag and LinkedIn Conversion API, Stripe, and Ketch. These transfers are protected by:

• Firebase (Google Cloud): Google maintains Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission and participates in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Google's Data Processing Terms are available at firebase.google.com/terms/data-processing-terms.
• Google Analytics & Google Tag Manager: Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager data transfers are governed by the same Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework as Firebase. Google's Analytics Data Processing Terms (which also cover GTM and Consent Mode) are available at support.google.com/analytics/answer/9012600. For EEA/UK/Swiss visitors, no GA4 or GTM-mediated data is transferred until consent is granted via the Ketch CMP.
• Reddit (Reddit Pixel and Reddit Conversion API): Reddit, Inc. is headquartered in the United States. Reddit relies on Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for transfers of personal data from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland. Reddit's advertising data processing terms are available at Reddit Advertising Data Processing Addendum. For EEA/UK/Swiss visitors, no Reddit Pixel or Reddit Conversion API data is transferred until advertising consent is granted via the Ketch CMP.
• LinkedIn (LinkedIn Insight Tag and LinkedIn Conversion API): LinkedIn Corporation (a Microsoft subsidiary) is headquartered in the United States. LinkedIn relies on Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for transfers of personal data from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland. LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions Data Processing Agreement is available at legal.linkedin.com/dpa. For EEA/UK/Swiss visitors, no LinkedIn Insight Tag or LinkedIn Conversion API data is transferred until advertising consent is granted via the Ketch CMP.
• Stripe: Stripe relies on Standard Contractual Clauses and participates in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Stripe's Data Processing Agreement is available at stripe.com/legal/dpa.
• Ketch: Ketch Kloud, Inc. is headquartered in the United States. Ketch processes minimal personal data (approximate IP-derived location and consent records) under Standard Contractual Clauses. Ketch's Data Processing Agreement is available at ketch.com/legal/data-processing-agreement.

Free tier users of the extension are not affected by international data transfers from extension usage, as all extension data remains locally on your device. If you visit our marketing website at bytethirst.com, the Ketch CMP will determine your jurisdiction and apply the appropriate consent flow before any analytics data is processed.

Chrome Web Store Compliance

ByteThirst's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Chrome Web Store Limited Use Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Specifically, ByteThirst:

• Only uses data to provide and improve the extension's core user-facing features (environmental impact estimation)
• Does not transfer user data to third parties for advertising, data brokerage, or any purpose unrelated to the extension's single purpose
• Does not use user data for personalized or interest-based advertising
• Does not combine user data from this extension with data from other extensions or services

Web browsing activity

ByteThirst detects when you visit a supported AI platform domain (listed above) to activate its estimation features. This detection is limited to domain-level matching only — the extension does not read, record, or transmit the full URLs you visit, your search queries, or any page content beyond the metadata required for estimation (such as model selector labels and response character counts).

Data security

All data transmitted between the extension and our servers (premium subscribers only, including authentication and subscription verification) is encrypted in transit using HTTPS/TLS. Server-side data in Firebase is encrypted at rest by Google Cloud. Local data stored in chrome.storage.local is protected by Chrome's built-in extension sandboxing and your operating system's user-level access controls.

Data Retention

• Local usage data: Automatically pruned after 90 days. You can manually clear all local data at any time from the extension's settings panel.
• Premium account data: Your email and subscription status are retained in Firestore for the duration of your subscription. Upon cancellation, account records are deleted within 30 days of subscription expiration.
• Payment data: Retained by Stripe according to their data retention policies and applicable financial regulations. ByteThirst does not independently store any payment data.

Your Rights

For all users

• View all stored data directly in Chrome's extension storage (accessible via the extension's settings panel)
• Export your local data as a JSON file at any time
• Delete all local data with one click in the extension's settings panel
• Uninstall the extension at any time, which removes all locally stored data

For premium subscribers

• Request a copy of all server-side data associated with your account by emailing hello@bytethirst.com
• Request deletion of all server-side data by emailing hello@bytethirst.com (processed within 30 days)
• Cancel your subscription at any time via the Stripe Customer Portal

GDPR (EU/EEA users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation:

• Right of access (Art. 15) — request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification (Art. 16) — request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Right to erasure (Art. 17) — request deletion of your personal data
• Right to restriction (Art. 18) — request that we limit how we process your data
• Right to data portability (Art. 20) — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format (the extension's JSON export fulfills this for local data)
• Right to object (Art. 21) — object to processing based on legitimate interest

To exercise any right, contact hello@bytethirst.com. We will respond within 30 days.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data has been processed unlawfully.

CCPA / CPRA (California residents)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act:

• Right to know — request what personal information we collect, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it
• Right to delete — request deletion of your personal information
• Right to correct — request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Right to opt-out — opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information
• Right to non-discrimination — we will not deny service, charge different prices, or provide a different quality of service because you exercised a privacy right

We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration. Under the broad CCPA/CPRA definitions of “sale” and “sharing” (which include certain cross-context behavioral advertising disclosures), the use of advertising tags such as the Reddit Pixel and the LinkedIn Insight Tag on bytethirst.com may be deemed a “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals on bytethirst.com via the Ketch CMP, which automatically disables the Reddit and LinkedIn advertising tags and conversion APIs when GPC is detected. California visitors can also click the “Privacy Choices” link in the Ketch banner to opt out of sharing at any time.

Categories of personal information collected (per CCPA §1798.140):

• Identifiers: Email address (beta signup and premium subscribers only); randomly generated Google Analytics client identifier stored in first-party cookies on bytethirst.com (does not identify you personally); randomly generated Reddit advertising identifier (_rdt_uuid) and LinkedIn advertising identifiers (li_fat_id, UserMatchHistory, AnalyticsSyncHistory, bcookie, lidc) stored in cookies on bytethirst.com when advertising consent is granted
• Internet or electronic network activity: Which supported AI platform domains you visit (stored locally on your device only, never transmitted for free tier); pages viewed, referrer, browser type, device type, and approximate location on bytethirst.com (collected via Google Analytics, the Reddit Pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag on the marketing website only)
• Commercial information — advertising and conversion measurement: Whether you arrived from a Reddit or LinkedIn advertising click and whether you completed a conversion event (e.g., installed the extension, signed up); attributed click identifiers from the originating ad. Collected only after advertising consent is granted, on bytethirst.com only.
• Inferences: Estimated environmental impact metrics derived from usage patterns (stored locally only)

Service providers and contractors: Firebase (Google Cloud), Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Stripe, Ketch (Consent Management Platform), Reddit (Reddit Pixel and Reddit Conversion API), and LinkedIn (LinkedIn Insight Tag and LinkedIn Conversion API) process limited data on our behalf under written agreements that restrict them from using your data for any purpose other than providing their services to us. Google Analytics and GTM data collected on bytethirst.com are governed by Google's Analytics Data Processing Terms; Google is contractually prohibited from selling this data or using it for its own advertising purposes on our behalf. Reddit and LinkedIn process advertising and conversion data on our behalf under their respective Data Processing Addenda, restricted to measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns we run on their platforms. We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals on bytethirst.com via the Ketch CMP.

To exercise any right, contact hello@bytethirst.com. We will confirm receipt within 10 business days and respond substantively within 45 calendar days.

Children's Privacy

ByteThirst is not intended for users under 16 years of age (or the minimum age established by applicable local law, which may be as low as 13 in some jurisdictions). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data through the beta signup or premium subscription, please contact hello@bytethirst.com and we will promptly delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We will update this page when our privacy practices change. Material changes will be announced via the extension's update notes in the Chrome Web Store.

Data Breach Notification

In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting your personal data, we will:

• Notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach, where required by law
• Notify affected users without undue delay if the breach poses a high risk to your rights and freedoms
• Provide details about the nature of the breach, the data affected, and the measures taken to address it

Free tier users are generally unaffected by server-side breaches, as their data is stored locally on-device and never transmitted to our servers.

Contact

For privacy questions or data requests: hello@bytethirst.com