# Privacy Policy **promptshield** is a browser extension that helps keep sensitive data (passwords, API keys, credentials) from being sent to AI chat websites. This policy describes what the extension does with your data. *Last updated: September 2026* ## The short version - The extension **never transmits your prompts to any remote server**. - Every prompt is scanned **locally in your browser** by the extension's built-in scanner. If the optional local gateway is also running, the text is sent **only to a local gateway at `127.0.0.1:8080`** that runs on your machine. - Nothing you type is uploaded or shared with the extension's developer or any third party. - The only thing saved in your browser is a set of anonymous counters (how many prompts were detected as sensitive, and how many you blocked, masked or sent anyway). Prompts containing nothing sensitive are not counted. Your prompt text and sensitive values are never saved. - The gateway, if installed and running, keeps an **audit log on your own machine only** to record what it blocked and why. ## What the extension accesses The extension runs on these AI chat websites (and only these): chatgpt.com, chat.openai.com, claude.ai, gemini.google.com, grok.com, x.com (Grok), copilot.microsoft.com, chat.deepseek.com, perplexity.ai, you.com, poe.com, chat.mistral.ai, meta.ai, huggingface.co (Chat), and chat.duckduckgo.com. While you are on one of those sites, the extension reads the text you type into the message box in order to scan it. ## How data flows 1. You type a prompt into an AI chat site. 2. Before the prompt is sent to the AI provider, the extension scans it **locally in your browser** using its built-in detection engine. 3. If the optional local gateway is installed and running, the text is also sent via a **loopback request to `http://127.0.0.1:8080`** ΓÇö the promptshield gateway running locally on your own computer. A loopback request does not leave your machine. When the gateway is not running, the built-in scanner does all the work, so protection stays on. 4. Only after you choose an action ΓÇö **Block**, **Mask & send**, or **Send it anyway** ΓÇö is the message handled. With "Mask & send", sensitive values are replaced with placeholders before anything is sent to the AI provider. The prompt is otherwise never forwarded anywhere by the extension itself; only the AI chat site you are using performs network transmission. ## What is stored - **Local Gateway**: If you run the optional promptshield gateway, it can keep an audit log (`audit.jsonl`) on your computer recording detections (type of data found, timestamp). This file stays on your machine and is never uploaded. - **Extension storage**: The extension stores only four anonymous counters in your browser's local extension storage: how many prompts were **detected** as containing sensitive data, how many of those you **blocked**, how many you **masked and sent**, how many you **sent anyway**, and the date counting began. These are plain numbers kept on your device. Prompts that contained nothing sensitive are never counted. **Your prompt text, the sensitive values, and the names of detected data types are never written to storage.** You can erase the counters at any time with the "Reset" link in the extension popup, or by uninstalling the extension. - **Nothing remote**: The extension has no server, no analytics, no telemetry, and no advertising. The developer does not collect, receive, or see any of your prompts. ## What happens if the gateway is not running The extension's built-in scanner keeps working ΓÇö prompts are still scanned locally in the browser before they can be sent. The only difference is that the optional dashboard/audit log on your machine is not updated. ## Your data is yours Because all processing happens on your device, there is nothing for the developer to delete, export, or correct. You can stop collection entirely by uninstalling the extension or pressing the browser's extension toggle to disable it. The extension's counters can be cleared at any time from the "Reset" link in the popup. To remove the local audit log, delete the gateway's log file on your machine. ## Third parties The extension does not share data with any third party. No tracking, no cookies, no cross-site requests, and no external code. ## Changes to this policy If this policy changes, the update will be posted here with a new "Last updated" date. ## Contact For questions about this policy, open an issue at the project repository https://github.com/lohith1947/promptshield.