Privacy Policy

AI Fact Checker — YouTube & Web  ·  Effective: January 1, 2025

Overview

AI Fact Checker is a Chrome extension that fact-checks YouTube videos and web articles by extracting text content and verifying claims against peer-reviewed research. This policy explains what data we handle, how we use it, and what we never do.

What data we collect

We collect only the minimum data required to provide fact-checking results:

• Video transcript text — extracted from YouTube captions when you fact-check a video.
• Webpage text — extracted from the visible content of a page when you fact-check an article.
• YouTube video ID — used to cache results so repeat visits are instant.

We do not collect your name, email, Google account, browsing history, or any data from pages you have not explicitly chosen to fact-check.

How we use your data

• Transcript and page text is sent to our backend (hosted on Render) solely to extract claims and verify them against PubMed research databases.
• Fact-check results are cached on our server, keyed by YouTube video ID, to avoid redundant processing. Cached results contain only the claims and their verdicts — not the full transcript.
• We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond generating fact-check results.
• We do not sell or share your data with third parties.

When data is processed

The extension is on-demand only. Data is sent to our backend only when you click the Refresh button. The extension does not passively monitor your browsing, run in the background, or send any data unless you explicitly trigger it.

Permissions we request and why

• activeTab / scripting — to read the transcript or page text from the currently open tab when you click Refresh.
• sidePanel — to display fact-check results in Chrome's side panel.
• tabs — to detect the current page URL and determine whether it is a YouTube video or a webpage.
• storage — to store minor UI state locally (e.g. last viewed video ID).
• Host access (all sites) — required because the extension works on any webpage or article, not just YouTube. We only read content from the page you are actively viewing and only when you initiate a fact-check.

Data retention

Cached fact-check results are stored on our backend indefinitely to improve response times. Transcript and page text is not stored beyond the time needed to generate results. If you would like your cached results removed, contact us at the address below.

Children's privacy

This extension is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the extension evolves. Significant changes will be noted in the Chrome Web Store listing. Continued use of the extension after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

For privacy questions or data deletion requests, email: gakumar1999@gmail.com