Privacy Policy for MetaScout

1. The Short Version

• Page content never leaves your browser. The tags, headings and text the Extension reads to audit a page are processed on your device and are not transmitted anywhere. Not to us, not to anyone.
• No analytics, no tracking, no advertising. The Extension contains no analytics or advertising code and does not report how you use it.
• The only server the Extension itself contacts is cardamon.org, and only for the optional Pro license and support: current prices when the Pro dialog opens, license activation and its periodic re-check, messages you choose to send to support, and the "lost your key" form.
• Two pieces of personal data can be sent, both only when you type them in: an email address (support form or key recovery) and your Pro license key (activation). Nothing else about you is collected.

2. What the Extension Reads, and Where It Goes

When you click the MetaScout icon or press its keyboard shortcut, Chrome's activeTab permission lets the Extension read the page in that tab. If you allow auto-audit (Chrome asks once, on your first click), the Extension may read the pages you switch to without a click, and the Pro batch audit may open the URLs you list in background tabs to read them. In every case the Extension reads only what it needs for the audit: the document's title, meta tags, canonical and alternate links, robots directives, headings, Open Graph and Twitter/X tags, structured-data blocks, favicon and viewport settings.

All of it is analysed on your device. The audit rules, the score, the suggestions, the previews and the reports are computed by JavaScript inside the Extension. No page content, URL or audit result is ever sent to Cardamon or any third party.

Requests the Extension makes to the audited site itself, because you asked for them:

• Preview images. To draw the platform previews, the panel loads the image and favicon the page declares (for example its og:image), from wherever the page hosts them, exactly as the page itself would.
• robots.txt, sitemap.xml and llms.txt. Only when you click "Check robots.txt, sitemap & llms.txt", the Extension fetches those three files from the audited site's origin to report crawler and AI-crawler access. It never fetches them on its own.

3. What Stays on Your Device

The Extension keeps the following in Chrome's local extension storage on your computer:

• Preferences: theme and the last section you had open.
• Audit history: a compact snapshot of each audit, stored per URL so the next audit of the same page can show what changed. History is capped, stays on this device, and can be cleared at any time from Settings.
• Pro settings: report branding (your name, logo and notes, if you set them) and your license status.
• A random install identifier: a random value generated on your device that identifies this installation for license seat counting. It is mirrored to Chrome's synced extension storage so that reinstalling does not use up another seat of your license. It contains no personal information and is not linked to your Google account by us.

Removing the Extension deletes its local storage.

4. Requests to cardamon.org, in Full

The free audit, previews, crawler check and reports work without any of the following. These requests exist only for the optional Pro license and support, and each is listed with exactly what it carries:

• Current prices and paywall text - when the Pro dialog or a Pro teaser is shown, the Extension fetches what to display. The request carries the product name, your Chrome UI language, the operating system family, the number of days since installation, and the version of the text it already has. It carries no page data and no identifier for you. Cardamon counts how often the dialog was shown and, from the request's network route, in which country - as an aggregate only; no IP address is stored.
• Starting a purchase - when you click "Get Pro", the Extension asks cardamon.org for a checkout link, sending the product name, the offer you chose and the random install identifier (so the license can unlock this installation automatically after payment). Payment itself is handled by Paddle, our merchant of record, under Paddle's privacy policy; the Extension never sees your payment details.
• License activation and re-check - when you enter a license key, the key and the random install identifier are sent to cardamon.org to confirm the license and count the seat. The check is repeated silently about once a week (daily for subscriptions) so that a refund or cancellation takes effect. "Sign out other browsers" sends the same two values to release the other seats.
• Lost your key - if you use the recovery form, the email address you type is sent so the key can be emailed to you.
• Support - if you write to support from inside the Extension, your message, the category you chose, the Extension version, a random conversation token generated on your device, and - only if you enter one - your email address are sent so we can reply. Nothing about the pages you audited is attached unless you type it yourself.
• Manage subscription - opens Paddle's customer portal for your subscription; the request carries your license credential so the right subscription is shown.
• Uninstall feedback - when you remove the Extension, Chrome opens one short, optional feedback page on cardamon.org. The link carries only the Extension version and how many days it was installed. Answering is optional; the page collects what you choose to submit and nothing else.

5. What We Never Collect

• The content, URLs or audit results of the pages you visit
• Your browsing history or activity (clicks, scrolling, keystrokes)
• Your location (no IP address is stored; the only geographic signal is an aggregate country count on paywall views)
• Health, financial, or authentication information other than the Pro license key you enter
• Personal communications, other than a support message you write to us
• Usage analytics or telemetry of any kind

6. How We Use and Share the Data We Do Receive

A license key and install identifier are used only to confirm your Pro license and count its seats. An email address is used only to send you your key or to answer your support message. A support message is read by a person at Cardamon to help you. Aggregate paywall counts are used to understand how the Pro offer performs.

We do not sell or transfer user data to third parties, other than to Paddle to process a purchase you start. We do not use data for any purpose unrelated to the Extension's single purpose, and we do not use it to determine creditworthiness or for lending. Our use of information complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

7. Retention

License records are kept for as long as the license is valid and for a reasonable period afterwards for refunds and disputes. Support conversations are kept until they are resolved and for a reasonable period afterwards. An email address entered into the recovery form is used for that one email and not stored with the request. Local data on your device is under your control at all times: clear the history from Settings, or remove the Extension.

8. Children's Privacy

The Extension is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.

9. Your Rights

You can ask us to show, correct or delete anything we hold about you (a license record, a support conversation) by emailing support@cardamon.org. Everything stored on your device you can delete yourself.

10. Changes to This Policy

If a future version of the Extension changes how data is handled, this page will be updated before that version ships, and the Chrome Web Store listing's privacy disclosures will be updated to match.

11. Contact Us

Questions about this policy: support@cardamon.org.