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Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 1, 2026

Data Collection

This extension does not collect or store any personal user data on remote servers controlled by the extension developers.

Data Transmission

When you use the AI summarization feature, the extension sends Hacker News thread content (post titles and comments) to your configured LLM provider (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter, or local Ollama) to generate summaries. This data transmission only occurs when you explicitly request a summary.

Data Storage

  • Local Storage: Extension settings and preferences are stored locally in your browser.
  • Browser Sync: If enabled by your browser, settings (including API keys for LLM providers) may be synced across your devices using your browser's built-in sync functionality. This sync is handled entirely by your browser, not by the extension developers.
  • No Remote Storage: The extension developers do not store any of your data on remote servers.

Third-Party Services

The extension makes API calls to:

  • news.ycombinator.com — to enhance comment navigation on Hacker News
  • hn.algolia.com — to fetch public user profile information for hover previews
  • app.hncompanion.com — to fetch cached AI summaries (no personal data is sent; only public HN post IDs)

LLM providers (when configured) — to generate AI summaries of thread content you request:

  • api.openai.com (OpenAI)
  • api.anthropic.com (Anthropic)
  • generativelanguage.googleapis.com (Google)
  • openrouter.ai (OpenRouter)
  • localhost:11434 (local Ollama instance)

Each LLM provider has its own privacy policy governing how they handle data sent to their APIs.

Website Analytics

This website (hncompanion.com) uses Counterscale, a privacy-friendly, self-hosted analytics service to understand how visitors use the site. It collects page views and referrers with no cookies or browser fingerprinting. Data is retained for 90 days.

This service does not track individual users or collect personally identifiable information.

Updates

This privacy policy may be updated as the extension evolves. Please review the GitHub repository for any changes.

Contact

For questions about this privacy policy or the extension's privacy practices, please file an issue on our GitHub repository.