Extension Privacy Policy

The Gold Standard Certificate Checker (“the extension”) is published by Gold Standard Analytics (“we”). It checks Gold Standard certificates of analysis that appear on the web pages you visit. This policy covers only the extension; our website is covered by the site privacy policy.

The short version

• The extension sends goldstandardanalytics.com the certificate numbers it checks (and a private certificate’s own key, when a link you check carries one). Nothing about you or the pages you visit.
• It never sends the addresses or contents of the pages you visit, and it does not track your browsing.
• It has no account, no analytics, no advertising and no third-party code that phones home.
• Your settings, history and follows are stored only in your browser.
• We do not sell or share data from the extension.

What the extension reads

A page you ask it to check. When you click the toolbar button or use its right-click menu, the extension reads that page to find Gold Standard certificate numbers (like GSA-2026-018501), links to certificates on goldstandardanalytics.com, links to PDF files, the product name and price the page states, the names of other laboratories, and the seller’s contact email if the page shows one. This happens inside your browser.

Every page, only if you switch it on. Automatic checking is off by default. If you turn it on, Chrome asks you to let the extension read the sites you visit, and it then does the same reading on each page you open. You can turn it off in the extension’s settings at any time, which also gives the permission back.

Emails you choose to send. The “Ask the seller” and “Report to Gold Standard” buttons open a pre-filled message in your own email program, including the page address. Nothing is sent unless you send that email yourself.

Files and addresses you give it. On its Verify page you can choose a PDF or an image, or paste a link to a PDF. PDFs are compared and images are read on your computer; the files are not uploaded. When you scan a store on the For sellers page, the extension reads that store’s public product list, after asking your permission for that one site.

What the extension sends, and to whom

• To goldstandardanalytics.com: the certificate numbers it needs to check, and a certificate’s own verification key when a link you are checking contains one (private certificates can only be checked with their key). It also downloads our public certificate list and official certificate PDFs, and our public testing catalog and open group tests, to show you prices and ways to test a product.
• To the site that hosts something you ask it to read: when you compare a seller’s PDF, read the QR code in a certificate image, or scan your own store, the extension downloads that file, image or product list from where it is hosted, as your browser would if you opened it.
• To no one else. The extension makes no other network requests.

Like any request to a website, requests to goldstandardanalytics.com carry your IP address and your browser’s user agent. Our servers use the IP address to limit how many lookups one address can make, and handle server logs as described in the site privacy policy. The extension adds no identifier of its own to its requests.

What it stores in your browser

• Your settings.
• The last 50 certificates it checked, with the site and page address where each one appeared, so you can find them again on the History page.
• The certificates, compounds and brands you follow, including a private certificate’s key if you follow one.
• Recent alerts, and cached answers from goldstandardanalytics.com so repeat checks are fast.

This data lives in Chrome’s extension storage on your device and is never sent to us. You can clear the history and the cache in the extension’s settings. Removing the extension deletes all of it.

What we never do

• Sell, rent or share data from the extension with anyone.
• Use it for advertising, profiling, credit or lending decisions.
• Collect your browsing history, the pages you read, or personal information such as your name or email.
• Load code from anywhere at run time. All of the extension’s code ships in the package Chrome installs.

Our use of information from the extension complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.

Permissions

The extension asks Chrome for: access to the tab you are on when you click it (activeTab and scripting), its right-click menu (contextMenus), local storage (storage), a timer and notifications for alerts (alarms, notifications), and access to goldstandardanalytics.com. Access to all sites is optional, off by default, and used only for automatic checking or when you choose a site to read. The extension page explains each one.

Children

The extension is not directed to children under 13 and collects no personal information from anyone.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, we will update this page and its effective date before the change ships in the extension. Questions: team@goldstandardanalytics.com, Gold Standard Analytics, Houston, Texas.