Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Verova ("we", "our", "us") is a browser extension that provides real-time fact-checking and claim verification. This Privacy Policy explains how the Verova Chrome Extension and associated website operate with respect to user data.

2. What data we collect

We collect the minimum data necessary to provide the service:

• Website content (text): When you hover over or select text on a webpage, the specific sentence or claim is sent to our backend API for verification. This text is processed in real time and is not stored or logged.
• User activity: Mouse hover position is monitored locally within your browser to detect when you pause on text. This data never leaves your device.
• IP address: Your IP address is used solely for rate limiting (to prevent abuse of the free service). It is not logged, stored, or linked to any account.

3. What data we do NOT collect

• We do not collect your name, email, or any personally identifiable information
• We do not collect passwords or authentication credentials
• We do not collect financial or payment information
• We do not collect your browsing history or the URLs of pages you visit
• We do not collect health or medical information
• We do not collect location data or GPS coordinates
• We do not store or log any page content beyond the specific claim text sent for verification

4. How we use your data

The only purpose for which data is used is:

• Claim verification: Claim text is sent to our backend, which queries AI and live web search APIs to produce a verdict, then returns the result to your browser. The text is discarded immediately after the response is generated.
• Rate limiting: IP addresses are used in-memory to enforce a limit of 20 verifications per hour. This data is not persisted to disk.

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, analytics, or any purpose unrelated to verification.

5. Data storage and retention

Your verification history (verdicts, confidence scores, claim text) is stored exclusively in your browser's local storage using the Chrome Extension Storage API. This data:

• Never leaves your device except as described in Section 4
• Can be cleared at any time by clicking "Clear all" in the extension popup
• Is automatically limited to the last 100 verifications
• Is not synced to any server or cloud account

6. Third-party services

Verova's backend uses the following third-party APIs to perform verification. Claim text is transmitted to these services as part of the verification process:

• Anthropic (Claude AI): Used to analyse and reason about claims. Anthropic's privacy policy applies to data sent to their API.
• Web search APIs: Used to retrieve live sources for cross-referencing. Search queries are derived from the claim text.

These services are used solely to produce verification results and are not used for any other purpose.

7. Data sharing

We do not sell, trade, rent, or transfer your data to third parties. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or analytics companies.

The only data transfer that occurs is claim text sent to our backend for verification (as described above), which is subject to the protections described in this policy.

8. Permissions explained

The Verova extension requests only the permissions required for its core functionality:

• activeTab: Allows Verova to read text from the currently active tab to identify and verify factual claims. Text is only processed when you explicitly trigger verification (by hovering or right-clicking).
• contextMenus: Adds the "Analyse Claim" option to your right-click menu for on-demand verification of selected text.
• storage: Used to save your verification history and preferences locally on your device. No data is synced externally.

Verova does not request broad browsing history, bookmarks, downloads, or any other sensitive browser permissions.

9. Your choices and opt-out

You have full control over how Verova operates:

• Disable auto-verification: Use the toggle in the extension popup to turn off hover-based auto-verification at any time.
• Clear your history: Click "Clear all" in the extension popup to permanently delete all locally stored verification history.
• Disable the extension: Navigate to chrome://extensions/ and toggle Verova off to immediately stop all data processing.
• Uninstall: Removing the extension deletes all locally stored data from your device.

10. Your data rights

Because Verova does not store personal data on our servers, most data rights requests do not apply — there is simply no personal data on our end to access, correct, or delete. However:

• All locally stored data (your history and settings) can be deleted at any time from within the extension
• If you believe we hold any data about you and wish to make a request, contact us at privacy@verova.ai
• If you are in the EU or UK, you have rights under GDPR/UK GDPR including access, rectification, erasure, and objection to processing

11. Children's privacy

Verova is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect any information from children.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the extension after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.