GuardRail Browser Security Privacy Policy

Effective Date: November 15, 2024

Overview

GuardRail Browser Security ("GuardRail", "we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how our browser extension operates, what limited data is processed locally, and how we ensure your browsing remains private and secure.

Our Core Privacy Principles

• Hybrid Protection: Initial AI detection happens locally, with cloud verification for unknown threats
• URL-Only Transmission: Only the URL is sent for analysis, never page content or personal data
• No Browsing History Storage: We don't maintain logs of individual user browsing
• Minimal Data Retention: Threat analysis results are cached temporarily for performance
• No User Tracking: URLs are analyzed without associating them to individual users

How GuardRail Works

Two-Layer Protection System:

Layer 1 - Local AI Detection:
• Initial URL analysis happens instantly in your browser
• Local AI models check for obvious threat patterns
• Known malicious sites are blocked immediately
• No network communication needed for cached results

Layer 2 - Cloud Threat Intelligence:
• For unknown or suspicious URLs, we perform deeper analysis
• Only the URL is sent to our secure servers (via HTTPS)
• Our servers check multiple threat intelligence sources
• Results are cached to minimize future lookups
• Your IP address is not logged or associated with the URL

Important Privacy Note: While we do link URLs to endpoint IDs (device identifiers) for enterprise management purposes, we intentionally do NOT store user emails or personal identifiers with URL checks. This means we can see that "device ABC123 visited example.com" but NOT "John Smith visited example.com". For consumer users, endpoint IDs are randomized and not linked to any personal information.

What Stays on Your Device

Locally Stored (Never Transmitted):
• Your personal whitelist of trusted domains
• Extension settings and preferences
• Temporary cache of recent checks (auto-cleared after 5 minutes)
• License key for premium features (if applicable)

What We Collect and What We Don't

Data We Process (For Security Only):
• URLs: Sent to our servers for threat analysis (query parameters stripped for allowed sites)
• Endpoint ID: Device identifier linked to URL checks (for enterprise management)
• Threat Intelligence Results: Cached temporarily for performance
• Domain Rules: Whitelisted/blacklisted domains for your organization

Data We DO NOT Collect:
• Page Content: We never see what's on the pages you visit
• User Emails: While optional for registration, emails are NOT stored with URL checks
• Search Queries: Only the final URL, not what you searched for
• Form Data or Passwords: Never captured or transmitted
• Cookies or Tracking Data: No tracking pixels or analytics
• Browsing History: No permanent logs of individual user activity
• IP Address Logs: Not stored or associated with URL checks

Optional Cloud Features

For enterprise deployments, administrators may enable optional cloud features. These are disabled by default and require explicit configuration.

Enterprise Management Portal (Optional):
• Administrators can manage whitelists centrally
• Aggregated threat statistics may be viewable (no individual browsing data)
• All data is encrypted and isolated by organization
• Individual users can opt-out while maintaining local protection

Threat Intelligence Updates (Optional):
• Only pattern updates are downloaded, no browsing data is uploaded
• Updates are pulled, never pushed
• Can be disabled for complete offline operation

Browser Permissions

GuardRail requires certain browser permissions to function:

Why We Need These Permissions:
• Access to all websites: To analyze URLs for threats before you visit them
• Storage: To save your whitelist and settings locally
• Tabs: To display blocking pages when threats are detected
• Web navigation: To intercept and check URLs before loading

Important: These permissions allow GuardRail to protect you, but all processing happens locally. We cannot and do not use these permissions to collect or transmit your data.

Data Security

Since GuardRail operates with privacy in mind, your data security is inherently protected:
• Minimal data transmission reduces interception risk
• No extensive cloud storage means reduced breach exposure
• Local storage uses browser's built-in encryption
• Enterprise features use strong authentication

Third-Party Services

Our servers may query reputable threat intelligence services to verify URL safety. When this occurs, only the URL is shared with these services, never any personal information or browsing context.

Services We DO NOT Use:
• Analytics or tracking services (no Google Analytics, etc.)
• Advertising networks
• Social media integration
• Marketing or retargeting pixels

Children's Privacy

GuardRail does not collect personal data from anyone, including children under 13. The extension's privacy-preserving design makes it safe for users of all ages.

Your Rights

Since GuardRail minimizes data collection, traditional data rights are simplified. You always have the right to:
• Uninstall the extension at any time
• Clear local storage through your browser settings
• Disable the extension temporarily or permanently
• Modify your whitelist and settings
• Request information about any data associated with your endpoint ID

Security Transparency

We believe in transparency and security. GuardRail's privacy-preserving architecture is designed to minimize data exposure while maximizing protection. We continuously review and improve our security practices to ensure your browsing remains private and secure.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. Updates will be posted at https://myguardrail.io/privacy-policy with a new effective date.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or GuardRail's privacy practices, please contact us:

Email: privacy@myguardrail.io
Website: https://myguardrail.io

Your Privacy is Our Priority
GuardRail - Keeping you safe online without compromising your privacy