Your chats stay on your device.
Watchdog is a Chrome extension that flags possible manipulative patterns in AI chat replies. This page explains what it reads, what it keeps, and what it never does.
In short: Watchdog does not collect, sell or share your data. Every check runs inside your browser. Nothing you type or read is sent to Watchdog or to anyone else. There are no accounts, no analytics and no tracking.
01What Watchdog reads
On the supported chat sites (chatgpt.com, chat.openai.com, gemini.google.com and copilot.microsoft.com), Watchdog reads the messages shown on the page so its on-device rules can check the replies. It does not run on any other website.
This happens in your browser's memory, on your device. The conversation is not copied to a server, uploaded or logged anywhere outside your browser.
02What Watchdog keeps on your device
Watchdog saves a small amount of information in Chrome's local extension storage. It never leaves your computer.
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Settings: language, which sites to watch, sensitivity per category | So your choices are kept |
| Findings you marked "Not a problem" | So they stay dismissed |
| A history of findings: category, date, site, the chat's page address, and for changed edits a short phrase that was removed or added | To build your weekly report |
| The finding you selected, and a second-opinion reply, while your browser is open | To show the evidence in the side panel |
You can delete the history at any time with Clear local history in the weekly report. Removing the extension deletes everything it stored.
03What Watchdog never does
- It does not send chat content, findings or settings to Watchdog or any third party.
- It does not use analytics, advertising, cookies or tracking of any kind.
- It does not sell, rent or transfer user data.
- It does not send messages for you. "Get a neutral answer" places a question in the chat's message box, and you decide whether to send it.
- It does not load remote code. All of its code and fonts are bundled in the extension.
04When you act
Neutral answer. If you send the question Watchdog placed in the message box, it goes to the AI assistant you are using, like any message you type. That assistant's own privacy policy applies to it.
Copy and share. When you click a copy button, Watchdog writes text to your clipboard. The weekly summary is copied only after you review it, and Watchdog posts nothing anywhere.
On-device second look. If your version of Chrome offers its built-in on-device model and you ask for a second look, the check runs on your device through Chrome.
05Permissions and why they are needed
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
storage | Saving the settings and history described above |
sidePanel | Showing the evidence for a finding in Chrome's side panel |
activeTab | Letting the toolbar popup show findings for the tab you are viewing |
clipboardWrite | Copying text when you click a copy button |
| Access to the four chat sites | Reading the conversation so the on-device checks can run |
06Accuracy
Findings come from on-device rules. They are estimates, not proof of intent, and they can be wrong. You can mark any finding as "Not a problem".
07Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new effective date. Watchdog will not start collecting data without asking you first.
08Contact
Questions about privacy: