Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 2026

Why We're Different

Most "free" browser extensions make money by secretly selling your browsing data to advertisers, data brokers, and hedge funds. Verse Guard is different.

Other "Free" Blockers	Verse Guard
Sell your browsing history	Never sell any data
Track every site you visit	Browsing data stays on your device only
You are the product	You are the customer
Funded by data exploitation	Funded by Premium subscriptions

Our Promise: We are a ministry-first project. Your struggles, reflections, and browsing patterns are sacred—not marketing data.

Overview

Verse Guard is a Christian accountability browser extension designed to help users guard their digital habits. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about our data practices.

Data We Collect

Data Stored Locally (On Your Device)

The following data is stored only on your device using Chrome's storage APIs and never leaves your browser unless you explicitly enable cloud features:

User Settings: Theme preferences, blocked site lists, timer configurations
Diary Entries: Personal reflections you write in the app
Focus Session History: Session durations, tasks, and notes
Badge Progress: Achievements and XP earned
Daily Challenges: Completion status for verses and prayers
PIN Hash: Encrypted hash of your settings PIN (PIN itself is not stored)
Noble Ledger Data: Time spent on websites (domain names and duration only) to help you understand your browsing patterns. This data is categorized into "Seeds" (productive sites you designate) and "Weeds" (distracting sites you designate). Tracking automatically pauses when you're idle or your screen is locked. This data never leaves your device unless you explicitly request AI analysis (see Steward AI section).
Account & Sync Data: To allow for premium recovery and cross-device syncing, we may store an anonymous user identifier derived from your Chrome profile (if signed in) and/or your email address (if provided for backup).

Data Shared With Third Parties

Firebase (Optional Features Only)

If you choose to enable the Shield Partner feature:

Email address (used for authentication and partner invitations—never sold or shared with third parties)
Partner pairing codes and connection status
Shared accountability streak data (days since last bypass, who reset it, and when—no URLs or bypass reasons)
"Victory" logs showing when you resisted temptation (theme category and encouraging verse only—no URLs or browsing history)
Focus session totals (duration only—no task names or notes)
Morning Watch check-in data (mood and focus topic only)
Rally alert messages you choose to send
Weekly summary reports (aggregate stats, not browsing details)
Recovery Email: If you use the "Restore Purchase" feature or "Cloud Sync", your email address is securely stored to verify your license and enable data recovery across devices.

Optional Analytics: If you enable optional analytics:

Anonymous usage patterns (feature usage, session counts)
No personal information or browsing history

Data We Do NOT Collect or Transmit

Browsing history transmitted to our servers
URLs of blocked sites you attempt to visit
Personal identification information (beyond email if you provide it)
Content of web pages you visit
Passwords or PINs (only encrypted hashes)
Bypass reasons or personal reflections (unless you enable Shield Partner)

Note: The Noble Ledger feature tracks domain names and time locally on your device to provide productivity insights. This data is never transmitted to Verse Guard servers. It may be included in AI analysis requests if you explicitly use the "Steward's Counsel" feature (see below).

How We Use Your Data

Provide core blocking and accountability features
Display your personal diary and session history
Calculate streaks and award badges
Enable Shield Partner accountability (if opted in)
Improve the extension through anonymous analytics (if opted in)
Account Recovery: To automatically restore your Premium status, badges, and progress if you reinstall the extension or switch devices.

Data Security

All sensitive data stored locally using Chrome's secure storage APIs
PIN protection uses SHA-256 hashing
Firebase connections use HTTPS encryption
No data transmitted without user action

Third-Party Services

Lemon Squeezy (Payment Processor)

Used for: Processing Premium subscription payments
Data shared: Email address, payment information (handled directly by Lemon Squeezy—we never see your full card details)
Privacy Policy: https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/privacy

Chrome Identity API

Used for: Generating a unique, anonymous identifier for Premium license verification and cloud sync
Data accessed: Your Chrome profile's unique ID (not your name, email, or browsing data)
Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Firebase (Google)

Used for: Shield Partner feature, cloud backup, optional analytics
Privacy Policy: https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy

Chrome Storage Sync

Used for: Optional cloud backup of settings
Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Google Gemini API (Steward AI)

Used for: AI-powered "Order My Steps" task ordering, focus suggestions, Noble Ledger pattern analysis ("Steward's Counsel"), and Stewardship Reports
Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

AI & Data Processing (Steward AI)

Verse Guard includes optional AI-powered features through our "Steward AI" functionality. Here's exactly how it works:

What Data Is Sent to AI

Goals and tasks you explicitly enter in "Order My Steps"
Focus session context (task name and duration) for AI suggestions
Aggregated focus statistics for Weekly Stewardship Reports
Noble Ledger summaries (domain names and time spent) when you click "Ask the Steward" in the Steward's Counsel card. This helps the AI provide personalized productivity insights.

What Is NOT Sent to AI

Your name, email, or any personal identifiers
Full browsing history (only aggregated domain/time data you explicitly request analysis for)
Diary entries or personal reflections
Blocked site information or bypass reasons
Any data without your explicit action

How AI Data Is Handled

User-initiated only: Data is only sent when you click "Order My Steps," "Ask the Steward," or generate a report
No storage: We do not store the data sent to Gemini after receiving the response
No training: Your data is not used to train AI models
Optional feature: All non-AI features work without any external API calls

Our AI Promise: Steward AI exists to help you steward your time with biblical wisdom—not to collect or monetize your data. You can use Verse Guard's full blocking and focus features without ever touching AI features.

Compliance Statements

Limited Use Disclosure: Verse Guard's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Data Sale Prohibition: Verse Guard certifies that your data is not being sold to third parties, outside of the approved use cases, and is not being used or transferred for purposes that are unrelated to the item's core functionality.

Your Rights

You can:

Export your data using the backup feature in Settings
Delete all local data by uninstalling the extension
Disable analytics in Settings
Opt out of Shield Partner at any time
Request deletion of cloud-stored data: Email team.verseguard.app@gmail.com with subject "Data Deletion Request" and we will remove your Shield Partner data, cloud backups, and license records within 30 days.

For EU residents (GDPR) or California residents (CCPA): You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data. Contact us at team.verseguard.app@gmail.com with your request.

Children's Privacy

Verse Guard includes a Student Mode designed for younger users with parental controls.

Student Mode is set up by a parent or guardian with a PIN-protected configuration
No data from minors is collected or shared externally
All tracking and blocking occurs locally on the device
Parents can view activity through the local extension interface only

Changes to This Policy

We will update this policy as needed and note the "Last Updated" date. Significant changes will be communicated through extension updates.

Contact

For privacy questions or concerns:
Email: team.verseguard.app@gmail.com

FAQ: "How Do I Know You Aren't Spying?"

Q: Why do you need "Read and change all your data on the websites you visit"?

A: This permission is required for any content blocker to intercept page navigation. We use it to redirect blocked sites to Scripture—that's all. We never record or transmit the URLs you visit to our servers.

Q: What about the Noble Ledger? Doesn't that track my browsing?

A: Yes, but only locally on your device. The Noble Ledger records which domains you visit and for how long so you can see your own productivity patterns. This data is stored in Chrome's local storage and is never sent to Verse Guard. The only exception is if you explicitly click "Ask the Steward" to get AI insights—then a summary is sent to Google's Gemini API (not to us) for analysis.

Q: Can I verify this?

A: Yes! Verse Guard is built on Manifest V3, Chrome's latest privacy standard. You can inspect our network requests in DevTools—we only communicate with Firebase for Account Sync and Shield Partner features, and with Google's Gemini API when you use Steward AI features. No browsing data ever leaves your browser without your explicit action.

Q: Why should I pay when other blockers are free?

A: "Free" blockers aren't really free. If you're not paying, you're being sold. Companies like Avast were fined $16.5 million for selling user data through their extensions. We're funded by Premium subscriptions because we refuse to exploit you.