TruLens — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-31 • Version 1.0.0

What TruLens Does

TruLens is a browser extension that scores how genuine place reviews are on Google Maps (v1). It attaches a colored shield badge and a 0–100 score to each visible review, and displays an overall trust summary in an on-page panel and the toolbar popup. Support for Amazon and Flipkart is planned for a future release.

Data Processing and Privacy

Local heuristic scoring — no data leaves your device

      The core scoring engine runs entirely inside your browser. No review text, page content, user identifiers, or behavioral data are transmitted anywhere for local scoring.
    

When TruLens reads reviews on a Google Maps place page, it analyzes the text and metadata using built-in heuristic rules (signal detection, sentiment analysis, pattern matching). This process is fully on-device, with no network requests. No TruLens server exists to receive such data.

AI deep analysis — opt-in

This feature is disabled by default. It only activates when AI analysis is enabled and configured (a user API key is entered, or the owner's free proxy is deployed).

TruLens offers an optional "deep analysis" feature that sends a review to a large-language-model (LLM) provider for a more detailed genuineness verdict. When enabled and you click "Deep analysis" on a specific review, TruLens sends the text of that review — plus a small number of sibling reviews from the same page to provide context — to an AI provider. No review text is sent anywhere if AI analysis is disabled or not configured.

Free shared-AI tier (proxy mode)

The extension's default provider mode is proxy. When the extension owner has deployed the included AWS Lambda proxy and set DEFAULT_PROXY_URL, AI deep analysis works without a user API key. In this mode:

Review text is sent from your browser to the owner's AWS API Gateway endpoint (backed by a Lambda function) — not directly to MiniMax.
The Lambda function forwards the request to MiniMax using the owner's server-side API key. That key is stored as a Lambda environment variable (encrypted at rest by AWS); it is never transmitted to your browser or included in the extension bundle.
The proxy does not log or store review text. It records only a per-user per-day request count (keyed on an anonymous device UUID) in a DynamoDB table for rate-limiting. This counter contains no personal data and expires automatically after 2 days.
The default daily limit is 40 requests per user per day (UTC). Once reached, additional requests are rejected until the next UTC day.
If DEFAULT_PROXY_URL is empty (the default in the source repository before deployment), the free tier is dormant — no proxy requests are made and no errors are shown.

Bring-your-own-key (BYOK) mode

You can switch to BYOK mode in Settings and paste your own API key for MiniMax (OpenAI-compatible, base URL https://api.minimax.io/v1, model MiniMax-M2) or Anthropic. When BYOK mode is active, review text is sent directly from your browser to the API endpoint of the provider you chose, authenticated with your key. TruLens is not a middleman; no review text passes through any TruLens server.

What Is Stored Locally

TruLens uses chrome.storage.local (browser-local extension storage) to persist:

Your settings — provider mode, AI analysis on/off state, UI preferences.
Your API key (BYOK mode) — stored only in local extension storage on your own device. Never transmitted to TruLens or any party other than the provider you selected.
AI result cache — LLM verdicts are cached locally to avoid sending the same review to a provider more than once. Cached data never leaves your device.
Per-place summaries — trust scores and breakdowns for previously visited places, so revisits render instantly and only new reviews are re-scanned.
Anonymous device UUID — a random identifier generated locally, used only as a rate-limit key for the free proxy tier. Not linked to your identity or browsing activity.

All of this data lives solely in your browser's extension storage and is not sent to any TruLens server. Clicking "Reset to defaults" in Settings clears all stored data from chrome.storage.local.

What TruLens Does Not Do

TruLens has no backend server and no analytics pipeline.
TruLens does not collect browsing history, page URLs, user identifiers, or any personal data.
TruLens does not transmit anything to its developer.
TruLens does not sell any data.
TruLens does not execute remote code. All logic is bundled in the installed package (Manifest V3, no eval, no remote scripts).

Permissions Explained

Permission	Why it is needed
`storage`	Save your settings, API key, and cached AI results locally in the browser.
`https://www.google.com/maps/*`	Read review content on Google Maps place pages and inject genuineness badges. This is the extension's core function.
`https://api.minimax.io/*`	Allow the extension service worker to call MiniMax when AI analysis is enabled with an OpenAI-compatible (e.g., MiniMax) key.
`https://api.anthropic.com/*`	Allow the extension service worker to call Anthropic when AI analysis is enabled with an Anthropic key.
`https://.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/`	Allow the extension service worker to call the owner-hosted AWS API Gateway endpoint (backed by Lambda) when the free shared-AI tier is active. The proxy holds the owner's API key server-side (Lambda env var); no key is transmitted from the extension.

Third-Party AI Providers

If you enable AI deep analysis, review text will be processed by the LLM provider involved. TruLens has no control over how those providers handle data. Please review the relevant privacy policy before enabling this feature:

MiniMax: https://www.minimaxi.com/privacy-policy
Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/privacy

How to Disable AI Analysis or Clear Stored Data

To disable AI analysis: Open the TruLens toolbar popup → Settings → toggle AI Analysis off. No further review text will be sent to any provider.

To remove your API key and cached data: Open the TruLens toolbar popup → Settings → "Reset to defaults". This clears all locally stored settings, cached AI results, and per-place summaries from chrome.storage.local.

To uninstall TruLens entirely: Remove the extension from chrome://extensions. Chrome will delete all associated extension storage, including your API key and cache.

Children's Privacy

TruLens does not knowingly collect any information from anyone, including children. Because no personal data is collected at all, no special provisions for children's data apply.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes materially, the "Last updated" date at the top of this page will be updated. The policy is versioned alongside the extension in its source repository.

Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this privacy policy, please contact: mayur.das4@gmail.com.