At Skannly, our mission is to protect you from digital threats, and that includes protecting your privacy. We understand that installing a browser extension requires trust. This Privacy Policy explains exactly what data we collect, how we use it, and—most importantly—what we never do with your information.

1 Our Core Privacy Promise (The Zero-Knowledge Approach)
We DO NOT track your browsing history.
We DO NOT sell your personal data or browsing habits to advertisers or data brokers.
We DO NOT read your private messages, emails, or passwords.
Our extension is designed to scan URLs for threats in milliseconds. We care about whether a link is dangerous, not about who is visiting it.

1. Information We Collect
   To provide and improve our Services, we collect the minimum amount of data necessary:
   A. Account Information (For Registered Sentinels) When you create a Skannly account to join the collective defense, we collect:
   Your email address (kept strictly confidential).
   A public username (your "Sentinel Handle").
   A securely hashed password.
   B. URL Scanning Data (Extension & Web) When the Skannly browser extension scans a page:
   We check the URL against our threat database.
   Unless you manually flag and submit a URL to the community, routine automated scans are processed ephemerally. We do not build a profile of the websites you visit.
   C. Community Contributions (Crowdsourced OSINT) When you actively participate in the community, we collect:
   URLs you manually submit as suspicious.
   Your votes on threats (Safe/Dangerous).
   Comments and analysis you post in the Community Feed.
   Note: These actions are tied to your public Sentinel Handle to calculate your Reputation Points (XP), but your real name and email remain hidden.
2. How We Use Your Information
   We use your data strictly to maintain and enhance the Skannly security ecosystem:
   To authenticate your account and synchronize your PRO features (like Real-Time Scanning and Brand Protection) across devices.
   To calculate your reputation score, rank (e.g., Scout, Analyst, Guardian), and daily scan limits.
   To analyze submitted URLs, extract threat patterns, and update our global heuristic database to protect all users.
   To send you critical security alerts, account updates, or automated Takedown Reports (if utilizing PRO Brand Protection).
3. How We Protect Your Data
   Skannly employs enterprise-grade security measures to keep your data safe:
   Encryption: All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using modern TLS/SSL protocols.
   Minimal Retention: We purge routine scan logs regularly and only keep data that directly contributes to active threat intelligence.
   Infrastructure: Our databases are secured following industry best practices to prevent unauthorized access.
4. Third-Party Integrations
   We may use trusted third-party services (such as Google Safe Browsing API) to enrich our threat detection. When a URL is checked against these APIs, it is done anonymously. We do not pass your personal account information to these external security providers.
5. Your Data Rights
   Depending on your location (including GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California), you have the right to:
   Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
   Rectify: Update or correct your account information via your Profile settings.
   Erase ("Right to be Forgotten"): You can delete your account at any time. If you do, your email and personal details will be wiped. (Note: URLs you submitted to the community database will remain to protect others, but they will be permanently anonymized and detached from your identity).
6. Changes to this Policy
   We may update this Privacy Policy as our platform evolves. If we make significant changes to how we handle your data, we will notify you via email or through an alert in the Skannly Dashboard.
7. Contact Our Privacy Team
   If you have any questions about how your data is handled, or if you wish to exercise your data rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer at: Email: privacy@skannly.com