Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 25, 2026

1. Data We Collect

CringeShield collects the minimum data necessary to provide and improve the service:

  • Account data: email address, hashed password, subscription status.
  • Usage analytics: aggregate counts only - posts filtered, AI detections, time saved, action counts (hidden/flagged/allowed). We do NOT store raw LinkedIn post content on our servers.
  • AI request logs: provider used, model, success/failure, latency, text length (number only - not the text itself). Retained for 14 days, then automatically deleted.
  • Technical data: IP addresses for rate limiting (not stored persistently), browser user agent for session management.

2. AI Processing

When you enable AI-powered filtering (opt-in required), post text from your LinkedIn feed is sent to third-party AI providers for content quality analysis:

AI is never enabled by default. You must explicitly consent before any content is sent to AI providers. Only post text and author description are sent - no personal identifiers, no account data.

AI results are probabilistic and may not always be accurate. CringeShield does not guarantee the accuracy of AI-based content classification.

All AI requests are proxied through CringeShield servers using our API keys. Your account data and personal identifiers are never included in AI requests.

3. LinkedIn Content

The CringeShield extension reads and processes content from your LinkedIn feed to provide filtering functionality. Specifically:

  • Post text and author descriptions are read from the LinkedIn page.
  • Content is analyzed locally using heuristic scoring (no network requests).
  • When AI is enabled, uncertain posts may be sent to AI providers for scoring.
  • Raw post content is never stored on CringeShield servers.
  • Short text previews (max 100 characters) are stored locally in your browser for the activity log and are never synced to our servers.

4. Data Retention

  • AI usage logs: automatically deleted after 14 days.
  • Analytics data: automatically deleted after 30 days of inactivity.
  • Session tokens: expire after 30 days and are cleaned up automatically.
  • Account data: retained while your account is active. Deleted upon account deletion request.
  • Billing records: minimal billing identifiers may be retained after account deletion as required for legal, tax, or accounting purposes.

5. Your Rights (GDPR)

You have the right to:

  • Access: view all data we hold about you via your dashboard.
  • Deletion: permanently delete your account and all associated data from your dashboard.
  • Withdraw consent: disable AI filtering at any time by switching to heuristic-only mode.
  • Data portability: export your data via your dashboard.

Upon deletion, all personal data is permanently removed: account profile, analytics, AI logs, API keys, and sessions. Minimal billing records may be retained as described in Section 4.

6. Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time from your dashboard:

  • If you have an active subscription, you may cancel at period end or cancel immediately upon deletion.
  • Refunds are not automatic - see our Terms of Service for the refund policy.

7. Third-Party Services

  • Stripe: payment processing. We do not store credit card information. Stripe Privacy Policy
  • AI providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google - see Section 2 for links to their privacy policies.
  • Infrastructure: hosted database and rate limiting services. Data encrypted at rest and in transit. No personal data is stored in rate limiting systems.

8. Cookies & Local Storage

CringeShield uses only essential cookies required for the service to function:

  • Authentication cookies: session tokens to keep you logged in. Expire after 30 days.
  • Cookie consent: stores your consent preference so the banner is not shown again. Expires after 1 year.

We do not use any tracking, analytics, or marketing cookies. No third-party cookies are set by CringeShield.

The Chrome extension uses browser local storage to store your preferences, processing cache, and activity log. This data stays on your device and is never sent to our servers.

In the future, we may introduce optional analytics cookies (e.g. for usage insights). These will never be loaded without your explicit consent and will require a separate opt-in.

9. Security

We protect your data with:

  • Passwords securely hashed using industry-standard algorithms.
  • API keys securely hashed before storage.
  • HTTPS for all communications.
  • Rate limiting on all API endpoints.
  • Audit logging for security-critical operations.

10. LinkedIn Disclaimer

CringeShield is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by LinkedIn or Microsoft. You are responsible for complying with LinkedIn's terms of service when using CringeShield. We do not guarantee compatibility with all LinkedIn interface changes.

11. Waitlist

If you join the CringeShield waitlist before public launch, we collect your email address solely to send you launch updates. Waitlist data is handled as follows:

  • Your email is stored securely and used only for CringeShield launch communications.
  • We do not share waitlist emails with any third party.
  • You may request removal at any time by contacting privacy@cringeshield.com.
  • Waitlist data is deleted once the public launch period ends or upon your request.

12. Contact

For privacy-related inquiries or data requests, contact us at:

Email: privacy@cringeshield.com