Privacy Policy for Alba

Last Updated: November 23, 2024

Overview

Alba is a privacy-first Chrome extension designed to help users understand and reduce the environmental impact of their AI usage. This privacy policy explains our commitment to protecting your privacy and describes how Alba handles data.

Our Privacy-First Approach

Alba was built from the ground up with privacy as a core principle. We believe that you should be able to track your environmental impact without sacrificing your privacy or sharing your personal data with third parties.

Data Collection and Storage

What We Don’t Collect

Alba does not collect, transmit, or store any of the following:

• Your AI prompts or conversations
• Your browsing history
• Your personal information
• Your usage patterns or analytics
• Any data on external servers

What Is Stored Locally

All data related to your usage of Alba is stored locally on your device using your browser’s local storage. This includes:

• Your environmental impact metrics (energy, carbon, water usage)
• Your configuration preferences (region, model settings, theme)
• Your daily tracking data and historical statistics
• Your Wrapped recap data

Important: This data never leaves your device unless you explicitly choose to export it yourself (via CSV export).

How Alba Works

Local Processing

All calculations and features operate entirely within your browser:

• Impact Calculations: Energy, carbon, and water estimates are computed locally based on your prompt length, selected model, and configured region
• Local Optimization: Basic prompt optimization happens entirely on your device without sending data anywhere
• Dashboard and Tracking: All statistics and visualizations are generated from locally stored data

Optional AI-Powered Features

Alba offers optional AI-powered prompt optimization that uses Azure’s AI Models service:

• Opt-In Only: This feature is disabled by default and requires your explicit consent to enable
• When Enabled: Your prompt text is sent to Azure AI Models API (models.inference.ai.azure.com) for advanced optimization suggestions
• Your Control: You can enable or disable this feature at any time in the extension settings
• Third-Party Privacy: When using this feature, Microsoft Azure’s privacy policy applies to data sent to their API

Data You Control

Export Your Data

You can export all your locally stored data at any time:

• Download your usage statistics as CSV files
• Use this data for personal records or reporting purposes
• Share your environmental impact data as you choose

Delete Your Data

You have complete control over your data:

• Reset all statistics and data at any time through the extension settings
• Uninstalling the extension removes all locally stored Alba data
• No data remains on external servers because none was ever sent there

Third-Party Services

Azure AI Models API (Optional)

If you enable AI-powered optimization:

• Your prompts are sent to Azure AI Models API (models.inference.ai.azure.com) for processing
• Microsoft Azure’s privacy policy and terms of service apply
• You can disable this feature at any time

No Other Third Parties

Alba does not integrate with any analytics services, advertising networks, or other third-party data collection services.

Permissions

Alba requests only the permissions necessary for its functionality:

• Storage: To save your preferences and usage data locally on your device
• Host Permission (Azure AI): Access to Azure AI Models API (models.inference.ai.azure.com) to enable optional AI-powered prompt optimization when you choose to use this feature
• Content Scripts: Permission to run on specific AI chat websites (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity) to inject the impact tracking interface

These permissions are used solely for the stated functionality and not for data collection or tracking. The content scripts only interact with the visible web pages you’re using to display impact estimates and optimization suggestions.

Open Source Transparency

Alba is open source, which means:

• Our code is publicly available for review
• Anyone can verify our privacy claims by examining the source code
• Community contributions are welcome
• Full transparency in how we handle data

You can view our source code at: https://github.com/lindsaygross/Alba

Children’s Privacy

Alba does not knowingly collect any information from anyone, including children under the age of 13. Since we don’t collect any personal data, Alba can be used by anyone while maintaining their privacy.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. When we make changes:

• We will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this policy
• Significant changes will be communicated through the extension or our GitHub repository
• Continued use of Alba after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy

Your Rights

Under various privacy laws, you have rights regarding your data. With Alba:

• Right to Access: All your data is stored locally and accessible to you at any time
• Right to Delete: You can delete your data at any time through the extension settings
• Right to Export: You can export your data in CSV format at any time
• Right to Opt-Out: You can disable any optional features at any time

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this privacy policy or Alba’s privacy practices:

• GitHub Issues: Open an issue on our GitHub repository
• Email: Contact the repository owner through GitHub

Legal Compliance

Alba is designed to comply with major privacy regulations including:

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
• Other applicable privacy laws

Our privacy-first, local-only approach inherently satisfies most privacy regulation requirements by not collecting or processing personal data on external servers.

Summary

The Bottom Line: Alba is designed to give you complete privacy and control. Your data stays on your device, we don’t track you, and you have full control over your information. We built Alba this way because we believe privacy is a fundamental right, not a feature.