YTBait
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Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 16, 2026.

Introduction

YTBait is a product that scores YouTube videos for honesty and clickbait risk. This Privacy Policy explains what information we process when you use the YTBait website, Chrome extension, and API (together, the "Service"). We designed the product so core scoring works without an account; optional sign-in and Pro billing add identity and payment-related data as described below.

Information we process

Depending on how you use the Service, we may process:

  • Public YouTube data for scoring. When you request a score, the extension or client may send the video ID or URL, title, description, and transcript or caption text when available. This content is public on YouTube; we use it only to generate and return a score.
  • Anonymous install identifier. The Chrome extension stores a randomly generated install ID in chrome.storage.local and sends it with API requests so we can enforce free-tier daily limits without requiring a login.
  • Optional account data (Google sign-in). If you sign in, we receive basic profile information from Google such as email address, name, and profile image. Auth sessions may also involve standard technical data (for example IP address and user agent) processed by our auth stack.
  • Usage records. We log which video IDs were scored, whether the result came from our global cache or required a new AI call, and daily quota usage tied to your install ID and/or account. Signed-in users may see recent score history in the dashboard.
  • Subscription status. If you upgrade to Pro, we store subscription status and related identifiers from our payment provider so we can unlock Pro entitlements.
  • Uninstall feedback (optional). If you submit the optional uninstall survey on our website, we may retain your selected reason and optional free-text comment to improve the product. This is voluntary and not required to uninstall the extension.

What we do not collect

  • Your Google account password
  • Your general browsing history outside the YTBait scoring flow
  • YouTube watch history or comments as a product feature (we only process the specific video you ask us to score)
  • Full payment card numbers on YTBait servers — card and checkout data are handled by our payment provider (Dodo Payments)

How we use data

We use the information above to:

  • Generate honesty / clickbait scores and related verdicts
  • Maintain a global score cache so the same public video is not re-scored with AI every time someone requests it
  • Enforce rate limits and free vs Pro daily AI-score quotas
  • Operate optional accounts, dashboard history, and Pro subscriptions
  • Secure the Service, debug failures, and prevent abuse

Storage & retention

  • On your device. The extension keeps install ID, auth tokens, and local score hints in chrome.storage.local. The web dashboard may store session tokens in browser localStorage.
  • On our infrastructure. We host the API and data stores on Cloudflare (including D1 and KV). Cached score results (video ID, title, scores, verdict, and reasons) are stored server-side. KV cache entries expire after about 30 days; durable score records may remain longer to serve repeated requests efficiently.
  • Transcripts. Transcript or caption text is sent to AI providers when a video is not already cached. We do not retain full transcripts as a dedicated field in our score database schema; we retain the resulting scores and metadata.
  • Auth tokens. Extension and session tokens expire (for example, extension tokens are issued with a multi-month expiry) and can be revoked when you sign out.

Third parties

We rely on service providers to operate YTBait. They process data only as needed to provide their services:

  • Cloudflare — hosting, edge compute, D1, and KV
  • Google — optional OAuth sign-in
  • AI scoring providers — uncached scores are generated by contracted AI services that receive only the public video metadata and caption text needed for that score
  • Dodo Payments — Pro checkout and subscription billing
  • YouTube — the extension fetches public captions and metadata client-side from YouTube when you score a video

When a score is not already in our cache, those AI services receive only the public video title, description, and transcript or captions for the video you asked us to score. We do not send your Google account, email, install ID, payment data, browsing history, or other personal identifiers to those models. Their own privacy policies and terms apply to that processing.

Cookies & local storage

We use session cookies (via Better Auth) on our API domain for signed- in web sessions, and local tokens in the extension and dashboard. These are functional — not advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share information only with the providers listed above as needed to run the Service, or if required to comply with law, enforce our terms, or protect users and the Service.

Your choices

  • You can use core scoring without signing in (subject to free-tier limits tied to your install ID)
  • You can sign out, clear extension storage, or uninstall the extension at any time
  • For account deletion or other privacy requests, contact support at the address below

Children

YTBait is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page is authoritative. Continued use of the Service after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Privacy and support questions: ytbait.support@gmail.com