Summary
This extension does not collect, store, transmit, or share any personal information, browsing history, or user data of any kind. It does not use analytics, tracking, or advertising. This page describes exactly what the extension does with data, in full.

What the extension reads
When you visit a Google Scholar profile page (scholar.google.com/citations?...), the extension reads the researcher’s name as displayed on that page, entirely on your device. This name is never sent anywhere; it is compared locally, on your device, against a list of researcher names downloaded from TOPSCINET (see below).

What the extension downloads
On first use, and periodically afterward to stay current, the extension downloads a small data file from TOPSCINET’s servers (via Cloudflare) listing which researcher names appear in the Stanford/Elsevier “Top 2%” scientist list. This file contains no information about you; it is the same public ranking data available on topscinet.com. It is stored locally in your browser’s extension storage (via the standard chrome.storage/IndexedDB APIs) so that repeat visits to Scholar do not require re-downloading it.

What the extension sends
Two things, and only these:
The one-time (and periodic) download above: an outgoing request to fetch the ranking data file. No information about you or your browsing is included in this request beyond what any web request contains by default (e.g., your IP address, which is standard for any network request and is not logged or used by us for identification).
A lookup when you click or hover the badge: if the researcher you’re viewing matches the Top 2% list, clicking the badge sends a request to TOPSCINET’s servers to redirect you to their profile page, or to show a short informational tooltip (institution, rank). This request contains only an anonymous identifier for the matched researcher, never your name, your Scholar account, or any other information about you.
No cookies are set by the extension. No user accounts, sign-in, or identifiers are created or required.

What the extension does NOT do
Does not read, log, or transmit your Google Scholar account information, search history, or any page content other than the currently displayed researcher’s name.
Does not run on any site other than scholar.google.com/citations pages.
Does not use cookies, fingerprinting, or any tracking technology.
Does not share data with third parties. TOPSCINET (DataMeta Lab) does not sell or share any data collected through this extension because none is collected.
Does not display ads.

Permissions explained
Local caching — the downloaded ranking data file is stored in your browser's built-in local database so the extension works quickly and does not re-download it on every page visit. This data stays on your device
and is never sent anywhere.
Host access to pub-4262acbbb5d343d89c615d6b38474b4b.r2.dev and badge.top2percentscientists.com — the two TOPSCINET-operated addresses the extension downloads data from and sends badge-lookup requests to, as described above. No other network access is requested or used.

Changes to this policy
Read the detailed privacy policy at : https://top2percentscientists.com/privacy-badge-extension/
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this same URL with a new “Last updated” date.