Privacy Policy

AI Impact Monitor

Effective: March 31, 2026 Developer: Sjoerd Brussee [email protected]
§ 1 — Introduction

Introduction

AI Impact Monitor ("the Extension") is designed to help users understand the environmental cost of their AI usage. We believe in transparency — both regarding the planet's resources and your personal data. This policy explains what data we collect, how it is stored, and your rights as a user.

§ 2 — Data Collection & Usage

Data Collection and Usage

We categorize the data we handle into two groups: Local Data (kept on your device) and Research Data (sent to our backend).

💧
Local Data
Device-only · Never transmitted

The Extension stores your daily, weekly, and monthly AI usage stats and environmental impact estimates locally using the Chrome storage API. This data is used only to display your personal dashboard and is deleted automatically if you uninstall the extension.

⚡
Research Data
Opt-in only · Backend storage

If you opt-in to our research project, the following data is sent to https://ai-monitor.madebyshu.net/events:

  • Identifiers: A randomly generated, hashed user_id and a session_id. These are pseudonymous and cannot be used to identify your real-world identity, email, or Google account.
  • Prompt Metadata: Character/token counts, timestamp, the AI model used (e.g., GPT-4), the category, and the detected language.
  • Environmental Metrics: Estimated energy (Wh), CO₂ (g), and water (L) consumption.
  • UI & Interaction Data: Whether you used voice input, attached a file/image, used a suggested prompt, or triggered a "regenerate" response.
  • Technical Environment: Your browser version, operating system, viewport size, and general region/timezone (to calculate grid-specific carbon intensity).
🛡️
What We Never Collect
Hard limits · Always enforced
  • No Text Content: We never store or transmit the actual text of your prompts or the AI's responses.
  • No Personal Information: We do not collect names, emails, IP addresses, or browsing history outside of the four supported AI platforms.
§ 3 — Purpose of Research

Purpose of Research

The data collected is used by Sjoerd Brussee for personal research purposes to:

  1. Analyze the correlation between different types of AI usage (e.g., voice vs. text) and their environmental costs.
  2. Develop more precise advice for users on how to reduce their digital footprint.
  3. Identify trends in AI consumption to advocate for more sustainable AI alternatives.
§ 4 — Retention & Third Parties

Data Retention and Third Parties

Retention Period
Raw research data is kept for one year, after which it is fully aggregated into anonymous trends and individual records are deleted.
Third Parties
We do not share, sell, or trade your data with any third parties. All data is stored on a private VPS controlled solely by the developer.
§ 5 — Permissions Justification

Permissions Justification

storage
To save your personal impact history and preferences locally on your device.
host_permissions
To detect activity on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity for the purpose of calculating environmental impact.
§ 6 — User Control

User Control

Opt-In / Opt-Out You can enable or disable data sharing at any time via the Extension settings.
Data Deletion You may clear your local data at any time through the Extension popup.