SafeHop
Privacy Policy
Effective 16 October 2026 · 日本語
In short: SafeHop checks links to protect you from scams. Most checks happen inside your browser. For unfamiliar websites, only the site name (for example example.shop) is sent to our server to be checked against scam lists. We do not store those names, we do not track you, and we never sell data.
1. Who we are
SafeHop is a browser extension ("the extension") and a web service at api.safehop.app ("the API") that detect scam links, phishing pages and malicious redirects. This policy covers both, and this website.
2. What stays on your device
The extension watches the addresses your browser tab loads, including each redirect, only to decide whether the destination is dangerous. This analysis runs locally. The following is stored in your browser and never sent to us:
- the redirect path of pages you visit and their risk results (kept only for the current browser session);
- your settings, the sites you choose to trust, and sites you choose to block;
- simple counters (pages checked, warnings, blocks).
To recognise scam pages, such as fake login forms, fake virus alerts, fake prize pages and requests for a crypto wallet's recovery phrase, SafeHop also reads the text, title, headings and form layout of the page you are on. This check runs entirely inside your browser and the page content is never sent to us or anyone else. SafeHop never reads what you type into fields. Well-known large websites and pages on your own private network are not analysed.
SafeHop also looks at files as they start downloading (the file's name, type and address, and the page it came from) to stop dangerous programs, such as fake "security updates" offered by scam pages. The file's contents are never read or sent anywhere.
On search engine results pages (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave, Yahoo and Ecosia), SafeHop also checks the links of the results and sponsored ads shown to you, so it can mark risky ones before you click. This check runs inside your browser. Your search terms and the rest of the page are never sent to us. You can switch this off in the popup ("Rate search results").
Removing the extension deletes all of this.
3. What is sent to our server
| When | What is sent | What is not sent |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud checks (on by default, can be turned off in the popup) | The host name of unfamiliar websites in a link's path, or in the search results and ads on a search page you open, e.g. zsmedia-tracker.shop. |
Full addresses, paths, search terms, page content, form data, cookies, and anything about you. Large well-known sites (Google, Amazon, Microsoft and similar) and private network names (like printer.local or IP addresses) are never sent. |
| Community blocklist (about once an hour) | A request to download the current list of confirmed scam sites. Nothing about your browsing is included. | — |
| When you click "Report this scam" | The reported address, a short reason and the risk score shown to you. If the scam came from an ad, also the ID of the website the ad was shown on (it is part of the ad link), so websites that keep showing scam ads can be flagged. | Anything else about your browsing. |
| When you check a link or message (on safehop.app or in the extension popup) | The site names found in the link or message you paste, for the same scam-list and domain-age check. The link or message itself is analysed in your browser. | The message text, the full link and anything about you. Nothing you check is stored. |
Reporting an incorrect result on the website checker. Nothing is sent unless you press "Report an incorrect result" and then "Send report". The report always contains the result (score, label and the names of the warning signs that fired), your answer (scam or genuine) and the page language. The message text, or the link you checked, is included only if you tick the box to include it. Reports are read only by the SafeHop team and used only to improve detection.
Feedback and the uninstall question. When SafeHop is installed, it opens a welcome page on safehop.app once. If you remove SafeHop, your browser opens a page that asks why; the extension popup also has a feedback link. Nothing is sent unless you choose an answer and press "Send": then we receive the answer you chose, your comment if you write one, the page language and the SafeHop version, nothing else. These answers are read only by the SafeHop team, used only to improve SafeHop, and deleted after 90 days.
SafeHop Monitor (fake website check). When you run a check, the name you enter and the optional website you add are sent to our server, which searches known phishing lists and SafeHop's own detections. To find newly set-up websites, the name is also searched in public certificate-transparency logs through crt.sh, a public service run by Sectigo. The name is not stored by SafeHop; results are kept in memory for up to 6 hours so repeated checks are fast. If you ask for a free alert or business early access, we store your email address, the name and website you entered, and the list of sites already reported to you, only after you confirm by the emailed link. Unconfirmed requests are deleted after 7 days. Unsubscribing deletes your alert immediately.
Like any web server, the API sees the IP address a request comes from. We use it only for rate limiting, to stop abuse. For reports, we store a one-way hash of the IP combined with a secret that changes whenever the server restarts, so it cannot be turned back into your IP address. We never store raw IP addresses, and checked host names are not logged or saved.
To see how the service is used, we keep daily totals only, such as the number of checks, reports and active installs. The website checker adds to these totals by sending only an event name when a message is checked or a warning is shared (never the message), and the checker page counts visits that arrive from a shared warning link. Our ad landing pages and the welcome page likewise send only an event name when the page is opened and when an install button is pressed, and the extension popup sends only an event name when its one-time "rate SafeHop" request is shown or answered. The totals contain no addresses, no site names and nothing about any person. To count active installs without identifying anyone, each request is turned into a one-way code with a secret that changes every day; these codes are kept in memory only and never stored.
4. How the API checks a site
To answer a check, the API compares the host name with public threat lists (URLhaus, Phishing.Database) that it downloads in advance, and looks up the domain's public registration record (age, registrar and status) from the official registry for that domain ending. It also compares the site's public setup (its registrar, DNS provider and hosting company, looked up in public DNS) with the setup of confirmed scam sites, because scam operations reuse the same setup for new sites. When a site looks like a page that hides scam content, for example a page in cloud storage that a link or ad leads to, or a site a user reports, our server may download that site's public page as text, together with the content the page is built to load, to confirm whether it is a scam. Nothing from those pages is run, and these requests contain nothing about you. These lookups contain only the domain name, never information about you. Registration records are cached for up to seven days under a one-way code, so the names of checked sites are not stored.
5. What we never do
- We do not sell, rent or share personal data.
- We do not use data for advertising, profiling or credit decisions.
- We do not build a history of the sites you visit.
- This website uses no cookies, analytics or third-party scripts.
6. Where data is processed and how long it is kept
The API runs on servers operated by Hetzner Online GmbH in Germany (European Union).
- Checked host names: not stored.
- Scam reports: kept while needed to review them and maintain the blocklist, and deleted within 12 months if not confirmed.
- Monitor alerts and business early-access requests: kept until you unsubscribe (deleted immediately) or, if never confirmed, deleted after 7 days.
- Feedback and uninstall answers (including any comment): deleted after 90 days.
- Reports of an incorrect result (including any message text or link you chose to include): deleted after 90 days. Our daily database backups are kept for 14 days, so a deleted report is gone from them within 14 days after that.
- Domain registration cache: public information about domains, kept up to 7 days.
- Business API (Scam-Check API): links, messages and pages that customers send are checked and then forgotten; they are not stored or logged. For each customer we keep their company name, contact email, plan, subscription and payment status and the number of credits used per month. API keys are stored only as one-way hashes. Payments are processed by Razorpay; we never see or store card details. See also the API Terms.
7. Your choices
- Turn off Cloud checks in the extension popup to keep all checking on your device.
- Turn off protection entirely with the switch in the popup.
- Remove the extension at any time; its local data is deleted with it.
- You can ask us about, or to delete, any report you sent (see contact below).
8. Children
SafeHop does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.
9. Chrome Web Store Limited Use
SafeHop's use of information received from the browser complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Data is used only to provide and improve SafeHop's single purpose, protecting you from dangerous links, and is not transferred, sold or used for any other purpose.
10. Changes
If this policy changes, we will update the date at the top of this page. Significant changes will also be noted in the extension's release notes.
11. Contact
Questions or requests: [email protected]