Privacy

Pith Browser Extension Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 19, 2026

What the extension does

The Pith browser extension adds a trust-signal panel to arXiv paper pages. When you visit arxiv.org/abs/... or arxiv.org/html/..., the extension extracts the arXiv paper identifier from the URL and queries the Pith public API to retrieve review status, Pith Number, and reference health data.

Data collected

None. The extension does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data. It does not read your browsing history, cookies, form data, or any content other than the arXiv paper identifier visible in the page URL.

Network requests

The extension makes three API requests per arXiv page visit, all to pith.science:

• GET /api/v1/papers/{arxiv_id}
• GET /api/v1/verdicts/{arxiv_id}
• GET /api/pith-number/resolve?arxiv={arxiv_id}&json=true

These are the same public, unauthenticated API endpoints available to anyone at pith.science. No cookies, tokens, or user identifiers are sent. Requests use credentials: "omit".

Local storage

API responses are cached in your browser session storage (keyed by arXiv ID, 5 minute TTL) to avoid redundant network requests when navigating back to a page. This data never leaves your browser and is cleared when the tab closes.

Permissions

The extension requests host_permissions for https://pith.science/* only, to make API requests from the service worker. It does not request tabs, history, cookies, or any other sensitive permission.

Third parties

The extension does not share data with any third party. It communicates only with pith.science, operated by the Recognition Physics Research Institute.

Contact

Questions about this policy: hello@pith.science