01Who is responsible for your data
The data controller is the operator of the iAlgae project. For any privacy question, or to exercise your rights, write to info@ialgae.com.
This policy covers only the iAlgae Core browser for Mac and Windows. The ialgae.com website, the search engine and the iAlgae AI assistant have their own policies.
02Data that stays on your computer
This information is saved only in the iAlgae Core folder on your computer. It isn't sent to iAlgae or anyone else.
- Browsing history: addresses and titles of the pages you visit, with date and time, for suggestions and the History panel.
- Open tabs and tab groups, if you turned on “Reopen tabs from last time”.
- Favorites, new tab shortcuts, site icons and the background you chose for the new tab.
- Settings: language, home page, search engine, theme, zoom for each site, download folder and your translation choices (for example “always translate” a language or “never” translate a site).
- Download list. Downloaded files stay where you saved them.
- Site permissions: for example which sites you allowed or blocked from using your location or microphone.
- Cookies and site data, as in any browser: they're created by the sites you visit and are used, for example, to keep you signed in.
- Voice search model (about 160 MB), downloaded the first time you use it.
- Protection lists (ads and trackers, scam and malware sites) and your protection choices.
- Downloaded updates, kept until they're installed.
- The Tor program, if you've opened at least one private window with Tor.
- Error log (
errori.log): if the browser runs into a problem, it notes it here. We only see it if you send it to us.
You can delete everything from Menu › Clear browsing data, from the individual sections (History, Favorites, Downloads, Passwords) or by uninstalling the app.
03Data sent to iAlgae
Searches and suggestions
If iAlgae is your search engine (it is by default), what you search for from the address bar or the new tab is sent to ialgae.com, which shows you the results. As you type, the letters you enter are sent to our server and to DuckDuckGo to offer suggestions. If you choose another engine, searches and suggestions go to that engine and not to iAlgae.
AI page summary
Only when you click Summarize or ask a question about the page. The details are in section 4.
iAlgae account
If you sign in to your account on ialgae.com using iAlgae Core, the browser stores the site's sign-in code in encrypted form and uses it to ask our server for your profile name, email and photo, which are shown in the menu. If you sign out, the code is deleted.
The “Your favorites” menu
If you're signed in, the apps you hide, add or pin to the top of the nine-dot menu are saved on our server, so you find them the same way on ialgae.com. If you're not signed in, they stay only on your computer.
Updates
At startup and then every 4 hours, iAlgae Core reads a small file from ialgae.com that shows the latest available version. If there's a new version, it downloads it from ialgae.com and checks its integrity before installing it. As with any request to a website, our server receives your IP address and browser type; nothing else. You can turn off automatic updates from Menu › About iAlgae Core.
The “Ask AI” panel and iAlgae Translator
The side panel opens the ialgae.com assistant page; if iAlgae is your search engine, “Translate text” opens iAlgae Translator. Whatever you write there is handled as it is on the website.
04AI summary
The summary starts only when you ask for it, by clicking Summarize or typing a question in the panel. At that moment iAlgae Core sends the iAlgae server:
- the page's title and address;
- the article text (up to about 24,000 characters), without menus, ads, cookies or form data;
- your question, if you ask one, and the language you want the answer in.
The server passes the text to an artificial intelligence service to write the answer: Google Gemini and, if that's unavailable, Anthropic's Claude. We don't send your name, your email or any other account data, and the request comes from our server: the AI service doesn't receive your IP address. The text is processed under Google's and Anthropic's terms for these services.
To avoid redoing the same work, a page's summary is kept for 24 hours, linked to an encrypted fingerprint of the page, not to you. To prevent abuse, the server counts how many requests come from the same IP address; this count is also deleted after 24 hours.
05Page translation
When you translate a page, iAlgae Core translates it in place, like Chrome: the visible text of the page is sent to the Google Translate service, which returns the translation. The page address, cookies and form data aren't sent. Parts that appear later, as you scroll, are translated as they show up.
Translation starts only if you ask for it, or if you chose “Always translate” for that language. You can go back to the original text with one click and choose sites that should never be translated.
06Data sent to other services
iAlgae Core is a browser: when you open a site, your computer connects to that site, which receives your IP address, browser type and whatever data you send it. Each site is responsible for the data it collects, under its own privacy policy.
Besides the sites you visit, iAlgae Core connects to other services only in these cases:
| Service | When | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Wikipedia or other engines | If you choose them as your engine or type their keyword | The search text and, as you type, the letters entered for suggestions |
| Google Translate | When you translate a page or a piece of text | The text to translate |
| Microsoft Translator | If you use “Translate text” with Bing or DuckDuckGo as your engine | The selected text |
| Google Gemini and Anthropic, through the iAlgae server | When you click Summarize or ask a question about the page | The page title, address and text, and your question. We don't send your name, email or account data, and the request comes from our server, not from your computer. |
| Google Lens | If you search with an image (iAlgae Lens) | The image or its address |
| Chrome Web Store (Google) | If you install or update extensions | The extension download requests |
| GitHub (Microsoft) | The first time you use the microphone; then every day or week for the protection lists | Download requests for the voice model and the lists. No audio and no information about what you visit. |
| abuse.ch (URLhaus) | Once a day, if protection from dangerous sites is on | The download request for the list of malware sites |
| Cloudflare, or the DNS you choose (Quad9, Mullvad, Google) | Every time you open a site, if secure DNS is on (it is by default) | The name of the site to reach (e.g. bbc.com), encrypted. Instead of your internet provider, not in addition to it. |
| Have I Been Pwned | When you save a password or click “Check passwords” | Only the first 5 characters of the password's fingerprint: the password can't be worked out from it |
| The Tor Project and the Tor network | Only if you open a private window with Tor | The download of the Tor program (once); then that window's traffic, encrypted, through three Tor network relays |
| Google, Microsoft or other sign-in services | If you choose “Sign in with…” on a site | The data you enter in their sign-in window |
Some of these services are based outside the European Union (for example in the United States). In those cases the transfer takes place with the safeguards provided by the GDPR, such as standard contractual clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
Extensions you install can access the pages you visit, according to the permissions they request. Only install extensions you trust.
07What the sites you visit see
To work well everywhere, iAlgae Core presents itself to sites as Chrome, adding its own name and version (for example iAlgaeCore/1.12.2). This way sites, and their analytics tools, can tell you're using iAlgae Core, just as they can tell if you use Chrome, Safari or Firefox. No code that identifies you or your computer is added.
On Google sign-in pages, the iAlgae Core name is removed, so signing in with Google works just like in Chrome.
08Voice search
When you use the microphone, on sites or in the new tab, your voice is transcribed directly on your computer with the Whisper model. The audio isn't sent to iAlgae or anyone else and isn't saved: it's discarded after transcription. The resulting text is passed to the site that asked for voice search, exactly as if you had typed it.
Your system will ask for permission to use the microphone the first time, and each site will have to ask for its own. You can delete the voice model from Settings › Voice search.
09Protections
iAlgae Core has protections turned on from the first launch, which you can change from Settings › Privacy and security or, for a single site, from the shield next to the address.
- Ad and tracker blocking: requests to advertising and tracking services are blocked on your computer, using public lists (EasyList, EasyPrivacy and others) updated every week. iAlgae receives nothing about what gets blocked.
- Protection from scam and dangerous sites: before opening a page, iAlgae Core compares the site name with public lists of phishing sites (Phishing.Database) and malware sites (URLhaus by abuse.ch), downloaded once a day. The check happens on your computer: the sites you visit aren't sent to anyone.
- Third-party cookie blocking: sites other than the one you're visiting (for example advertisers embedded in the page) can't save or read cookies. Sign-in services (Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and GitHub) are an exception, because without their cookies you couldn't sign in with your account.
- Warning on unprotected pages:
http://pages are stopped with a warning and open only if you confirm. - Secure DNS: the request that turns a site name into its address is encrypted and sent to the chosen service (Cloudflare by default) instead of your internet provider. You can change the service or turn it off.
- Stolen password check: when you save a password, iAlgae Core checks with the free Have I Been Pwned service whether it appears in known data breaches. Only a fragment of the password's fingerprint is sent, from which the password itself can't be worked out.
10Incognito and Tor windows
In incognito windows iAlgae Core doesn't record history, and cookies, site data and cache are kept only in memory: they're deleted when the window closes. Favorites you add and files you download remain.
Private windows with Tor work like incognito windows, and on top of that all their traffic, including search suggestions, goes through the Tor network: sites see the address of a Tor relay instead of yours, and your internet provider only sees that you're using Tor. The first time, iAlgae Core downloads the official Tor program from torproject.org. iAlgae doesn't see or record what you do in these windows.
11Passwords
If you choose to save a password, iAlgae Core keeps it encrypted with your system's protection: the Keychain on Mac, and the data protection tied to your user account on Windows. Passwords never leave your computer and aren't sent to iAlgae. On Mac, you may be asked for Touch ID to reveal one.
If secure encryption isn't available on the computer, iAlgae Core doesn't save any passwords.
12Importing from other browsers
You can bring favorites and history into iAlgae Core from Chrome, Edge or Brave, passwords from a CSV file exported from those browsers, and favorites from an HTML file. Importing happens entirely on your computer: iAlgae Core reads the data from the other browser or from the file you choose and saves it in its own folder. Nothing is sent to iAlgae.
13Site permissions
Location, microphone, camera and notifications are given to a site only if you allow it, when it asks. You can change your mind at any time from the button to the left of the address or from Settings › Site permissions.
14Why we're allowed to do this
The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires us to state the reason for each type of processing. For the processing iAlgae carries out:
| Processing | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Searches and suggestions with the iAlgae engine, account, “Your favorites” menu | Performance of the service you requested (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| AI summary and questions about the page, page translation | Performance of the service you requested by clicking the button (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Counting requests per IP address, to prevent abuse | Legitimate interest in keeping the service available to everyone (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) |
| Checking for and downloading updates | Legitimate interest in keeping the browser secure and up to date (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) |
| Protections (block lists, secure DNS, password check) | Performance of the service: these are browser features you can turn off at any time (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) |
| Use of microphone, location and camera by sites | Your consent, which you can withdraw at any time (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) |
15How long we keep data
- Data on your computer: until you delete it or uninstall the app.
- Account and “Your favorites” menu: for as long as your iAlgae account exists. If you delete it, they're deleted too.
- Page summaries: 24 hours, then they're deleted.
- Request count per IP address: 24 hours, then it's deleted.
- IP address of visits to our server (for example when the browser checks for updates): deleted automatically within 30 days.
16Security
Communication with iAlgae happens only over encrypted connections (https). The account sign-in code and passwords are encrypted with the operating system's protection. Before installing an update, iAlgae Core checks its digital fingerprint, so a tampered file isn't installed. Sites opened in tabs are isolated from the rest of the browser and can't read your history, favorites or passwords.
17Your rights
Want to know what data we have about you, correct it or have it deleted? Write to us at info@ialgae.com: we reply within 30 days.
Data that stays on your computer is yours to delete, directly from the browser, whenever you like.
18Minors
To create an iAlgae account we ask that you be at least 14 years old, the age from which you can consent on your own to online services in Italy (in some countries it is higher, up to 16). You can use the browser without an account.
19Changes to this policy
If we change the way iAlgae Core uses data, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If the change is significant, we'll also let you know in the browser, together with the update notice.