May 21, 2026

Privacy Policy — Hacker News Semantic Search

Last updated: May 21, 2026

This privacy policy describes how the Hacker News Semantic Search browser extension (“the Extension”) handles information when you use it.

The Extension is developed to add search on Hacker News. It does not require an account and does not sell your data.

Summary

  • The Extension only runs on https://news.ycombinator.com/
  • Search queries are sent to Algolia (Hacker News’ public search API) to fetch stories
  • Semantic ranking runs on your device after results are fetched
  • An AI model may be downloaded once from Hugging Face and stored in your browser
  • Fonts and favicons are loaded from Google services for display only
  • We do not collect, store, or sell personal information on our own servers

What the Extension Does

When you open search (for example with Ctrl+K on Windows or ⌘K on Mac) on Hacker News, the Extension:

  1. Sends your search text to Algolia to retrieve matching stories
  2. Ranks those stories locally using keyword (BM25) and semantic (AI) methods
  3. Shows results in an overlay on the page

No separate website or login is required.

Data Sent to Third Parties

Algolia (Hacker News Search API)

  • What: Your search query text
  • Why: To fetch relevant Hacker News stories from the public Algolia API used by HN search
  • Where: https://hn.algolia.com/
  • Note: Algolia’s handling of data is governed by Algolia’s privacy policy. The Extension does not send your identity or browsing history beyond the query needed for that search request.

Hugging Face (AI Model Download)

  • What: A request to download the open-source embedding model (Xenova/all-MiniLM-L6-v2) and related files
  • Why: To enable on-device semantic re-ranking of search results
  • When: Typically on first use (or after browser/extension data is cleared)
  • Where: https://huggingface.co/ and https://cdn-lfs.huggingface.co/
  • Note: After download, the model is cached locally in your browser. Hugging Face’s practices are described in Hugging Face’s privacy policy.

Google Fonts

  • What: A request to load the Josefin Slab font used in the search interface
  • Why: To display the search UI with the intended typography
  • Where: https://fonts.googleapis.com/ and https://fonts.gstatic.com/
  • Note: Google may receive standard web request data (such as IP address) as described in Google’s privacy policy.

Google Favicon Service

  • What: The domain name of a story (for example github.com) when showing a site icon in results
  • Why: To display favicons next to search results
  • Where: https://www.google.com/s2/favicons
  • Note: Only the site domain derived from story URLs is used, not the full text of your search.

Data Processed Locally (On Your Device)

The following stay on your computer and are not sent to the developer’s servers:

  • Semantic re-ranking of search results (embeddings computed in an offscreen extension context)
  • BM25 keyword ranking
  • Cached AI model files after the initial download
  • UI state (open/closed search, selected result) while you use the page

The developer does not operate backend servers that receive your searches or browsing data.

What We Do Not Collect

The Extension does not:

  • Require you to create an account
  • Collect your name, email, or payment information
  • Track you across websites (only news.ycombinator.com is matched)
  • Sell or rent your data
  • Inject advertising

Permissions

The Extension requests browser permissions only as needed:

Permission / Host access Purpose
offscreen Run the local AI model (WebAssembly / Transformers.js) for semantic ranking
hn.algolia.com Fetch Hacker News search results
huggingface.co / cdn-lfs.huggingface.co Download the embedding model
fonts.googleapis.com / fonts.gstatic.com Load UI fonts
www.google.com Load favicons for result icons

Data Retention

  • Search queries sent to Algolia are handled under Algolia’s policies; the Extension does not retain them on developer servers.
  • Model cache and other extension data may remain in your browser until you clear extension data, uninstall the Extension, or reset your browser profile.

Children’s Privacy

The Extension is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. Continued use of the Extension after changes means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or the Extension, open an issue or contact the developer through the project repository listed on the Chrome Web Store listing.