This policy covers the FindWhiz Firefox extension and findwhiz.com. FindWhiz builds a search query on your device and opens the results directly on Yahoo. There is no FindWhiz account, analytics service or tracking system.
01Searches and your default engine
This addon requests permission to update your default search engine to Yahoo. Firefox shows its own prompt, and you decide. Finishing the FindWhiz welcome page does not accept that search change or change any data permission.
The toolbar popup and wider builder read the words you enter, combine them into one query and open Yahoo when you choose "Search Yahoo". Yahoo receives the query and your network IP address through that normal web request. Address bar searches using Yahoo by FindWhiz also go directly to Yahoo. Type fw and a space followed by text for a plain Yahoo search, or submit without text to open the builder. FindWhiz does not receive your query on its servers or read your other searches or browsing history.
02Selected text and the right click permission
The contextMenus permission adds "Search with FindWhiz" to the right click menu when you select text. Choosing it passes the selected text to the FindWhiz builder on your computer and fills Keywords. That text goes to Yahoo only if you press Search. No selected text is sent to FindWhiz.
The extension temporarily stores selected text or a form carried from the popup to the wider builder in a record for that builder tab. It uses Firefox session storage, with local storage as a fallback, and removes the record before applying it. It never puts that text in the builder's URL. Once loaded, the form follows your remembering setting.
03Firefox's data declaration and choice
The manifest declares required data as ["none"] and declares technicalAndInteraction as optional. The direct Yahoo search route means searchTerms is not a declared collection category. The extension requests storage, search, scripting and contextMenus permissions. It has no cookies permission and no uninstall URL.
Firefox offers the optional "technical and interaction" data setting during installation. The checkbox is on by default. You can turn it off there, or later in about:addons under Permissions and data. FindWhiz reads Firefox's saved answer and never asks for a data permission of its own.
This setting controls only the install page messages below. Declining it leaves the query builder available. FindWhiz checks it before loading the page relay, before sending each message and again just before the relay posts into the page. Turning it off stops pending messages. The welcome page's "I accept" button records setup completion only.
04Optional messages into the install page
On a fresh install, while that Firefox setting is on, FindWhiz can send an extInstalled message into the findwhiz.com page the install started from. It then sends at most one final message, searchEngineAccepted or searchEngineNotAccepted, about whether Firefox made Yahoo by FindWhiz the default. Each message contains only its named flag set to true. It has no identifier, URL, search text or attribution value.
The recipient must be the only open nonprivate tab on https://findwhiz.com or https://www.findwhiz.com, using the default HTTPS port, when installation starts. With no eligible tab or several eligible tabs, no page is chosen. Navigating away ends the flow. Messages are not sent on an extension update.
The install message comes first. An accepted message can follow when Firefox reports that the engine is the default. Otherwise a not accepted message can follow at the end of a 30 second check. If Firefox's search status cannot be read then, no final message is sent. Delivery may continue for up to five more seconds.
These are messages within a browser page, rather than network reports. This site's landing and Thanks pages can use them to update visible text. They do not store the messages, send them to a server, start analytics or reply to the extension. The pages also work when no message arrives.
05The Thanks page and ordinary web requests
If the optional setting is off at a fresh install, FindWhiz opens https://findwhiz.com/thanks/ once. It sends no page messages and opens no separate welcome tab at that time. The first toolbar opening reaches the welcome page instead. The Thanks address has no query parameter or identifier. Turning the optional setting off later does not open this page.
A visit to this website, the Thanks page, a download or the update file is an ordinary web request. The hosting server receives the requested address and your network IP address to serve it. Firefox checks the update file and downloads signed extension updates through its own update system. These requests do not carry the optional install flags or your search query.
The provided website files load local styles, scripts and images. They use no external fonts, analytics, tracking pixels or third party script services. The only page that sends anything to another service is the Contact page, and only when you press Send (see the contact form below). Hosting log settings depend on the host used to serve the site. This policy does not claim a retention period for hosting logs.
06What stays in Firefox
The website's search sample builds its query in the current page. It does not save your typing or open search results. Show Yahoo URL displays the address as text only. Copy query writes the query to your device's clipboard only when you choose that button.
The popup and wider builder save card order, hidden cards, the result tab choice, whether to remember typed values and whether to show the preview in Firefox's local extension storage, under findwhizSettings. Remembering is on by default. While it is on, the fields you type, time and region are saved locally under findwhizValues so you can use them again.
Turn off "Remember what I type" in Settings to remove saved values. New typing, time and region then clear when that builder closes. "Clear form" empties them. Card preferences stay saved on your device. The extension does not sync these values through a FindWhiz account or send them to FindWhiz.
Saved presets live only in browser storage on your device, under findwhizPresets. You explicitly save up to 20 named forms with their fields, filter order and enabled state, time and region. Saving with the same name replaces a preset. Turning remembering off or clearing the form does not delete presets. They stay until you delete them or clear the extension's data. Nothing in a preset is sent to FindWhiz. Running one opens its query directly on Yahoo.
The welcome page saves consentGatePassed locally when you finish setup. That value decides whether the toolbar shows setup or the query builder. It is independent of Firefox's data and search choices.
If you change the site shortcuts in Settings, the list you make (site names and web addresses you typed) is saved only in Firefox's local extension storage under findwhizSites. Resetting to the defaults removes it. It is never sent to FindWhiz.
During the install page flow, Firefox's session storage can hold landingFlow, including the captured tab's ID, its URL without the hash, a deadline and progress flags. The extension stops acting on it after the bounded install flow and tries to remove it when the flow ends. If removal fails, a later background wake can retry. Firefox discards session storage when the browser closes. This flow record never leaves Firefox.
The extension prints short status messages in the local Browser Console. They contain no search text, URL or file name. It keeps no stored log and sends no console output to FindWhiz.
07Cookies and information we do not receive
The extension reads and writes no cookies. These website files set no cookies and use no browser storage. Yahoo may use its own cookies when you visit its results pages, under its own policy.
FindWhiz sends no install, event, search status or uninstall reports to any server. It has no attribution or affiliate fields, no installation or session identifier for tracking, no report queue and no periodic reporting. It opens no page and sends no report when you uninstall it. Local tab IDs used briefly for message delivery are not tracking identifiers.
08Personal data and retention
We do not sell, rent or trade personal data. We do not use the optional page messages for advertising or profiling.
Local settings, setup completion, remembered fields and explicitly saved presets remain in Firefox until you change or clear them, or remove the extension's data using Firefox. Session flow storage and temporary builder handoffs follow the limits described above. We do not maintain a server copy of those extension values.
If you use the contact form, we receive the name, email address and message you enter. The form is delivered by FormSubmit, which processes the form contents to send them to support@findwhiz.com (see Other services). FormSubmit, like any receiving service, can see your network IP address. We use your email address only to reply; it is not added to a mailing list.
If you email support, your email service sends your address and message to support@findwhiz.com so we can answer. Do not include passwords or other sensitive information. No support email, contact form or hosting log retention schedule has been supplied for this site. Contact us about access or deletion rather than assuming a fixed retention period.
09Your privacy rights
Where the GDPR applies, you may request access to personal data, correction, deletion, restriction of processing and a portable copy. You may object to processing and complain to your local data protection authority. You can withdraw the optional Firefox data permission at any time through Permissions and data. Withdrawal stops pending messages and does not change messages already delivered into a page.
Where California privacy law applies, you may ask what personal data we hold, request its correction or deletion, and exercise applicable rights to limit use or opt out of sale or sharing. We do not sell personal data or share it for advertising. We do not discriminate against people for exercising these rights.
The local extension values are on your device, so we cannot retrieve a server copy of them. For rights concerning information you send to support or through the contact form, or an ordinary website visit, contact the email address below. We may ask for enough information to verify your request, within the limits of applicable law.
10Other services
Yahoo supplies search results and handles the query and normal request information it receives. Its own privacy policy applies to that visit. Mozilla provides Firefox's installation, permission, signing and update mechanisms. The website's contact form is delivered by FormSubmit, which processes the form contents to send them to us. See the FormSubmit privacy policy. FindWhiz is independent and is not affiliated with Yahoo, Mozilla or FormSubmit. Their services have their own terms and privacy practices.
11Children's privacy
FindWhiz is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly ask children for personal information. Contact us if a child has sent personal information to support so we can address it.
12Changes and contact
We may update this policy when FindWhiz or the website changes. The effective date will show when a revised policy applies. A policy change does not grant Firefox permission or remove rights provided by law.
For privacy questions or requests, email support@findwhiz.com.