Magpie Privacy Policy
Last updated: 3rd September, 2026
This Privacy Policy ("Extension Policy") describes the data practices of the Magpie browser extension ("Magpie," "the Extension," "we," "our," or "us"). Magpie is a general-purpose tool that enables a user to export selected AI chat conversations and transmit them to a research server the user has chosen to enroll with. Magpie is not built for any single research study; it may be configured to work with any compatible server, and independent research teams operate their own separate deployments of the receiving infrastructure.
Accordingly, the Extension Policy governs only the data practices that occur on the user's device, within the Extension itself. It does not, and cannot, describe the data practices of any particular research server after data has been uploaded to it. Those practices are governed by the policy of the specific research study the user enrolls in, which is provided to the user during that study's consent process, prior to the Extension being configured to transmit any data. §7 describes what this means for study participants in practice.
1. What the Extension does
The Extension's sole purpose is to enable a user to select specific AI chat conversations from Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini, and to transmit them to a server address configured by the user, typically by means of an enrollment link provided by a research study the user has separately agreed to participate in. The Extension will not transmit data of any kind until it has been configured with a destination server. It serves no other function: it does not modify or otherwise interact with the underlying AI assistant, beyond reading and transmitting the user's conversations as directed.
2. Information the Extension Collects
Magpie operates exclusively on claude.ai, chat.openai.com, chatgpt.com, and gemini.google.com. Data is accessed only in response to the user's explicit actions within the Extension's interface.
| Data Accessed | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Conversation list and content on the platforms listed above | To allow the user to view and select which conversations to export, and for the export of selected conversations |
| Attachments (images, files) contained within selected conversations | Exported together with the associated conversation as part of the same record |
| Session cookies and authentication tokens already present in the user's browser on the above platforms | Used to confirm the user is logged in and to facilitate data collection. This data remains on the user's device at all times and is never transmitted. |
Magpie does not monitor general browsing activity, does not operate on any website other than those listed above, and does not collect any data unless and until the user affirmatively selects conversations for export and provides explicit consent to do so.
3. Information the Extension Transmits
When a user elects to upload selected conversations, the following information is transmitted to the server address the Extension is currently configured with:
The content of the conversations and attachments the user has approved for sharing, together with associated metadata (including the AI model used in the conversation and relevant timestamps)
General account metadata (including platform, account age, and number of conversations)
A one-way cryptographic hash of an identifier associated with the user's AI-platform account. The identifier is hashed on the user's device and is never transmitted in raw form. This hash is collected solely to permit anonymous identification of accounts.
Study-specific authentication credentials issued to the user (such as an upload passphrase), used solely to authenticate the upload to the relevant server
All data transmission occurs over encrypted HTTPS connections. Magpie does not operate any analytics, advertising, or tracking service, and does not transmit user data to any party other than the server with which it is configured.
4. Where Data is sent
Following installation, Magpie must be configured with a destination server, either manually or automatically via an enrollment link provided by a study organizer, after the user has consented to participate in that study. The identity and data practices of the destination server are not fixed by Magpie and are not described by the Extension Policy, as they vary by deployment. In connection with this:
The identity of the team and/or institution operating a given study, and the ethics or institutional review board (IRB) oversight applicable to it, are disclosed to the user during that study's consent and enrollment process, prior to the Extension being configured.
Each team is required to publish its own policy describing how uploaded data is stored, used, retained, and shared, and who is permitted to access it.
A user who is uncertain which study their installation of Magpie is currently configured to communicate with may consult the Extension's settings panel, which displays the currently configured server address, or may contact the relevant study team directly.
Magpie is not intended for use outside the context of an active, consented research study enrollment. Users who have not completed a study's consent and enrollment process should not use the Extension.
5. Permissions
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
Host access to claude.ai, chat.openai.com, chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com |
To read the conversation list and content the user selects, on pages where the user is already authenticated |
storage |
To store the configured study server address, authentication token, and local upload progress |
tabs |
To access basic tab information and to relay information between the page and the Extension |
scripting |
To collect conversation data on the specified chat platforms, and to insert user-interface elements enabling interaction with the Extension |
Optional host access to all sites (*://*/*) |
To detect when the user visits a study enrollment link (/magpie-setup/...) so that the Extension may configure itself with the corresponding study server automatically |
Magpie requests no permissions beyond those necessary to provide the functionality described in the Extension Policy.
6. Cookies
The Extension's page-context content script reads session cookies already present in the user's browser on the AI-platform pages described in §2. Magpie does not set any new tracking cookies, and does not transmit AI-platform session cookies to any server.
7. Participant Consent and Study-Level Disclosures
Prior to configuring Magpie with a server, a user should have completed that study's own informed consent process, which should disclose:
The identity of the research team and the applicable ethics/IRB approval
The server infrastructure on which the user's data will be stored, and who may access it
The applicable data retention period, and the process for requesting deletion
Any risks specific to that study's data handling practices
Any study that requests installation and configuration of Magpie without first providing this disclosure should be reported to the relevant study team. Magpie's design presumes that consent and destination disclosure occur at the study level, prior to the Extension being configured to communicate with any server.
Further, Magpie requires each study server, and thereby any team, conducting a study via Magpie to provide a consent form for this purpose. The Extension will display this consent form directly to the user and will not proceed with any data collection until the user has affirmatively agreed to it. This requirement is enforced by the Extension itself, independent of any individual study's own enrollment process, so that a user is never able to select or upload conversations without first being presented with the applicable study's consent terms.
8. Children's privacy
Magpie is not directed toward, and is not intended for use by, individuals under the age of 18.
9. Changes to the Extension Policy
Should Magpie's client-side data practices change, for example, through the collection of new categories of data or support for additional platforms, the Extension Policy will be revised accordingly, and the corresponding Extension/Add-on listings will be updated to reflect such changes.
10. Contact
For questions regarding the Magpie Extension itself, unrelated to a specific study, please contact Rose at [email protected].
For questions regarding a specific study's use of your data, please contact that study's research team, as identified during your enrollment.