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Sifty Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 28, 2026

Sifty is a browser extension that filters posts on Reddit (www.reddit.com) according to the filter you set and the subjects you choose to follow or hide. This policy explains what data Sifty collects, why, who it is shared with, and how long it is kept.

Sifty's single purpose is to classify Reddit posts so it can show, flag or hide them in your feed. We collect only the data that purpose needs. We do not sell your data, use it for advertising, or build profiles of you.

What we collect

Content of Reddit posts you view

When you browse Reddit with Sifty turned on, the extension reads these details of each post in your feed:

  • the subreddit, title and flair
  • up to the first 1,500 characters of the post's text
  • the post type and the domain of any linked site
  • the post's score and comment count
  • Reddit's public post ID

These are the same details Reddit shows publicly for each post. Anyone can see them on reddit.com without an account. The exception is posts in private communities you belong to, which only their members can see.

Sifty sends these details to our server to classify the post. We don't record which posts you viewed: classifications are stored by post, not by user. Sifty does not send your Reddit username, your messages, comments you write, or anything from pages outside reddit.com.

If you turn on "Only subreddits I've joined", Sifty also checks on the page whether you've joined each post's subreddit. That check stays in your browser, and posts it removes aren't sent to us.

Your sign-in account

Sifty requires you to sign in with an Apple, Google or GitHub account, so that each user can be given a fair daily limit. When you sign in, we receive and store:

  • your account name, email address and profile picture URL
  • the sign-in tokens Apple, Google or GitHub issues to us

We only request basic profile information. From Google, we do not access your Gmail, Drive, contacts or any other Google data. From GitHub, we request only your public profile and email addresses (the read:user and user:email scopes); we never access your repositories, code or other GitHub data. From Apple, we request only your name and email address. Apple lets you share your name only once, when you first sign in, and lets you hide your email behind a private relay address.

If you sign in with more than one of Apple, Google and GitHub using the same verified email address, those sign-ins belong to the same Sifty account. If you hide your email from Apple, your Apple sign-in is a separate Sifty account.

Session information

When you sign in, we create a session. We store its token and its expiry date. Sessions expire after 60 days of inactivity.

Usage counts

For each account we keep one record per day of how many posts were classified, how many were answered from our cache, and what processing cost us. These are counts only; they do not contain post content or which posts you viewed.

Data stored only in your browser

Your settings, filtering statistics, your session token and a cache of recent classifications are stored in your browser's extension storage. They are not sent to us, with two exceptions: the session token, which identifies you to our server, and the subjects you follow and hide, which are sent with each classification request so the right questions are asked about each post. We don't store those subjects. Subjects you hide from a post's label are never sent. Uninstalling Sifty deletes all of this.

Launch waitlist

If you sign up on siftyapp.com to hear when Sifty launches, we store the email address you enter and when you signed up. Nothing else from the form is kept. We use the address only to send one email announcing the launch.

Answers you give about posts

When Sifty isn't sure about a post, its label asks you a yes/no question, such as "Is this about Politics & government?". If you answer, Sifty sends us your answer, the question, the post's details listed above (including its text) and how Sifty classified it, and we store them with your account ID, when you answered, and Sifty's version, your browser and your operating system type. Nothing is sent unless you press Yes or No.

Help and feedback

If you send a message from the Help form in the Sifty popup, we store the message, the email address to reply to (your account's if you're signed in, or the one you type, if any, if you're not), your account ID if you're signed in, and when you sent it. If you leave "Include debug info" ticked, the message also carries Sifty's version, your browser and operating system, your filter settings (how many subjects you follow and hide, not which ones), Sifty's post counts, whether the current tab is Reddit and how many of its posts Sifty could read, and whether Sifty's server is reachable. It never includes the page's address or the posts themselves. Nothing is sent until you press Send.

Diagnostics

Every request Sifty makes to our server carries Sifty's version, your browser and your operating system type (for example "1.2.0 firefox android"). About once a day, Sifty also sends us counts from your browser: how many posts it answered from its own cache and how many it sent to our server, how many failed and why (our server couldn't be reached, returned an error, or you were signed out), and how many times it couldn't read Reddit's page, with the kind of page (the home feed, a subreddit or a post). We add these counts to daily totals per Sifty version, browser and operating system, which are not linked to your account. They never include page addresses, posts, or the subjects and settings you chose. You need to be signed in to send them, but your account is used only to stop abuse of the request, not stored with the counts.

What we don't collect

The Sifty extension has no analytics, tracking, advertising SDKs or cookies: beyond the diagnostics above, it doesn't report how you use it. It does not collect your browsing history, and it runs only on reddit.com.

This website

When you visit siftyapp.com, we record anonymous statistics about the visit to learn which parts of the page are useful: the pages you view, the links and buttons you click, how far you scroll, which sections you look at and for how long, whether you started or sent the waitlist form (never what you typed into it), the referring site, and your browser and device type. This website sets no cookies and stores nothing in your browser.

To count unique visitors without cookies, our analytics provider combines your IP address and browser details into an identifier that changes every day and can't be traced back to you. Your IP address is used only for this, is discarded before anything is stored, and is not used to look up your location. The statistics are not linked to your waitlist email, your Sifty account or anything the extension does.

If your browser sends a Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signal, we record nothing.

Extension permissions

  • Access to reddit.com: to read the posts in your feed and show, flag or hide them.
  • Access to the Sifty server (api.siftyapp.com): to classify posts, to sign in, and to send Help messages, your answers about posts and diagnostics.
  • Storage: to keep your settings, statistics, session and cache in your browser.
  • Identity: to open the sign-in window.
  • Scripting: on Firefox for Android and Safari, which have no sign-in window, sign-in opens in a tab instead. Sifty reads the one-time sign-in code from the last page of that tab on api.siftyapp.com, then closes it. It never runs on any other page.

How we use data

  • Post content is used only to classify the post for filtering.
  • Account and session data are used to sign you in, authenticate requests from the extension and enforce per-user daily limits.
  • Usage counts are used to enforce limits, prevent abuse and understand operating costs.
  • Help messages are used only to answer you and to fix what you report.
  • Diagnostics are used only to find and fix problems, such as a Sifty release that fails more often or a change to Reddit's page that Sifty can't read.
  • Answers you give about posts are used only to improve how Sifty classifies posts, for example to check and tune its filtering. We may read them for that.
  • Waitlist email addresses are used only to send the launch announcement.
  • Website statistics are used only to improve this website.

Sifty's use of information complies with the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We use the data only for Sifty's single purpose described above and transfer it only as described under "Who we share data with". We never use or transfer it for advertising or to determine creditworthiness, and nobody reads it, except with your permission (such as answers you give about posts), for security, to comply with the law, or in aggregated, anonymous form to run the service.

Who we share data with

  • Classification provider. Post content is sent to a third-party processing service, which classifies it and returns the result to us. It receives only post content, never your name, email or other account details.
  • GitHub (issue tracker). We track reports from the Help form as issues in our private GitHub repository. The issue holds your message and debug info, never your email address or account details. When several copies of Sifty can't read Reddit's page on the same day, we open an issue there with that day's diagnostics totals for the Sifty version affected.
  • Cloudflare. Our server and database run on Cloudflare, which processes data on our behalf as our hosting provider.
  • PostHog. PostHog processes this website's anonymous visit statistics on our behalf, on servers in the EU.
  • Apple, Google and GitHub. Apple handles sign-in under the Apple Privacy Policy, Google under Google's Privacy Policy, and GitHub under the GitHub General Privacy Statement.

We do not sell data, and we do not share it with anyone else. The one exception is a valid legal request, such as a court order. We disclose only what that request requires and, where the law allows, tell affected users first.

Retention

  • Classifications. Our server keeps each post's classification, keyed by the Reddit post ID, so the same post isn't processed twice. These are shared across all users and are not linked to your account. They are deleted after 7 days. We do not store the text of posts, except for posts you answer a question about (see below).
  • Account data is kept until you ask us to delete your account.
  • Sessions are deleted when you sign out and stop working once they expire. Expired sessions are removed along with your account.
  • Daily usage counts are kept for as long as your account exists.
  • Diagnostics totals are kept for 12 months.
  • Answers you give about posts are deleted a year after you answer, or sooner if you ask us to delete them or your account.
  • Help messages are kept until you ask us to delete them or your account, and we delete the matching issue with them.
  • Waitlist email addresses are deleted after the launch email is sent, or earlier if you ask us to remove yours.
  • Website statistics are kept for up to 12 months.
  • Server logs are kept for a limited period by our hosting provider, for debugging and security.

Security

All communication between the extension, our server and our providers is encrypted with HTTPS. Our hosting provider encrypts stored data at rest. Access to our servers and databases is restricted.

Your choices and rights

  • Stop collection: turn Sifty off or uninstall it. No post content is sent while it is off.
  • Sign out: from the Sifty popup.
  • Access, correction or deletion: email us at the address below to get a copy of your account data, correct it, or have your account and all associated data deleted. We will respond within 30 days.

Depending on where you live, for example in the EU, UK or California, you may have further rights under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA. You can exercise them by contacting us.

Children

Sifty is not directed at children under 13, or under 16 in the EEA and UK, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Changes to this policy

If we change how Sifty collects or uses data, we will update this page and its date. If the change is significant, we will also tell you in the extension before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions or requests: contact@siftyapp.com