JSK Shield privacy policy
Last updated: 2026-07-24
Overview
JSK Shield blocks ads and trackers entirely on your device. It does not collect personal information, it has no analytics or telemetry, and nothing about your browsing leaves your computer. JSK Shield is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence, so this policy describes behaviour you can verify in the code.
Information we collect
This product does not collect any personal information. JSK Shield has no analytics, no telemetry, and no advertising identifiers. It does not record the pages you visit or the web addresses you request, and nothing about your browsing is ever sent anywhere. With a free account, the optional Statistics feature keeps local counts — how much was blocked, and which ad and tracker domains were blocked most — stored only on your device, never the sites you visit, and clearable at any time.
If you choose to connect an optional JSKAPPS account (not required to block ads), JSK Shield stores the API key you paste, on your device, to check whether your subscription is active. That is the only account information involved.
How we use it
Your settings and filter lists are used only to block ads and trackers in your browser. There is no other use, because the data never leaves your device.
Permissions and why we need them
- declarativeNetRequest — lets Chrome block ad and tracker requests using our filter lists. Chrome performs the blocking; the extension never sees the requests themselves.
- declarativeNetRequestFeedback — lets JSK Shield count what was blocked on a page and show you which rule blocked a given request.
- scripting — lets JSK Shield hide the empty boxes that blocked ads can leave behind, on sites you have allowed.
- storage and unlimitedStorage — store your settings and the (large) filter lists locally in your browser.
- webNavigation — tells JSK Shield when a page begins loading, so ad slots can be hidden before the page paints.
- webRequest — used only to observe which requests Chrome blocked, so JSK Shield can show you what was blocked and why. JSK Shield cannot read, change, or send the contents of any request.
- tabs — reads the address of the current tab so the popup can show information for the right site.
- alarms — schedules periodic filter-list updates.
- Site access (optional) — JSK Shield requests access to a website only when a feature you choose to use needs it: to hide leftover ad elements on that site, to pick an element to hide, or to fetch a custom filter list you added. Network blocking needs no site access, and JSK Shield requests none at install.
Data storage and retention
Your settings and filter lists are stored locally in your browser, using Chrome’s extension storage. They remain until you clear them or uninstall the extension. Nothing is stored on our servers, because JSK Shield has no server that receives your data.
Sharing and third parties
We do not sell or share your data. There are no third-party analytics or advertising SDKs in JSK Shield.
Three ordinary network requests are worth naming precisely:
- Filter-list updates are downloaded from a static file host as a signed file, with no cookies, no identifiers and no query string — the same kind of update check your browser makes for itself. The host can see an IP address and a version number, exactly like any software update.
- Subscription checks happen only if you connect an optional JSKAPPS account. JSK Shield then contacts JSKAPPS to ask whether your subscription is active, sending your account key and the product name — never a URL, a domain, or anything it blocked.
- An uninstall feedback page, but only if you have an account connected. When you remove the extension, Chrome opens a short JSKAPPS page whose address includes the version, your plan (free or paid), and roughly how long it was installed — never anything about your browsing. If you have no account connected, this does not happen; disconnecting turns it off again.
- Custom filter lists you add yourself are downloaded by your browser directly from the address you entered, without cookies, when you add the list and once a day after that. That server can see your IP address, as it would for any file you download. We never host, proxy or receive those lists, and no information about your browsing is sent with the request. If you add no custom lists, this never happens.
Security
JSK Shield loads no remote code — all logic ships in the extension package. Filter updates are cryptographically signed and verified before they are applied, so a compromised update cannot change what JSK Shield does. The extension requests the minimum permissions it needs and none of the broad site access it doesn’t.
Your choices
You can pause JSK Shield globally or per site at any time, clear your settings from the Settings page, and disconnect an optional account (which removes the stored key). Uninstalling the extension removes all of its local data.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and the version published with the extension. Material changes will be described in the release notes.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Email info@jskapps.com