1. Read the permission list literally
Look for storage, tabs, alarms, cookies, and host access. Host access deserves special attention: a narrow list of relevant storefront origins is materially different from access to every website.
2. Ask what starts an action
At checkout, the important question is whether the extension waits for a clear shopper choice. Code application and affiliate attribution should not be disguised as passive page decoration.
3. Separate local preferences from account identity
An extension may store a preference locally without needing a personal account. If sign-in is optional, the product should explain what changes when anonymous installation data becomes linked to an identified profile.
4. Find export, correction, and deletion controls
A privacy policy should say how to request data, correct it, export it, and delete an account. It should also explain any records that must be retained for fraud prevention, reconciliation, tax, or legal obligations.
5. Check the financial vocabulary
Privacy and trust overlap. If an extension calls an estimate “raised” or “donated,” it may be obscuring the data state as well as the money state. Look for clear definitions of estimated, pending, confirmed, reversed, and paid.
How SaveKindly handles this
The current preview manifest requests storage and alarms and limits host access to local demo origins. SaveKindly requires an explicit Apply click, documents anonymous and account data separately, and provides account-data controls. A future public build must disclose its reviewed storefront origins before the Chrome Web Store link is enabled.