Privacy Policy for AutoCite: Free Citation Generator

Last Updated: July 4, 2026

AutoCite: Free Citation Generator helps users create citations from copied, selected, pasted, or detected website and source information. This Privacy Policy explains what information the extension handles and how that information is used.

Information the Extension Handles

AutoCite may handle information that you choose to provide or that is needed to generate a citation, including:

• Text you copy, select, or paste for citation-related use.
• Website URLs, DOI values, source titles, author names, publisher names, publication dates, website names, journal details, page numbers, and similar citation metadata.
• Basic information from the active browser tab, such as the page title and URL, when you activate AutoCite for that tab.
• Citations, in-text citations, and bibliography entries that you choose to save in the extension.
• Extension preferences or state, such as whether the side panel is open or minimized.

How Information Is Used

AutoCite uses the information it handles only to provide its core citation-generating functionality. This includes detecting source details, filling citation fields, generating citations, saving citation history, copying citation text, and exporting bibliography content when you request it.

AutoCite does not use user data for advertising, unrelated tracking, user profiling, creditworthiness, lending decisions, or any purpose unrelated to citation generation and related extension features.

Local Storage

AutoCite stores saved citations, bibliography entries, and limited extension state locally in Chrome extension storage on your device. This allows the extension to show citation history and keep the side panel working between sessions.

You can clear saved citations from within the extension. You may also remove locally stored extension data by uninstalling the extension or clearing extension data through Chrome.

Temporary Processing and Network Requests

Some citation information is processed temporarily while you use the extension, such as copied text, selected website content, pasted source information, or metadata detected from the active page.

AutoCite may make a limited request to a source page or PDF URL when needed to detect citation metadata from a URL you provide or from the active page you are citing. These requests are used only to retrieve citation-related metadata. The extension is designed to omit credentials such as cookies and to avoid sending a referrer for these metadata requests.

AutoCite does not send copied text, saved citations, citation history, or bibliography content to a third-party analytics, advertising, or tracking service. AutoCite does not currently use a third-party citation-generation API.

Sharing and Sale of Data

AutoCite does not sell user data. AutoCite does not share user data with third parties for advertising, marketing, unrelated analytics, creditworthiness, lending, or other non-core purposes.

Permissions Used by the Extension

AutoCite requests Chrome permissions that support its citation features:

• sidePanel: Allows AutoCite to display the citation generator in Chrome's side panel.
• storage: Allows AutoCite to save citation history and extension state locally on your device.
• activeTab: Allows AutoCite to access citation-related information from the tab you are currently using after you activate the extension.
• scripting: Allows AutoCite to read citation metadata from the active webpage when needed for citation generation.
• clipboardRead: Allows AutoCite to read text from the clipboard when you use a paste or import feature that requires clipboard access.
• clipboardWrite: Allows AutoCite to copy generated citations, in-text citations, or bibliography text to your clipboard when you request it.

Privacy and Security

AutoCite limits its handling of information to what is needed for citation generation and related user-requested actions. Citation data is stored locally in Chrome extension storage, and the extension does not request broad access to all websites. Source information is sanitized where appropriate before being displayed or saved by the extension.

No browser extension can guarantee absolute security. You should avoid pasting sensitive personal, financial, medical, or confidential information into AutoCite unless it is necessary for your own citation work.

User Choices and Rights

You control the information you enter, paste, copy, save, export, or delete in AutoCite. You may clear saved citations in the extension, remove the extension from Chrome, or clear extension data through Chrome settings.

If you have privacy-related questions or requests, please contact the developer using the support or contact information provided on the AutoCite Chrome Web Store listing.

Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes to AutoCite or applicable requirements. When the policy is updated, the "Last Updated" date above will be revised.