1. The important summary
RETA does not require you to create a RETA account. The extension does not operate a RETA backend that receives your searches, comparison history, Watchlist or saved purchases. Those features use Chrome’s local extension storage on your machine.
Core comparison does not require OpenAI or Gemini. Cloud AI is optional, off until you configure it, and uses an API key you provide.
2. Information stored locally in your browser
Depending on the features you use, RETA may store the following through chrome.storage.local or short-lived browser session storage:
- Enabled retailer choices, display preferences, recent extension state and cached product results.
- Your Price Watch items, including product title, retailer, URL, image if available, watched price, current price and check status.
- Purchases you explicitly save to local order history, including title, retailer, price, product URL, image if available and saved timestamp.
- Your optional AI provider selection, model setting and API key.
- A temporary Compare with RETA handoff containing the source retailer, query and timestamp.
This local data is not uploaded to a RETA shopping-data server. Other people who can access your Chrome profile or computer may be able to access extension data, so protect your device and browser profile.
3. Requests to retailer websites
To compare live listings, RETA opens, focuses or requests pages from supported retailers in your browser. The retailer receives the normal information associated with a browser visit, which may include your IP address, cookies, login state, selected location and browser details under that retailer’s own privacy policy.
The extension reads product information returned by those retailer pages, such as title, image, price, coupon text, unit information, availability, delivery or pickup text and product URL. Retailers can require sign-in, location selection or a CAPTCHA, and RETA does not bypass those controls.
RETA may open temporary retailer tabs or windows to collect results and can close the RETA-created browsing surfaces when the comparison is complete. Your existing unrelated retailer tabs are not intended to be closed.
4. Compare with RETA on retailer pages
On supported Amazon, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Costco and eBay search-results or product-detail pages, RETA can display a small Compare with RETA pill.
- On search pages, it derives the comparison query from the URL.
- On product pages, it uses the page URL and the product-page title, limited to a short query.
- The routing feature does not harvest prices, checkout content or the rest of the page DOM.
- It does not appear on cart, checkout, sign-in, account, order or payment pages.
- Dismissing the pill is remembered only for that tab session.
- A handoff older than approximately 45 seconds is ignored to avoid replaying a stale search.
Clicking the pill stores a short-lived local handoff, focuses or opens the RETA tab and asks RETA’s normal comparison engine to run that query.
5. Price Watch
Price Watch stores up to 200 watched products locally. RETA can attempt two kinds of updates:
- Scheduled checks: the extension uses a Chrome alarm, approximately every six hours, to request watched product pages with your browser’s existing retailer session. Requests are spaced apart.
- Passive checks: when you visit a watched product page, RETA may read the current rendered price from that page.
A retailer can block a check, require login or change its page structure. When a check fails, RETA marks it as failed or stale instead of claiming that the stored price is current. Price Watch is informational and should be confirmed on the retailer’s live page.
6. Local order history
RETA saves an item to order history only when you choose the Bought action. The record can include the product title, retailer, price, image, URL and saved time. You can remove individual records, clear the history or export it as a CSV file from the extension.
RETA does not read your payment card, process the transaction or receive the retailer’s order confirmation through this feature. A saved record is your local note that you bought the item; it is not a retailer receipt.
7. Local Top Picks and optional cloud AI
Local Top Picks
Without an AI provider key, RETA can build structured Top Picks from product facts already returned to the extension. That process stays in the browser and does not send the request to OpenAI or Gemini.
OpenAI or Gemini, only when configured
When you add your own API key and use conversational AI, RETA sends the provider you selected:
- Your active search, question and relevant conversation context.
- Facts from up to 24 visible product cards, which can include titles, retailers, prices, delivery text, product details, images or image URLs and product links.
RETA’s AI request is not designed to include retailer cookies, retailer passwords, checkout data or the retailer page HTML. Your chosen provider receives and processes the request under its own privacy policy and API terms. Provider charges may apply. Your API key is stored locally by the extension and used to authenticate requests directly to that provider.
AI output can be incorrect. RETA attempts to ground recommendations in returned product cards, but you should verify the live listing before acting.
8. Affiliate links
Some retailer links can contain an affiliate identifier. When you open an affiliate link, the retailer or affiliate network may record the click and may pay RETA a commission if you make an eligible purchase. Affiliate tracking is handled by the retailer or network under its own terms. RETA does not receive your retailer password or payment card from that link.
Affiliate eligibility does not change the extension’s stated privacy architecture or guarantee that every supported retailer participates. See the Affiliate Disclosure for more detail.
9. Why the extension requests Chrome permissions
10. The retapp.ai website
This theme does not load third-party fonts or include a RETA analytics script. Like most websites, the hosting provider, security service or WordPress installation may create standard server logs containing information such as IP address, browser type, requested page, timestamp and error details. Those systems are controlled by the website operator and hosting configuration.
When you click the Chrome Web Store, retailer, email or other external link, the destination service receives the normal information associated with that visit under its own policy.
11. Your choices and controls
- Use RETA without creating a RETA account.
- Turn individual retailers on or off.
- Dismiss Compare with RETA for a retailer tab session.
- Remove watched products and saved history records.
- Clear order history and export it to CSV.
- Remove an optional OpenAI or Gemini API key from settings.
- Remove the extension from Chrome to stop its operation and remove its extension storage from that Chrome installation, subject to Chrome’s behavior.
12. Security, children and changes
RETA uses reasonable technical design choices, but no software, browser profile or internet transmission can be guaranteed completely secure. Do not share screenshots or support messages containing retailer passwords, payment cards or API keys.
RETA is a general shopping utility and is not directed to children under 13. We may update this policy as the extension changes. The effective date and described extension version at the top show when this page was last materially revised.
13. Contact
Questions about privacy can be sent to Reuven@retapp.ai.