# What Gem Search reads and where it goes

The extension reads rendered post text, the post permalink/timestamp, and external anchors inside visible X tweet articles after you activate it. It doesn't use cookies, network interception, account-action APIs, DMs, passwords or browser history. Message/account/settings/compose routes are excluded.

Visible does **not** necessarily mean public: your account might be able to see protected posts. Only activate collection where you intend to use the visible material. The extension does not infer or bypass access restrictions.

| Data | Location / destination |
| --- | --- |
| Pending post captures | chrome.storage.local, maximum 200 pending items |
| Pairing token | Trusted extension contexts; not passed to content scripts |
| Captured posts, research evidence and decisions | SQLite in local data/ |
| Public linked pages | Fetched by the local crawler; target sites see an HTTP request from your computer |
| Grok review excerpts | Sent to api.x.ai only when GROK_ENABLED=1 with your local key |
| xAI API key | Local .env/environment; not the extension or a hosted Gem Search service |
| Optional token metadata | Sent to Pinata and public IPFS only by the explicitly enabled live launch module |

No Gem Search telemetry or hosted collection endpoint is implemented. The local backend does not remove your browser or provider's own telemetry. Review xAI/Pinata terms for their retention and billing policies if you enable those services.

Processed raw browser captures older than seven days are purged during subsequent ingestion; evidence excerpts already attached to project dossiers can remain until you remove your local database. Pending extension items stay until acknowledged or until you use Disconnect & clear local queue. Turning off Grok stops future model calls but does not recall data already sent to a provider.

Stop the server before deleting local research data. If using the optional launch module, preserve transaction state and wallet backups rather than deleting the whole data directory. Never share that directory in a public issue or repository.