Last updated: October 18, 2026
Your citations stay on your device
The citations and lists you make are saved in your own browser on your own device. They are never sent to us. Clearing your browser’s data deletes them, so use “Save backup file” to keep a copy, for example in your school Drive.
You don’t need an account, and we never ask for your name, email, or school.
What is sent to our server
Only one thing, and only when you click Autofill (or scan a book’s barcode): the link, ISBN, or DOI you entered is sent to our server so it can look up that source’s details. To do that, our server reads the public web page, or asks Open Library, Google Books, or doi.org about the book or article. We don’t keep what was looked up.
The barcode scanner uses your camera only while its window is open. The picture stays on your device; only the ISBN number is used.
Visitor counts
To know how many people use the site and which pages help most, we use Vercel Web Analytics. It doesn’t use cookies. Visits are counted with an anonymous code that resets every day, so you can’t be identified, followed from day to day, or tracked across other websites. We see only totals, such as how many visits a page had.
Class links from teachers
A teacher’s assignment settings travel inside the class link itself. When a student opens the link, the assignment is added to the lists on that student’s device. Nothing about the student is sent to the teacher or to us. Students turn in their list the way they usually turn in work.
The Chrome extension and the Google Docs add-on
The Chrome extension reads a page only when you click its button to cite that page, and it passes the details to the citation maker inside the link. The Google Docs add-on can only see the document it’s opened in, and it saves your list inside that document. Neither one tracks you. Their own privacy policies give the details.
What we never do
- No ads, and no selling or sharing of information.
- No accounts, and no tracking cookies.
- No collecting of students’ names, emails, or schoolwork.
For schools
Because no personal information is collected, Cite It Right is designed to fit student-privacy laws such as COPPA and FERPA. Your district may still have its own process for approving websites and apps. This page can be shared with them.