Privacy Policy
What SANAD is
SANAD (“the RefGuard”) is a free, open-source citation companion for Microsoft Word and
LibreOffice. It has two parts that both run on your own machine: a desktop application with a
local engine (“the Core”) that listens only on 127.0.0.1, and a Word add-in (a task
pane) that talks only to that local engine.
Data we collect
None. SANAD has no account system, no sign-in, no analytics, and no telemetry. We do not collect, receive, transmit, sell, or share any personal data, reference library, document content, or usage information. There is no server operated by SANAD that your data is sent to.
Where your data lives
- Your reference library is stored as a single database file on your own computer.
- Your documents remain in Word/LibreOffice on your computer. The add-in only ever writes inside its own citation and bibliography fields — never your prose.
- The Core makes no outbound network connections. The add-in communicates only with
the Core on
127.0.0.1(your own machine), authenticated by a local session token that never leaves your device. - Optional online look-ups (e.g. resolving a reference by DOI/title against public scholarly databases such as Crossref) happen only when you explicitly ask for them, and send only the search terms you provide — never your document or library.
The add-in’s web page
The Word task pane is a set of static files served over HTTPS from GitHub Pages
(sajidmahmoodfarooqi-png.github.io). These pages contain no cookies, no analytics,
and no third-party trackers. As with any website, GitHub’s servers may record standard request
metadata (such as IP address and browser type) in their own logs; this is GitHub’s infrastructure,
governed by GitHub’s Privacy Statement,
and no SANAD library or document content is ever transmitted to those pages or to GitHub.
Children’s privacy
SANAD is a productivity tool for researchers and students and is not directed at children under 13. It collects no personal data from anyone.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the updated version will be published at this URL with a new effective date. Because SANAD collects no data, any changes will be minor and clarifying.
Verify it yourself
SANAD is open source under the GNU AGPL-3.0. You can read exactly what it does — including that the Core binds only to loopback and makes no outbound calls — in the source code.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Open an issue or reach the maintainer via the project’s GitHub.