Did you see this message when you were trying to install the Lean Library extension to your Chrome or Edge browsers?
The Lean Library browser extension is designed to help you seamlessly access academic content, whether that’s through your library’s subscriptions or Open Access versions. To do this effectively, the extension needs to read the webpages you visit.
Lean Library does not collect, store, or access any of your personal data, such as passwords, contact details, credit card numbers, or your full browsing history.
Why does it need access to webpage content?
To provide core features like the Alternatives feature (Article Alternatives, eBook Alternatives, Open Access and Inter Library Loan) and Highlight and Search, the extension looks for specific academic identifiers like DOIs and ISBNs on the webpage. This is done using highly targeted methods (like regular expressions), ensuring that only academic information is detected, not any personal or sensitive content.
Why is it going to change data on websites?
Don't worry! the extension is not going to change anything that's already there!
But we do have some features coming up which put handy buttons to get direct access to library provided content right where you are working to make it as easy and as obvious as possible that you can access the full text. Watch this space!
What data is collected?
Only anonymous, aggregated usage statistics—such as how many people are using the extension or how often certain features are used- are collected. This helps your library understand which services are helpful to users and improve them. No data is stored at an individual level.
You can read more in our Privacy FAQs or Lean Library Privacy policy here.
Please do not hesitate to contact Support at user-support@leanlibrary.com if you have any further questions.