Chrome · Firefox · Safari, Auctioneersvault Ltd
Almost everything Auction Bid Assistant does stays on your device and is never sent to us. The one exception is the optional Daily Alerts feature: if you choose to enter an email address to receive alert digests, that email address and your saved search terms are stored on our servers so we can send you the digest. Nothing else about your use of the extension is collected, and Daily Alerts is entirely opt-in, the extension works fully without it.
Auction Bid Assistant is developed and operated by Auctioneersvault Ltd, a company registered in the United Kingdom. For GDPR purposes, Auctioneersvault Ltd is the data controller in relation to any direct correspondence you initiate with us (e.g. support emails) and in relation to the optional Daily Alerts feature (Section 6a), if you choose to use it. For every other feature of the extension, we do not transmit or store personal data on our servers, so we do not act as data controller in relation to that use.
Auction Bid Assistant is a browser extension available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari (macOS). It helps online auction buyers and auction house staff:
For the extension's core features (searching, saving lots, exporting, Featured Auctions, and the Live Bridge) we collect nothing. No analytics, tracking pixels, crash reporting, or telemetry run inside the extension, and no data from these features is ever sent to our servers or any third party.
The one exception is the optional Daily Alerts feature (see Section 6a below). If you choose to save an alert and enter an email address to receive digest emails, we store that email address, your search term, chosen platforms, and alert frequency on our servers so we can run the check and send you the email. If you never use Daily Alerts, none of this applies to you.
The website at auction-bid-assistant.com uses Google Analytics (loaded only with your consent via the cookie banner) to understand general site usage. This does not apply to the browser extension.
The extension stores the following information locally on your device only, using the browser's built-in browser.storage.local / chrome.storage.local API:
| Data type | Why it is stored | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Saved lots (title, image URL, price, estimate, lot number, lot URL, platform) | So you can view and manage your saved lots between browser sessions | Your device only |
| Admin-configured featured auction data (auction URLs, scraped lot catalogues, auction house names, sale dates) | So the featured auction grid persists between sessions for all users of the extension on that device | Your device only |
| Extension settings and preferences | To remember your configuration between sessions | Your device only |
This locally stored data never leaves your device, is never transmitted to Auctioneersvault Ltd or any third party, and can be cleared at any time via the extension popup or by removing the extension entirely.
| Activity | Status |
|---|---|
| Collect personal information beyond what Daily Alerts needs (Section 6a) | ✗ Never |
| Track your browsing history | ✗ Never |
| Send data to external servers, except the email address and search terms you explicitly submit to Daily Alerts | ✗ Never (otherwise) |
| Place or modify bids on your behalf | ✗ Never |
| Access login credentials or cookies | ✗ Never |
| Use analytics or tracking tools within the extension | ✗ Never |
| Display advertisements | ✗ Never |
| Sell your data, or share it with third parties for their own marketing | ✗ Never |
Each permission is used solely to deliver the functionality described. No permission is used to collect personal data.
| Permission | Purpose |
|---|---|
storage |
Saves your lots and featured auction data locally on your device. No data is transmitted off your device. |
scripting / content scripts |
Injects the "Save Lot" button on auction lot pages, extracts search results when you use the Search feature, and reads live bid prices during auctions for the Live Bridge. |
tabs |
Opens background tabs to scrape auction catalogues for the Featured Auctions admin panel, retrieves search results across platforms, and opens the search results page in a new tab. |
cookies (Chrome only) |
Used solely to pass session cookies to the Invaluable search API so results are returned correctly. No cookie data is stored, transmitted to our servers, or shared with any third party. |
| the-saleroom.com | Reads lot details (title, image, price, estimate, lot number) when you click "Save Lot", retrieves search results, and reads live bid prices for the Live Bridge. |
| easyliveauction.com | Reads lot details when you click "Save Lot" on an EasyLive lot page, retrieves search results, and reads live bid prices for the Live Bridge. |
| ebay.co.uk / ebay.com and regional eBay sites | Retrieves auction search results when you use the Search feature and select eBay as a platform. Only publicly visible listing data is read. No account access, no bids placed. As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, links to eBay listings include a standard affiliate tracking parameter (see Section 10a). |
| invaluable.com | Retrieves search results from Invaluable via their public catalogue API when you use the Search feature. Session cookies are used only to route requests correctly and are never stored or transmitted to our servers. |
| numisbids.com | Retrieves search results from NumisBids (specialist numismatic platform) when you use the Search feature. Only publicly visible lot data is read. |
| icollector.com / liveauctionworld.com | Retrieves search results from iCollector and LiveAuctionWorld when you use the Search feature. Only publicly visible lot data is read. |
| whytes.ie / bid.whytes.ie | Used by the admin Featured Auctions panel to scrape auction catalogues from Whyte's auction pages for display in the extension popup. No personal data is involved. |
| archivesinternational.com / icollector.com | Used by the admin Featured Auctions panel to scrape auction catalogues from Archives International for display in the extension popup. |
| sworder.co.uk / oreillysfineart.com | Used by the admin Featured Auctions panel to scrape auction catalogues from Sworder's and O'Reilly's Fine Art (Bidpath platform) for display in the extension popup. |
| Supported and sponsored auction house websites (including iconicauctioneers.com, silverstone-auctions.com, and others) | Used by the admin Featured Auctions panel to read publicly available catalogue data from supported and sponsored auction houses for display in the extension popup. Auction houses that appear in the Featured grid have agreed to this arrangement. |
| gaplive-eu.globalauctionplatform.com | For the optional Live Bridge feature, reads current bid prices from live auctions and relays them to your Auction Bid Assistant web app bid ladder. Only active when you have both pages open simultaneously. |
| auction-bid-assistant.com | Passes live bid prices to the Auction Bid Assistant web app when Live Bridge is active. Only lot price and number data is communicated; no personal information is involved. |
alarms / notifications |
Used only by the optional Daily Alerts feature: alarms schedules the once-daily check of your saved alerts, and notifications shows a local browser notification when new matching lots are found. Neither permission is used unless you save at least one alert. |
Daily Alerts is entirely optional. If you save a search as an alert, we store the following on our servers (hosted on Google Firebase, in Firestore) so we can run the daily check on your behalf:
If you provide an email address, we send a one-click verification link before any alert emails go out (double opt-in). Every alert email includes an unsubscribe link that removes your email and saved alert immediately. You can also remove a saved alert at any time from the Alerts tab in the extension popup or from the search page.
Email delivery: alert emails are sent via Brevo, a third-party transactional email provider, using the Firebase "Trigger Email" extension. Brevo processes your email address solely to deliver the message and does not use it for its own marketing. No other data collected by the extension (saved lots, Featured Auctions data, etc.) is ever included in this, Daily Alerts data is kept entirely separate.
We retain alert data for as long as the alert remains active. If you unsubscribe or remove the alert, the associated email address and search data are deleted from our database.
The optional Live Bridge relays live auction bid prices from auction pages to the Auction Bid Assistant web app when both are open simultaneously in your browser. Data passes between tabs using the browser's built-in messaging APIs (chrome.runtime.sendMessage). No personal information is included. No data is sent to Auctioneersvault Ltd's servers. The Live Bridge does not activate unless you have both pages open at the same time.
The Admin panel allows authorised users to configure a curated grid of upcoming auction lots visible to all users of the extension. The admin panel reads publicly available lot data (titles, estimates, images, lot numbers) from supported and sponsored auction house websites, auction houses that appear in the Featured grid have agreed to this arrangement. This data is stored locally in the extension's storage on the device where the admin panel is used. Scraped data contains only publicly available auction information, no personal data is involved.
The extension displays auction lot images, titles, descriptions, and estimates retrieved from third-party auction platforms (the-saleroom.com, easyliveauction.com, and supported auction houses). All such content remains the property of the respective auction houses and original copyright holders. We display this content for informational purposes only to help users track and organise auction lots of interest.
Lot images are displayed as thumbnails for identification purposes. Image URLs are retrieved directly from the auction platforms' public web pages and are not stored on our servers. If you are a copyright holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately, please contact us at support@auction-bid-assistant.com.
The extension contains no advertising networks or social media trackers, and no analytics beyond the consent-based website analytics described in Section 3. Outside of the optional Daily Alerts feature (Section 6a) and the eBay affiliate link described in Section 10a, no data is shared with anyone. The extension interacts with the following websites and services:
Your use of these websites is governed by their own privacy policies, separate from this one.
Auctioneersvault Ltd is a member of the eBay Partner Network (EPN), eBay's official affiliate programme. When a search result or saved lot links to an eBay listing, that link includes a standard EPN tracking parameter (an affiliate ID, sometimes called a "campid"). If you click through and buy something on eBay after following that link, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you, and the price you pay is unaffected. This applies only to links to eBay; no other platform we search (the-saleroom, EasyLive, Invaluable, NumisBids, iCollector, LiveAuctionWorld, Bidspotter) is part of an affiliate arrangement.
Following one of these links to eBay is subject to eBay's own cookie and privacy practices once you land on their site, see eBay's Privacy Notice. We do not set, read, or have access to any cookies eBay places on your device as a result of this arrangement.
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom, or Norway, GDPR or UK GDPR applies. For the extension's core features, this mostly concerns data held on your own device, over which you have full control. For the optional Daily Alerts feature, Auctioneersvault Ltd is the data controller for the email address and search data you provide, and you have the right to:
If you have contacted us by email, you have the same rights of access, correction, or deletion over that correspondence. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address below.
Auction Bid Assistant is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA and UK) and does not knowingly collect data from children. The extension is designed for adult auction buyers and auction house professionals.
Lot data and featured auction data stored locally by the extension remains on your device until you clear it via the extension popup or uninstall the extension. We retain no server-side data outside the optional Daily Alerts feature: alert email addresses and search data are kept only for as long as the alert stays active, and are deleted immediately when you unsubscribe or remove the alert. Support emails are retained only as long as needed to resolve your query.
If we update this policy, the "Last updated" date at the top of the page will change. Continued use of the extension after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
If you have questions about this privacy policy or the extension:
Auctioneersvault Ltd
Email: support@auction-bid-assistant.com
Website: auction-bid-assistant.com