Privacy is not a feature. It is the foundation.
Every decision starts with one question: does this respect the researcher's control over their data, and the privacy of the people in it?
How ParseQuest works
ParseQuest records the posts you open in your own browser session. You are present while it captures, and each record is stored with its source, time, and a content hash. We don't ask platforms to be something they aren't; we help researchers document what they saw.
Credentials never leave your machine
When you use ParseQuest to collect data, your browser authenticates directly with the platform you are researching. ParseQuest servers never see your login credentials, session cookies, or authentication tokens. The collection happens entirely on your device.
Your research, your device
Captures live on your device by default, so your archive stays under your control. Cloud sync is optional.
Versioned records and deletion
Records are versioned: changes create a new version rather than editing the original, so provenance stays intact. When a person asks for their content to be removed from your workspace, ParseQuest lets you find and delete everything from that author, and logs the deletion. We support your data protection obligations, and we honor deletion requests ourselves for anything we host.
You control sync
Cloud sync is optional and asynchronous. You decide which collections to push and when. Nothing leaves your machine without your explicit action. You can use ParseQuest entirely offline if you prefer. Sync covers records only. Credentials, cookies, and session data never leave your device.
Responsible collection
ParseQuest follows published usage norms by default. Capture is rate-respecting, user-present, and session-bounded: it runs in your foreground browser and stops when you do. Hourly limits keep activity within normal browsing patterns. We believe a tool that visibly cooperates is a tool that lasts.
How we work with platforms
We don't build tools to defeat any platform's security or anti-automation measures, and we don't present automated activity as human. We want sanctioned access where it exists.
No surveillance business model
ParseQuest makes money from subscriptions, not from selling or analyzing your research data. We have no ad inventory, no data brokerage, no third-party analytics on user-collected data. Our business aligns with your privacy.