Is Unpaywall Safe?
Unpaywall — Nerq Trust Score 52.8/100 (C- grade). Based on analysis of 2 trust dimensions, it is has notable safety concerns. Last updated: 2026-08-01.
Use Unpaywall with some caution. Unpaywall is a Firefox extension with a Nerq Trust Score of 52.8/100 (C-), based on 3 independent data dimensions. Below the recommended threshold of 70. Security: 90/100. Popularity: 30/100. Data sourced from addons.mozilla.org metadata, permissions analysis, and source code availability. Last updated: 2026-04-12. Machine-readable data (JSON).
Is Unpaywall safe?
CAUTION — Unpaywall has a Nerq Trust Score of 52.8/100 (C-). It has moderate trust signals but shows some areas of concern that warrant attention. Suitable for development use — review security and maintenance signals before production deployment.
What is Unpaywall's trust score?
Unpaywall has a Nerq Trust Score of 52.8/100, earning a C- grade. This score is based on 2 independently measured dimensions including security, maintenance, and community adoption.
What are the key security findings for Unpaywall?
Unpaywall's strongest signal is security at 90/100. No known vulnerabilities have been detected. It has not yet reached the Nerq Verified threshold of 70+.
What is Unpaywall and who maintains it?
| Author | Impactstory team |
| Category | Firefox Add-ons |
| Source | N/A |
Similar Firefox by Trust Score
Compare
Safety Guide: Unpaywall
What is Unpaywall?
Unpaywall is a Firefox add-on — Get free text of research papers as you browse, using Unpaywall's index of ten million legal, open-access articles..
How to Verify Safety
Review permissions on addons.mozilla.org. Check if source code is available.
You can also check the trust score via API: GET /v1/preflight?target=Unpaywall
Key Safety Concerns for Firefox add-on
When evaluating any Firefox add-on, watch for: excessive permissions, data harvesting.
Trust Assessment
Unpaywall has a Nerq Trust Score of 53/100 (C-) and has not yet reached Nerq trust threshold (70+). This score is based on automated analysis of security, maintenance, community, and quality signals.
Key Takeaways
- Unpaywall has a Trust Score of 53/100 (C-).
- Review carefully before use — below trust threshold.
- Always verify independently using the Nerq API.
Detailed Score Analysis
| Dimension | Score |
|---|---|
| Security | 90/100 |
| Maintenance | 50/100 |
| Popularity | 30/100 |
| Quality | 40/100 |
| Community | 35/100 |
Based on 5 dimensions. Data from addons.mozilla.org metadata, permissions analysis, and source code availability.
What data does Unpaywall collect?
Unpaywall has a privacy score of 90/100. Review the documentation and privacy policy for data handling details.
Full analysis: Unpaywall Privacy Report · Privacy review
Is Unpaywall secure?
Security score: 90/100. This meets the recommended security threshold for production use.
Nerq monitors this entity against NVD, OSV.dev, and registry-specific vulnerability databases for ongoing security assessment.
Full analysis: Unpaywall Security Report
How we calculated this score
Unpaywall's trust score of 52.8/100 (C-) is computed from addons.mozilla.org metadata, permissions analysis, and source code availability. The score reflects 5 independent dimensions: security (90/100), maintenance (50/100), popularity (30/100), quality (40/100), community (35/100). Each dimension is weighted equally to produce the composite trust score.
Nerq analyzes over 7.5 million entities across 26 registries using the same methodology, enabling direct cross-entity comparison. Scores are updated continuously as new data becomes available.
This page was last reviewed on August 01, 2026. Data version: 1.0.
Full methodology documentation · Machine-readable data (JSON API)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Unpaywall Safe?
What is Unpaywall's trust score?
What are safer alternatives to Unpaywall?
What permissions does Unpaywall need?
Is Unpaywall open source?
Popular in Firefox Add-ons
Browse Categories
See Also
Disclaimer: Nerq trust scores are automated assessments based on publicly available signals. They are not endorsements or guarantees. Always conduct your own due diligence.