I Just Wanted a Bookmark Manager That Left Me Alone

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good bookmark manager.

Raindrop.io, in particular, has been one of my favorite apps for a long time. It looks great, it makes organizing links easy, and it solves a problem I genuinely have.

But lately I've found myself wanting something simpler.

We're at a point where almost every app wants something from you before you can even start using it. Create an account. Sign in with Google. Give us your email. Sync everything to the cloud. Accept some analytics. Trust that your data is being handled the way you hope it is.

For something as simple as saving a bookmark, I started wondering:

Why does it need any of that?

So I asked myself what I actually needed from a bookmark manager.

For me, it came down to a few things: a nice clean UI, an interface that was quick and easy to use, and not having to share my data just to use it.

That became the foundation for Bookmar.

I used react + shadcn to keep the interface clean and familiar, built it to feel fast and lightweight, and kept the core of the experience local-first, with your bookmark library stored directly in your browser.

Most importantly, I was very adamant about not building another API service that everyone's bookmark library had to be sent to.

Bookmar is a Chrome extension available on Google's Chrome Web Store, so you can install it directly into the browser and start using it without creating a Bookmar account.

There are no analytics.

There are no ads.

Bookmar doesn't have a server storing your bookmark library. Your bookmarks are saved locally in your browser, on your device.

You can save pages, organize them into folders, search your library, add multiple tabs at once, and automatically pull in things like page titles, images, descriptions, and favicons. In other words, the core experience you'd expect from a premium bookmark manager, without requiring you to hand over your data just to use it.

And if you want another layer of protection, you can encrypt your local library with a passphrase.

Why might this matter to you?

Maybe it doesn't. There are already some really good bookmark managers out there.

But Bookmar might make sense if:

You just want something simpler and don't want to constantly feel like you're missing out on the next premium feature.
You're saving personal links, research, interests, or things about yourself that you'd rather keep private.
You care about where your data lives and who has access to it.
You don't want another app asking for your email address and showing up in your inbox.
You just want something that works.

That's really the idea behind Bookmar.

I'm not trying to build a social network around bookmarks. I'm not trying to learn everything I can about the people using it. I just wanted a really nice bookmark manager that does its job and then gets out of the way.

That's Bookmar.

If that sounds like the kind of bookmark manager you've been looking for, I'd love for you to try out Bookmar on the Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/jojejojgdciopbmgdpnochbknkgkbifp?utm_source=item-share-cb