The Relay framework

Secure sync, without the hand-waving.

Relay is built around one simple rule: the browser should understand your bookmarks; the server should not. This is the product logic, data boundary, and sync framework in plain English.

Design logic

Relay separates convenience from surveillance.

Bookmark sync should feel effortless without becoming another identity graph. Relay keeps the useful part, cross-browser continuity, without turning bookmarks into a readable cloud profile.

1
Local first

The extension reads, normalizes, encrypts, decrypts, and applies bookmark changes inside the browser.

2
Server blind

The backend stores encrypted vault blobs, plan state, rate-limit records, and ownership proofs. Not readable bookmark contents.

3
Human simple

Users see a vault, library health, Preview, Tidy, Undo, Context Capsules, profiles, sync, Time Machine, and delete controls. The cryptography stays quiet but accountable.

What this means for you

Readable bookmarks stay where they belong.

Relay is technical underneath, but the user promise is simple: you get the convenience of sync without turning your bookmark library into another cloud-readable profile.

The trust receipt

A quick, plain-language audit of the product boundary.

Password sent to RelayNo
Readable bookmarks storedNo
Email account requiredNo
Browser permission surfaceBookmarks + storage

The practical payoff

Chrome for work, Brave for research, Edge for testing, Arc for projects: Relay keeps the bookmark memory consistent without forcing all of that into one browser profile.

Folder structurePreserved
ProfilesSwitchable
Time MachineEncrypted
Sync framework

What happens when you press sync.

Relay treats bookmarks as a structured tree, not just a pile of links. That is how folders, canonical URL-copy detection, Tidy organization, local Undo, deletions, Context Capsules, profiles, and Time Machine can behave predictably.

01

Read the local tree

Relay reads bookmarks and folders from the browser permission the user granted. Dangerous URL schemes and malformed nodes are rejected before restore.

02

Normalize folders and profiles

Relay preserves folder paths and stores profile-aware bookmark sets, so work, personal, and project contexts can be switched intentionally.

03

Encrypt before upload

The vault is encrypted with a key derived from the password in the browser. Relay receives an encrypted payload, not a bookmark library.

04

Enforce ownership server-side

Sensitive actions require a local ownership token. The gateway also limits payload shape, RPC surface, and request size.

What Relay stores
  • Encrypted bookmark vault data.
  • A derived vault lookup identifier.
  • Browser install identifiers for plan limits.
  • Operational sync records, rate limits, and restore metadata.
What Relay avoids
  • Readable bookmark titles, URLs, and folders.
  • Email identity as the account foundation.
  • Analytics SDKs, ads, tracking pixels, or content scripts.
  • Password reset paths that would require a decryption backdoor.
For thoughtful users

The promise is not magic. It is a boundary.

Relay is useful because it keeps browsers aligned. Relay is trustworthy because the readable bookmark library stays with the person who owns it.