1
Local firstThe extension reads, normalizes, encrypts, decrypts, and applies bookmark changes inside the browser.
The Relay framework
Privacy-first sync, explained without the fog machine.
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, and avoids the creepy part, readable bookmark storage.
2
Server blindThe backend stores encrypted vault blobs, plan state, rate-limit records, and ownership proofs. Not readable bookmark contents.
3
Human simpleUsers see a vault, profiles, sync, restore, and delete controls. The cryptography stays quiet but accountable.
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, deletions, profiles, and restore history 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.