Last updated: October 1, 2026
The short version
We collect your email to create your account. New accounts start in Full Access mode, where we store your bookmarks and open tabs in readable form. In Encrypted mode we store your bookmarks as ciphertext we cannot decrypt. We do not sell or monetize your data, and we do not run ads. A few third parties receive some data so the service can work; they are listed below.
What we collect
- Account info: email address, display name, hashed password
- Bookmarks (Full Access mode only): URLs, titles, descriptions, tags, folders
- Open tabs (Full Access mode only): URL, title, and tab-group association, so the tabs open on one device can be viewed and reopened on your others. Tab sync is disabled in Encrypted mode (tabs cannot be end-to-end encrypted, so they are never sent).
- Encrypted vault (Encrypted mode): ciphertext we cannot decrypt, its salt and IV, and a SHA-256 checksum of the unencrypted data
- Settings: your preferences (weather zip, timer config, theme, RSS feeds, and a bookmark bar layout if you build one)
- Bookmark activity (Full Access mode only): click counts and last-clicked timestamps on your bookmarks — used solely to power your "most used" and "last used" sort options. This data is yours, visible only to you, and never shared or used for analytics.
- Usage: timer sessions, notes (stored per-user, not shared)
What we do NOT collect
- Browsing history, apart from the open tabs described above
- IP addresses (beyond what is needed for rate limiting)
- Device fingerprints
- Per-user analytics, behavioral tracking, or ad-related data. We keep daily totals of a few events (sign-ups, logins, imports, exports, searches, bookmarks added) with no user attached.
- Third-party cookies
Encrypted mode
In Encrypted mode, your bookmarks are encrypted in your browser using AES-256-GCM with a key derived from your passphrase (PBKDF2, 600,000 iterations). The encrypted data is stored on our server as an opaque blob, with a SHA-256 checksum of the unencrypted data that the extension uses to confirm a correct decryption. We cannot decrypt, read, or recover the vault. Your passphrase is stored only on your device (never cloud-synced) and never leaves your browser. Because open tabs cannot be end-to-end encrypted, tab sync is disabled in Encrypted mode.
Not everything is in the vault. Your account details, settings, notes and timer sessions are stored in readable form in either mode. That includes a bookmark bar layout if you saved one in the dashboard, which holds bookmark titles and URLs.
AI features
AI organization features use your own API key. When you use AI features, your bookmark data is sent to the AI provider you chose (Anthropic or OpenAI) using your key. We do not store AI responses. Your API key is encrypted at rest on our server.
Browser extension permissions
The TabbJam browser extension requests only the permissions it needs:
- bookmarks: read and sync your browser bookmarks
- storage: save your sync preferences and session locally
- alarms: schedule automatic background sync every few minutes
- tabs: read open-tab metadata (URL, title, group association) for tab sync in Full Access mode, and reopen tabs from your other devices
- tabGroups: read tab group titles, colors, and collapsed state, and recreate the groups when you open another device's tabs
- host permission (tabbjam.com): communicate with the TabbJam server for sync
- host permission (127.0.0.1:11436 and localhost:11436): talk to Abigail, an optional companion app that runs on your own computer. These are loopback addresses — they can only reach software already running on your machine, never the internet. This is off by default and does nothing unless you install Abigail and turn it on. When it is on, what the extension sends there never leaves your computer.
The extension does not read page content, browsing history, or any data beyond your bookmarks, open tabs and tab groups. The extension does not execute remote code — all JavaScript ships in the package.
Cookies and local storage
We use a single session cookie for authentication. The browser extension uses local storage for your sync preferences. We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or any third-party cookies.
Data storage
Data is stored in a self-hosted PostgreSQL database on MEDiAGATO-operated infrastructure and served via Vercel. All connections use TLS encryption in transit.
Data export and deletion
You can export all your bookmarks as an HTML file at any time. You can delete your entire account from Settings, which permanently removes all your data from our servers immediately.
Third parties
- Vercel: hosting (processes HTTP requests)
- Resend: transactional email (welcome, password reset)
- Anthropic/OpenAI: AI features (only if you use them, with your key)
- Google: site icons. In Full Access mode the dashboard loads each bookmark's icon from Google's favicon service, so your browser sends Google the domain of each bookmark it shows.
- Open-Meteo: weather. Our server sends your weather zip code, and the coordinates it resolves to, to get the forecast.
- The sites you bookmark and the RSS feeds you add: our server fetches them to build link previews and headlines.
We do not share your data with anyone else.
Children
TabbJam is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children.
Changes
We may update this policy. Material changes will be communicated via email.