Browser extensions can request broad access to your data, so it is worth knowing exactly what any extension you install can and cannot do. This post covers what Bookmend accesses, what stays on your device, what leaves it, and what happens to your data if you uninstall.
The Permission Bookmend Requests
When you install Bookmend from the Chrome Web Store, Chrome presents a permissions dialog before installation completes. Bookmend requests one permission:
bookmarks — Read and change your bookmarks.
That is the complete list. It does not request access to:
- Your browsing history
- The content of pages you visit (outside of bookmarked pages — see the indexing section below)
- Your open tabs
- Your passwords or saved payment methods
- Your location
- Any other Chrome data
The permissions dialog shown at install time is generated by Chrome and reflects exactly what the extension’s manifest declares it needs. You can verify this at any point after installation by going to chrome://extensions, clicking Details on Bookmend’s card, and checking the Permissions section.
What “Local-First” Means for the Free Tier
Bookmend describes itself as local-first on the free tier. In practice, this means:
The content index lives on your device. When Bookmend processes your bookmarked pages to enable full-text search, it builds an index of that content and stores it in the extension’s local storage — within your Chrome profile on your computer. This index never leaves your device on the free tier.
No account required. There is no sign-in, no email address collected, and no user profile created when you install the free tier. The extension uses your existing browser bookmarks as its data source.
No ad network. Bookmend’s free tier does not include advertising, behavioral tracking, or any third-party analytics SDK that monitors your usage. The extension is free because the company offers a Pro paid tier, not because user data is used for advertising.
No cloud backup of your bookmarks. Unlike some bookmark managers that upload your entire collection to their servers as a core feature, Bookmend does not do this on the free tier. Your bookmarks stay in Chrome’s local storage, and Bookmend’s index of those bookmarks stays in the extension’s local storage.
How the Dead-Link Scanner Makes Outbound Requests
The dead-link detection feature does make outbound HTTP requests — this is what allows it to check whether a bookmarked URL still loads. It is worth being precise about how this works.
When Bookmend checks a bookmarked URL, it makes an HTTP request to that URL from your device. This request goes directly from your computer to the server hosting the bookmarked page. It does not route through a Bookmend server or proxy — the target server sees a direct request from your IP address, exactly as it would if you navigated to that URL in your browser tab.
What this means in practice:
- The target server (the site you bookmarked) knows a request came from your IP address, but it has no way to know the request was made by Bookmend rather than you directly.
- Bookmend’s servers are not involved in this process on the free tier. The check is direct.
- The check result (alive or dead) is recorded locally in the extension’s storage.
Bookmend checks each URL twice, with at least 48 hours between checks, before marking a bookmark as dead. This is to avoid false positives from temporary downtime. Both checks follow the same direct request pattern.
The Local Content Index: What It Contains and Where It Is Stored
When Bookmend indexes a bookmarked page, it processes the text content of that page to enable keyword search. This is how the full-text search feature works: you type a term, and Bookmend searches its local index rather than sending a query to a server.
The index contains the text content of your bookmarked pages and the metadata associated with each bookmark (URL, title, the date you saved it). It is stored in the extension’s local storage, which is part of your Chrome browser profile on your device.
Chrome profiles are stored in your local file system. On Windows, the default profile is at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\. On Mac, it is at ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/. Extensions store their data in a subfolder within the profile. This is standard for all Chrome extensions that use local storage.
You do not need to do anything with these folders — this is just where Chrome stores extension data. The point is that Bookmend’s index is a local file on your computer, not a remote database on Bookmend’s servers.
The Import/Export Features
Bookmend’s import and export features are always available on the free tier with no limit. Exporting creates a file on your device — it is not an upload to a server. Importing reads a file from your device. Both operations are local.
If you want a backup of your bookmarks in a format that is independent of both Chrome and Bookmend, the standard approach is to use Chrome’s built-in bookmark export, which creates an HTML file you can save anywhere. See How to Export Bookmarks in Chrome for steps.
What Happens on the Pro Tier: Sync
Pro sync is where data leaves your device. When you enable cross-device sync in the Pro tier, your Bookmend data — the content index, scan results, and archived snapshots — is sent to Bookmend’s sync service so it can be made available on your other devices.
This is opt-in and requires:
- Creating a Bookmend account (which does require an email address).
- Enabling sync in the extension settings.
- Installing Bookmend on the other devices you want to sync to.
If you use only the free tier and never create an account, no data is ever sent to Bookmend’s servers. The sync feature exists entirely as a Pro tier offering — it is not something that activates in the background on free accounts.
The Pro tier is currently available at no cost. See Bookmend’s pricing page for current tier details.
The AI Chat Search Feature (Pro)
The AI chat search feature in the Pro tier allows you to search your bookmarks using natural language — asking questions rather than entering keywords. This feature processes your queries through an AI model.
From a privacy standpoint, the relevant question is whether your bookmark content is sent to an AI service when you use this feature. The Bookmend features page describes how this works. If privacy around AI processing is a concern, review that page before enabling AI chat search. The free tier’s standard keyword search is fully local and does not involve AI processing.
What Happens When You Uninstall Bookmend
Uninstalling the Bookmend extension removes the extension and all data it stored in Chrome’s local extension storage. This includes the content index, scan results, and any locally stored configuration.
Your Chrome bookmarks are not affected. Bookmend reads bookmarks through the bookmarks permission but never modifies them without you explicitly requesting an action (such as deleting a duplicate or removing a dead link). Uninstalling Bookmend leaves your bookmarks exactly as they were.
On the free tier, since no data was uploaded, there is nothing to delete from a remote server. Your data never left your device, so uninstalling removes everything Bookmend stored.
If you were using Pro sync, your Bookmend account and the synced data on the server persist after uninstalling the extension. To delete that data, you would need to delete your Bookmend account through the account settings at bookmend.app.
Reviewing Extension Permissions After Install
If you want to verify Bookmend’s permissions at any time after installation:
- Go to
chrome://extensionsin Chrome. - Find Bookmend and click Details.
- Scroll to the Permissions section.
- You will see a plain-language description of what the extension can access.
For Bookmend, this should read something like “Read and change your bookmarks.” If you see any permissions not expected, you can review the Chrome Web Store listing’s Privacy section or remove the extension from this page.
This same check applies if you installed Bookmend in Brave, Edge, Arc, or Opera — each Chromium browser has an equivalent extensions management page where you can review permissions.
Summary: Free Tier Privacy at a Glance
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| Permission requested | bookmarks (read only, in practice) |
| Account required | No |
| Data uploaded | None |
| Ad network | No |
| Tracking code | No |
| Local index | Yes — stored on your device |
| Outbound requests | Direct HTTP checks to bookmarked URLs only |
| What leaves your device | Nothing on free tier |
| Data on uninstall | All local data removed; bookmarks unaffected |
| Pro sync | Opt-in; sends Bookmend data between your devices |
Frequently asked questions
Bookmend requests one permission: 'bookmarks.' This gives it read access to the list of bookmarks stored in your Chrome (or Chromium) browser. It does not grant access to your browsing history, your open tabs, your passwords, your personal information, or any other Chrome data. The permission list shown at install time is the complete and authoritative record of what the extension can access.
On the free tier, no. Your bookmark list and the content index Bookmend builds from your bookmarked pages are stored locally on your device. Nothing is uploaded to any Bookmend server. On the Pro tier with sync enabled, your Bookmend data is sent to the sync service so it can be shared across your devices — this is opt-in and described in the Pro sync section.
No account or email is required to use the free tier. You install the extension and it works immediately. An account is required only if you want to use Pro tier features like cross-device sync.
No. The free tier does not include an ad network, behavioral tracking code, or any third-party analytics service that monitors what you do inside the extension. Bookmend's free tier is free because the company offers a paid Pro tier — not because your data is the product.
Bookmend makes HTTP requests to each bookmarked URL to verify whether the destination still responds. These are the same type of requests your browser makes when you navigate to a page. The request goes from your device to the target server directly — it does not route through a Bookmend proxy. The target server sees a request from your IP address, as it would if you visited the page manually.
No. Bookmend indexes the content of pages you have bookmarked — not every page you visit. It uses the 'bookmarks' permission to know which URLs to index, and it processes those pages to build a local searchable index. It does not read or log your general browsing history or the content of pages you visit without bookmarking.
Bookmend stores a local database containing your bookmark metadata (URLs, titles, save dates) and the content index it builds from your bookmarked pages. This index is what enables full-text search across your bookmarks. All of this is stored within the extension's local storage, not in any file location you would normally navigate to manually.
Uninstalling the extension removes the extension and the local data it stored (the content index and scan results). Your actual Chrome bookmarks are not affected — Bookmend never modifies your bookmarks without explicit action from you. After uninstalling, no Bookmend data remains on the device, and nothing was ever uploaded to delete from a server (on the free tier).
With Pro sync enabled, your Bookmend data — the content index, scan results, and archived snapshots — is sent to Bookmend's sync service so it can be shared across your devices. This is the only scenario where data leaves your device. Sync is opt-in and requires a Pro account. If you use only the free tier, nothing is sent to any server.
When you use one-click Wayback Machine recovery, Bookmend opens an archive.org URL in your browser. Your browser loads the archived page from the Internet Archive's servers. The Internet Archive (archive.org) sees the request just as it would if you visited archive.org directly. Bookmend does not relay your request through its own servers.
No. Bookmend requests only the 'bookmarks' permission, which does not include access to Chrome's browsing history. Browsing history would require a separate 'history' permission, which Bookmend does not request.
Check the Bookmend website or Chrome Web Store listing for the current status of the source code. The privacy claims in this article are based on the permissions the extension requests and the product's stated architecture — what Bookmend can do is bounded by the permissions it holds.
After installing Bookmend, go to chrome://extensions, find Bookmend, and click 'Details.' Under 'Permissions,' you will see the complete list of what the extension is allowed to access. For Bookmend, this should show only 'bookmarks' (or 'Read and change your bookmarks' in Chrome's plain-language description). If you see additional permissions not mentioned here, review them carefully before continuing to use the extension.
