Overview
Tabaru is an open-source, offline-first browser extension for tab management. It does not operate a remote backend, does not include analytics or advertising SDKs, and does not intentionally collect, sell, or share personal data with third parties. Data is processed locally in your browser to provide the extension's features.
Data Handling
To work correctly, Tabaru may access information that already exists in your browser, such as:
- Open tabs, including tab titles and URLs
- Tab groups (where supported by the browser)
- Recently closed sessions and windows
- Bookmarks
- Default search engine integration through the browser's search API
- Most-visited sites list for quick-access shortcuts on the new tab page
- Locally stored extension settings and cached UI data
This information is used only to provide the extension's functionality inside your browser. Tabaru is designed so data stays local to your device unless your browser itself syncs extension storage as part of the browser account features you enable.
Permissions Explained
Save extension settings and other local extension state.
Read and manage open tabs - titles, URLs, and tab state needed for search and navigation features.
Read and manage tab groups on Chromium-based browsers.
Access recently closed tabs or windows and related session state.
Interact with the tab you are currently viewing when a feature is triggered by you.
Inject extension-controlled UI or scripts into pages when needed for extension features.
Detect browser or device idle state so Tabaru can keep internal state in sync safely.
Interact with the browser's search capability for the !s command.
Read bookmark data for the !b bookmark search command.
Access favicon resources for display in the search overlay UI.
Read the browser's most-visited sites list to populate quick-access shortcuts on the new tab page.
<all_urls>)Required so the extension can run on pages where features are invoked and access page context across sites. Used only for tab management, search, bookmarks, session, and page-integration features.
Permission names reflect browser APIs and may sound broad, but they are requested to support the extension's tab management, search, bookmarks, session, and page-integration features.
Network Activity
Tabaru is intended to work without a remote service operated by the developer.
Core tab management, search, and navigation features are fully local. Favicon images shown in the UI come from your browser or from the sites themselves through the extension; Tabaru does not send site information to any favicon service.
Some optional features contact third-party services directly from your browser when you enable them:
- Weather widget - sends the city name you configure to Open-Meteo (
open-meteo.com), wttr.in (wttr.in), and their geocoding endpoints. If no city is configured, Open-Meteo mode performs an IP geolocation lookup againstipinfo.io, and wttr.in mode lets wttr.in infer your location from your IP address; either way your IP address is sent to that service. - Wallpaper providers - the Lorem Picsum option loads background images from
picsum.photos.
Requests to these services are made by your browser as with any website visit, so those services see your IP address and the specific request you make (for example, the city name you typed). Weather results may be cached locally in extension storage to reduce repeat requests. Aside from these optional, user-configured features and browser-mediated access required for extension features, Tabaru is not intended to send your browsing data to a developer-controlled server.
Browser-Specific Notes
- On Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera), Tabaru declares
tabGroupsandfaviconin addition to the shared permissions. - On Firefox, those Chromium-only permissions are not declared.
Third-Party Sharing
Tabaru does not intentionally sell or share your personal information with third parties.
If your browser provides its own sync, search, bookmark, or session services, any data handling by those browser vendors is governed by their own privacy policies, not by Tabaru.
Your Choices
You can control Tabaru's access by:
- Uninstalling the extension
- Disabling the extension in your browser
- Clearing extension storage through your browser settings
- Disabling individual widgets (weather, wallpaper) in the extension settings
- Reviewing the source code before use
Open Source
Tabaru is open source. You can review the code to verify how permissions are used and what data is processed locally. The source is available on GitHub.
Contact
For questions, issues, or audit requests, open an issue on the GitHub repository.