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
- 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.
<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.
Network Activity
Tabaru works without a remote service operated by the developer. Two optional features make outbound requests:
- Weather widget - when enabled on the new tab page, requests are sent to public weather APIs (Open-Meteo or wttr.in) with the city name you configure. Responses are cached locally for 10 minutes. No personal data beyond the configured city is attached.
- Random wallpaper - when the "random photo" wallpaper provider is selected, images are fetched from Picsum Photos via standard HTTPS. No extension-specific data is attached.
Aside from these optional, user-configured features, Tabaru is not intended to send browsing data to any 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.