A Dey Intelligence product · Chrome extension
Keep the ideas
worth returning to.
OpenHighlights is a local-first reading library for the passages, notes, and documents you do not want to lose between tabs.
software leaves
you in control.”
A quieter workspace
From a fleeting selection
to a durable library.
OpenHighlights follows the way you actually read: notice something, give it context, then find it when it matters.
Ideas worth keeping.
“Good tools make the important things easier to return to.”
3 highlights · 1 note · Page 12
Make room for returning
We build archives because attention is temporary. A good reading tool leaves a clear path back to the thought.
When the important sentence is easy to find again, reading becomes a practice rather than a tab count.
“This is the part I want to remember.”
Made for the long read
Everything you need
to keep your place.
Highlights that survive the page
Save a passage, choose a color, and let OpenHighlights restore it when you return. If a page changes, repair a unique whitespace shift or edit the anchor yourself.
A library, not a pile of tabs
Search across highlights, notes, tags, saved pages, offline article text, PDF annotations, and indexed PDF text. Filter by source, color, date, or notes.
Reading on your terms
Keep a reading queue, capture a cleaned offline article with available images, and read it in a calmer local reader. Mark it read when you are done.
PDFs belong in the same place
Open a PDF in the extension’s own viewer, select its text, add color, notes, and tags, then find those annotations alongside the rest of your library.
Move in, move out
Import Web Highlights HTML or backup JSON with a preview. Export Markdown or HTML, or create a complete JSON backup with offline pages, attachments, annotations, and original PDFs.
No app-imposed storage limit
Your library stays on this device. Chrome and available device space still apply, but OpenHighlights does not impose an artificial item or 10 MB limit.
Documents, without the detour
PDFs are part
of the same thought.
Keep papers and web research together. OpenHighlights stores PDF files locally, makes their text searchable as encountered, and keeps annotations anchored to the page.
See the privacy modelThe cost of interruption
A useful distinction between access and attention.
#research · note savedSwitch without starting over
Bring your reading
history with you.
If you are moving from Web Highlights, OpenHighlights can import its HTML exports or backup JSON with a review step before anything is added. Passages, titles, notes, tags, and saved-page text come across where the source format includes them.
Exact DOM anchors are not part of those exports, so imported passages may remain searchable without reappearing on the original page. That trade-off is shown up front—not hidden.
ONLY
Privacy policy
How OpenHighlights
handles your data.
OpenHighlights stores highlights, notes, attachments, offline snapshots, and PDF files locally. There is no account, cloud sync, analytics, AI, or billing. Nothing in the extension sends your page text or PDF contents to a server.
Chrome permissions and available device storage still apply. The extension runs on supported web pages and can be enabled for local files from Chrome’s extension settings.
Web Highlights privacy note
A clear boundary
for imported data.
When you import from Web Highlights, OpenHighlights reads only the file you choose and shows a preview before adding anything. The import stays in this browser profile and is used to create local highlights, saved-page text, notes, and tags.
Imported HTML exports do not contain exact on-page anchors. OpenHighlights explains this limitation before you confirm the import.
Questions, answered plainly
Before you bring
your library over.
Is OpenHighlights available in the Chrome Web Store?
Yes. OpenHighlights is published on the Chrome Web Store.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. The product is designed for local storage in your browser profile. It does fetch images from a page when you explicitly save an offline copy, so those requests follow the source page’s normal access rules.
Can I use it with local HTML files and PDFs?
Yes. Local file access is an explicit Chrome opt-in. PDFs open in OpenHighlights’ own viewer, where selectable text can be annotated; scanned image-only PDFs need OCR elsewhere.
What does “no app-imposed storage limit” mean?
OpenHighlights does not impose an artificial item or 10 MB limit. Chrome quotas and available device space still set practical limits, especially for complete backups containing original PDFs.
Keep your place
A better home for
the things you notice.
OpenHighlights is published on the Chrome Web Store. Keep your highlights, notes, and documents together in a local-first reading library.