GuideUpdated: January 6, 2026

How to Password Protect Your Browser

The story of how I tried to hide my data from my family, why a full browser password is a failure, and how I created Locker to solve this once and for all.

Mistake 1: The "Streisand Effect" or Why Startup Passwords Fail

When I first started looking for ways to protect my privacy, I did exactly what you're doing now - Googling 'how to password protect Chrome'. I downloaded shady .exe files and installed extensions that blocked the browser startup. Do you know what that led to? Questions. When my girlfriend asked for the laptop just to buy tickets and saw a password prompt, she didn't think 'Wow, he is so secure'. She thought: 'What is he hiding?'. Locking the entire browser is a red flag. It's inconvenient (you type the password 50 times a day) and suspicious. I realized I didn't need to lock the whole apartment, I just needed a reliable safe for personal items. Locker is that safe. It lives inside the browser, looks like a standard utility, and no one knows what's inside.

The Solution: Isolated Bookmark Storage

The main problem with browsers is the lack of secure bookmark storage. You save a bookmark to an 'interesting site' on your personal laptop, and a second later it appears on your phone or, worse, your work computer if you're logged into the same account. Locker works differently. We don't use standard Chrome bookmarks. All links you add to Locker are saved in the extension's storage. This means they are physically isolated from your main history and browser bookmarks. Even if someone sits at your computer and opens the Bookmark Manager - they won't find anything. Your data exists only inside the Locker extension.

Killer Feature: Automatic Incognito

Saving a link is only half the battle. The problem arises when you want to open it. Standard bookmark managers open links in normal tabs. The result? The site immediately hits your History, cookies are saved, and targeted ads start following you across the internet. In Locker, I implemented a forced opening feature. Any bookmark you launch from the incognito list opens STRICTLY in Incognito mode. This solves the 'human error' problem. You don't need to remember: 'Oh, I need to right-click -> open in private window'. Locker does it for you. You view the content, close the window - and no trace is left on the computer. Clean.

Session Manager

Many ask: 'Where is the auto-lock timer setting?'. The answer: there isn't one, and that's by design. My experience shows that timers are unreliable. You get distracted, walk away 'for a minute', and the timer was set to 5 minutes. That's enough time to see everything. Locker follows the 'Session Security' principle. The storage is open only as long as the browser window is open or until you click the lock button yourself. As soon as you restart the browser - Locker instantly locks. There are no 'remember me for 24 hours' settings. Every launch is by master password only. Yes, it might seem strict, but it's the only way I can guarantee your bookmarks remain yours.

Your master password is the only access key. I don't store it on servers. If you forget it, recovering local bookmarks will be impossible (unless you had synchronization enabled).

Common Security Questions

Technical details for those who care about the core.

Why isn't Incognito enough?

Incognito mode is great, but it has a fatal flaw: amnesia. It remembers nothing. You find a great article or video, close the window - and it's gone forever. If you save it to bookmarks inside an Incognito window, it saves to the PUBLIC bookmark folder. Locker is the bridge. It allows you to "remember" things meant for Incognito without leaving traces in the main browser.

Can Google or my network admin see my bookmarks?

Bookmarks are stored inside Locker. However, remember: a corporate network admin can see the domains you visit (via DNS requests) even in Incognito. But they cannot see the contents of your list inside Locker.

Why should I trust you with my bookmarks?

Because I use a Zero-Knowledge architecture (all data is encrypted locally before being sent to the server), and Locker is open source. You can verify it yourself.

What if I uninstall the extension?

Since data is stored locally within the extension, uninstalling Locker will delete all your bookmarks. I strongly recommend using our cloud synchronization for backups or just... don't uninstall Locker ;).

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