CurbAppsMost software treats "works offline" as a degraded mode - a fallback you reach for on a train. CurbApps inverts that. Local-first is not a fallback. It is the product.
The default is your device
Install any CurbApps extension and it is immediately useful. Bookmark profiles, notes, one-time passwords, timers - they open from local storage, with no sign-up and no round-trip to a server. There is no account wall, no onboarding email, no "sync your data now" nag.
This matters for more than convenience. It changes what the software can know:
- If your data never leaves your device, we cannot read it.
- If we cannot read it, we cannot lose it, sell it, or hand it over.
- If backup is your decision, uninstall is a clean break.
The account exists for one thing
A CurbApps account does exactly one job: connect your devices when you want them connected. Sign in, generate a key, switch sync on - and your encrypted data travels to your other browsers and the phone. Switch it off and every device keeps working from its local store.
The account never becomes a dependency. Local use is the stated spec of every shipped product, not a marketing phrase.
Why we think this is the right default
A product that works without you is rare. Most tools want your account first because the account is the moat. We would rather the tool be the moat: something that is genuinely useful the moment it is installed, and that earns the account when you need the sync.
The trade-off is real. Without sync, your data lives only on the device, and backup is your responsibility. We are honest about that in the terms - "local-first means exactly what it says." We think a server that needs no trust is worth more than a server that demands it.
What this means in practice
- Install an extension and use it the same day, no account required.
- Everything is stored locally, encrypted where it matters.
- Sync is opt-in, end-to-end encrypted, and reversible.
Local-first is not a compromise we made for privacy. It is the reason the product exists.