Freehold — Web Highlighter, Notes & Reading Library

Highlight any web page, add a note on why it mattered, and search everything later. Your data stays in a file on your machine.

Own what you read. Freehold is a privacy-first web highlighter and reading library that lets you mark up any webpage, add context on why it mattered, and instantly retrieve it later. Designed for those who value data ownership, Freehold saves everything to a single, standard SQLite database file directly on your local machine—never on a cloud server. Whether you are conducting research, saving articles for later, or organizing your thoughts, Freehold helps you build a personal library of knowledge that is entirely yours. Key Features: - 100% Local & Private: Freehold requires no account, connects to zero servers, and includes no telemetry. Your reading habits remain completely private. - Cross-Browser Sync (Local): Because the database lives in your operating system rather than a specific browser profile, your library is seamlessly shared across all supported Chromium browsers on your machine (Chrome, Arc, Brave, and Edge). - Full-Text Search: Search through both the text you highlighted and the personal notes you wrote. Results update as you type, and you can easily filter by site, tag, or highlight color. - Customizable Colors: Give meaning to your highlights. Assign specific labels to the four distinct highlight colors (e.g., naming yellow "Use in Q3 Report" or red "Check this fact"). - Read Later Queue: Save full pages without highlighting and assign a "due date" so you can keep track of what you want to read next. - Data Portability: Your notes are never trapped. Export your entire library to a lightweight JSON file at any time, or open the SQLite file with any client. Why Install Freehold? Unlike traditional bookmarks that force you to re-read thousands of words to find one specific quote, Freehold anchors your thoughts to the exact sentence. Furthermore, unlike hosted highlighters that lock your data behind a subscription or proprietary cloud server, Freehold ensures you retain complete control over your notes. If a web page changes or goes offline, your quote and your reasoning are safely preserved on your own machine.