Memex

Memex is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that helps you save, organize, and search the web pages you care about. The name comes from a concept by scientist Vannevar Bush, who imagined a personal device that could store and cross-reference everything a person had read. The extension is a modern attempt at that idea.

The core capability is full-text search across everything you have bookmarked or annotated. Instead of trying to remember which site had that thing you read six months ago, you can search by any word that appeared on the page. You can also narrow results by date, domain, tag, or list. On top of search, you can highlight passages on web pages, attach notes to specific text or images, and organize pages into named collections or tag them on the fly.

There is a companion mobile app called Memex Go for iOS and Android that lets you save content while on your phone. Sync between the browser extension and the mobile app uses end-to-end encryption, meaning the data is scrambled before it leaves your device and only you can read it. You can also back up your data to cloud storage services like Google Drive, and import bookmarks or history from other tools.

The project is run by WorldBrain.io under a funding model called steward ownership. The company cannot be sold, and investors receive a capped share of profits rather than equity. The intent is to avoid the pressure to monetize user data or attention that comes with typical venture capital funding. The software itself is open source under the MIT license.

Contributions from developers are welcome, particularly for mobile annotation support, browser compatibility, and data import and export. The README notes that experience with React or React Native is expected for code contributions.