Simple Surf: How it Works
Finally, all of your bookmarks, on one surfable Board.
Simple Surf is a free-for-life link manager that lives in your browser. 100% private. No app. No install. No account creation. Every link is a clickable pill, laid out alphabetically from #–Z, along with your own custom-colored before and after sections, all ready to search the instant you start typing. No setup, no learning curve — just all of your links, always available, exactly the way you'd actually store them.
Your Board at a Glance — Interactive — Try it
Click on any letter or section. Its links pour out right there, instantly. A chevron pointing right indicates a closed letter or section. A chevron pointing downward indicates an open letter or section. Opening just one section at a time is your Board's "OneMenu" default. There is also "Pin/Unpin", which allows you to pin open multiple sections / letters at a time, and "Hover" for desktop power users. The letter "D" shows how an empty letter behaves. Before and after sections are created by you, so they're never empty. The sample links included above are just for this demo — they don't go anywhere.
THE BOARD
How Does the Board Work?
Every section, and the links within it, are presented as a single pill. Click any letter or section to expand its links out below it, then click any link pill to visit that link. Here's what you're looking at.
1Links and Sections are Clickable Pills
Every bookmark is represented as a single rounded pill that you tap or click to visit. No rows, no tiny favicons to squint at, no browser bookmark interface to navigate — just the name of the thing you want to visit, big enough to read and click on.
2Organized as #–Z, Plus Your Own Custom Before and After Sections
Links file themselves under #–Z automatically. On top of that you can easily create your own custom-colored before and after sections — like the Entertainment, Google, or Work Logins pills above — and give each one its own unique color so it's findable at a glance.
3Instant Search
Start typing and matching links appear as you go — no Enter, no wait. Clear the box and you're back to the full Board.
4Click to Expand with OneMenu
On by default, the "OneMenu" option means a letter or section stays tidy until you need it. Simply click any header and the links inside it pour out right there, instantly. Simple Surf also offers two other modes. "Pin/Unpin", which allows you to pin open multiple sections / letters at a time, and "Hover" for desktop power users. Hover only works on desktop — on a touch screen it is greyed out. Use OneMenu or Pin/Unpin instead. Alternatively, you can also "Pin All" or "Unpin All" at any time by clicking on the toggle button in the upper left hand corner of your Board. (The same button that lists the number of links currently on your Board.)
5Add, Import and Export
Add links individually, or bring them in in bulk: import your browser bookmarks (.html) or a CSV. When you want them out, export a CSV or a full JSON backup of everything. Your Board and your data are always yours to move.
FIRST VISIT
How Do I Claim My Board?
The first time you arrive, Simple Surf shows you a demo Board so you can see how it all works — real, visitable links in real sections. Making it your own takes just one click.
Look Around The Demo
You land on a ready-made Board so nothing is a blank page. Open sections, click pills, try the search — get a feel for it.
Press 🏄 Claim This Board
The "Claim This Board" button lets you pick which demo links and sections you might want to keep, if any. Check the ones you want; everything else clears away. Choose none and you get an empty #–Z Board, ready to fill.
The Board is Now Yours to Customize
It's as simple as that. What you kept stays, and from here on out it's your Board to fill. Prefer to just start editing? Changing any demo item — renaming it, recoloring a section — also claims the Board on the spot.
YOUR DATA
Is My Data Private?
Yes — 100%. 🏄 Simple Surf stores your Board data right here in your very own browser, and it never goes anywhere else, unless you choose 🌊 Simple Surf Everywhere.
Where is my Board data stored? Your links live in your web browser's own storage. They stay 100% private, never leave your device, and the Board keeps working offline.
How many links can my Board hold? Because everything is stored locally, a browser can hold up to about 30,000 links — a physical limit of browser storage (roughly 5 MB). That's plenty for most people's whole bookmark history, but if you ever need more, 🌊 Simple Surf Everywhere can deliver it.
PERFORMANCE
Will My Board Stay Fast as it Grows?
Short Answer: You won't feel it. Clicking a single letter or section to open it is instant at any size. The Board only does real work when you open everything at once (Pin All / Unpin All) — so here's how that heaviest use case behaves as your collection grows.
| Board Size | Opening Everything at Once | Everyday Clicking | Storage Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 10,000 Links | Instant — About 0.4 seconds or less. | Instant | ~1.5 MB |
| Around 20,000 Links | Snappy — Under a second (~0.9 seconds). | Instant | ~3 MB |
| Around 30,000 Links (The Ceiling For Local Storage) | A Brief Pause — About 1.3 seconds. | Instant | ~4.6 MB of ~5 MB |
Measured on a typical modern computer. Your device may be faster or slower. “Opening Everything at Once” means expanding every letter and section at the same time using the "Pin All / Unpin All" toggle located in the upper left hand corner of your Board (the same button that lists the number of links in your Board) — day to day you will likely opt to open just one section at a time, which stays instant. At around 30,000 links the browser's ~5 MB of storage fills up and it can't save any more. That's the hard ceiling for local storage, but it's a limitation that can be removed with 🌊 Simple Surf Everywhere.
KEEPING YOUR BOARD DATA SAFE
How Do I Keep My Board Data Safe?
Your Board data lives in this browser. And you are COMPLETELY in control of it. Export a backup to keep it safe — or add 🌊 Simple Surf Everywhere to access your Board securely from a custom simplesurf.ai/yourname link on every device and never lose it.
❌ What Could Make My Data Disappear?
Because a free Board is saved only in your browser, it can be lost if you clear your browser's site data (a plain cache-clear is fine — it's the “cookies and other site data” option that erases it), switch to a different browser or device, or use a private / incognito window. It's private and offline — and Backup Reminders are built-in — but it isn't automatically backed up for you.
✅ Two Ways to Protect It — One Free — One Paid
- Free: Export a backup. From Settings → Save a Full Backup you get a single file with your whole Board. Links, Sections and Settings. Keep it somewhere safe and re-import it anytime, on any browser. Free for life, and the surest safety net today.
- Paid: Add 🌊 Simple Surf Everywhere for a one-time fee of just $29 USD. You get a 100% private, encrypted copy of your Board, accessible from a custom simplesurf.ai/yourname link that you choose. Bring-your-own-cloud (BYOC) available. 🌊 Simple Surf Everywhere survives any clear, and your Board appears on every device and browser, always up to date.
UPDATES
What About Updates?
- Both 🏄 Simple Surf and 🌊 Simple Surf Everywhere include free lifetime updates — you do not pay to keep Simple Surf up to date. Simple Surf is constantly being updated and improved for everyone who uses it.