Privoo Desktop: Installation

From the Privoo reference. This article covers version 5.0.5.

Main article: Privoo Desktop

Privoo Desktop is distributed as prebuilt installers for Windows, macOS and Linux, and may also be built from source. Installation requires no account, no email address and no post-install configuration.

Downloads

Prebuilt installers are published on the project's releases page. Builds are produced automatically by GitHub Actions when a version tag is pushed, on Windows, macOS and Linux runners respectively.

Windows releases additionally publish latest.yml, the manifest used by the auto-updater, containing the installer's SHA-512 hash and size.

Code signing and Gatekeeper

Release builds are produced without a code-signing certificate, and macOS builds are not notarised by Apple. Consequently:

• On macOS, Gatekeeper warns on first launch and the application must be opened explicitly.
• On Windows, SmartScreen may warn for a newly published installer until it accrues reputation.

This follows from the project being independent and not holding a paid Apple developer account, rather than from any property of the software. Users for whom that trade-off is unacceptable can build from source, which produces the same application from inspectable code.

Importing existing data

Privoo can import bookmarks and browsing data from other Chromium-based browsers installed on the same machine, from Settings. The import reads the other browser's local profile directly from disk. Nothing is transmitted during an import, and no account is involved on either side.

Update mechanism

Privoo updates itself using electron-updater against the GitHub releases feed. A new release is downloaded in the background and applied on next launch. Automatic updates can be disabled in Settings, and a manual check is available from the system tray menu; the manual check runs even when automatic updates are disabled.

The update check is a request to GitHub for the release manifest. It carries no user identifier, no usage data and nothing about browsing activity. Along with filter-list refreshes, it is one of only two categories of routine outbound request Privoo makes on its own behalf.

The 1.0.x series was largely occupied with defects in this mechanism, including a stall at 100% completion, a SHA-512 mismatch between the built installer and the copy served by the release CDN, and a macOS failure caused by Squirrel rejecting unsigned builds. The pipeline now recomputes the installer hash after antivirus scanning and rewrites the manifest before publishing.

Data storage

Locations

All state is stored in a single directory on the local filesystem. There is no remote component.

Profiles

Profiles are implemented by redirecting Chromium's entire userData directory at process start, based on a --privoo-profile=<id> argument. The redirect occurs at module load, before Chromium initialises, because the userData path is fixed once the engine starts. Selecting a non-default profile therefore relaunches the application. The result is complete isolation of cookies, cache, storage, history and settings between profiles.

Removal

Uninstalling removes the application. To remove stored data, delete the configuration directory, or use Delete all data in Settings before uninstalling. There is also Clear data on exit, which erases selected categories on every quit.

No deletion request to a service is possible or necessary, because no service holds a copy.

Building from source

Requirements: Node.js 16 or newer, and npm.

git clone https://github.com/sharp4real/privoobrowser
cd privoobrowser
npm install     # install dependencies
npm start       # run from source
npm run dist    # build an installer for the current platform

npm install retrieves the castLabs Electron distribution rather than upstream Electron. This is the source of Widevine support, and the reason DRM-protected services function in Privoo but not in a stock Electron shell. A source build without the Widevine VMP signing step will run, but DRM-protected playback will not obtain a licence.

See also

• Privoo Desktop: Architecture
• Privoo Desktop: FAQ and troubleshooting
• Privoo Desktop: Privacy and security