Privoo
Privoo Desktop: Built-in tools
From the Privoo reference. This article covers version 5.0.5.
Main article: Privoo Desktop. Managed at privoo://extensions.
Privoo includes first-party implementations of functions ordinarily obtained by
installing browser extensions. They are part of the application rather than
separately published add-ons, and are configured at
privoo://extensions. Third-party extensions may also be loaded, with
partial API support.
Rationale
The conventional way to obtain a password manager, a content blocker or a download utility is to install an extension. Each such extension is an additional party granted, in most cases, permission to read and modify the content of every page the user visits. Extensions have been sold to new owners, compromised through their publishers' accounts, and repurposed after acquisition.
Privoo's tools are components of the application. They have no separate publisher and cannot change hands independently of the browser. The stated aim is not to prevent users from installing extensions, which remains supported, but to reduce the number of cases in which doing so is necessary.
Always-on tools
privoo://downloads and a shortcut of Ctrl J.
Enabled by default
http:// navigations. See Privacy and security: HTTPS upgrading.Password Vault
Saves and autofills credentials, encrypted, on the local device. There is no cloud vault, no master account and no synchronisation.
The consequences run in both directions and the project states both: credentials cannot be exposed by the breach of a server that does not exist, and equally they do not propagate to the user's other machines, because no mechanism carries them there. Moving them requires copying the profile directory manually.
Privoo AI
Main article: Privoo AI
An assistant available in a side panel or a separate window, with saved
conversation history stored locally. It is available at privoo://ai.
Privoo does not host a model and does not operate an inference service. The assistant runs against a provider key supplied by the user, or against a local model:
| Backend | Data handling |
|---|---|
| Anthropic | Requests go to the provider under the user's own key. |
| OpenAI | As above. |
| Google Gemini | As above. |
| DeepSeek | As above. |
| Ollama (local) | Inference occurs on the user's machine. Nothing leaves the device. |
API keys are stored encrypted. Conversations are not proxied through any infrastructure belonging to Privoo, because none exists.
Optional tools
Media Downloader Off
Saves video or audio from a page to the downloads directory, using
yt-dlp. Adds a toolbar button when enabled.
Download Booster Off
Splits a large download across several concurrent HTTP range requests and reassembles the file, which is materially faster where a server throttles individual connections.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum file size | Approximately 8 MB |
| Concurrent chunks | 6 |
| Requirement | Server must support range requests |
| Fallback | Declines and lets the normal download proceed |
The server is probed for range support before the accelerated path is used. If the probe fails, or the file is below the threshold, the ordinary download runs unchanged.
Lucid Mode Off
Adds a control to any video which, on hover, exposes a slider adjusting clarity, colour and depth. The effect is a rendering filter applied locally during playback and does not alter the stream being received.
Identities and autofill
Distinct from the password vault, Privoo stores one or more identities
comprising name, address, telephone and email details, managed at
privoo://identities. A form field can be filled by right-clicking it
and selecting Autofill identity.
Common fields are matched directly. For unusual field labels that direct matching does not recognise, a local Ollama model may optionally be used to interpret what the field requests. That step runs on the user's machine; identity details are not transmitted to a remote service for interpretation.
A related feature, Easy Files, retains a short list of recently uploaded files so that a file can be re-attached without navigating the file picker again.
Third-party extensions
Extensions can be loaded from privoo://extensions, either as a packaged
.crx or .zip, or as an unpacked directory. A packaged
extension is unpacked into the configuration directory and loaded from there.
Privoo runs on Electron, which implements a subset of Chrome's extension APIs.
Popups and content scripts generally function. Extensions depending on
contextMenus, privacy, webNavigation or
other advanced APIs may be limited or inert. Full CRX support remains an open
roadmap item.
For content blocking specifically, Privoo's built-in engine already covers most of what a blocker such as uBlock Origin provides, and running both over the same requests can cause conflicts. Privoo detects recognised third-party content blockers and disengages its own engine on YouTube when one is present, because two blockers competing over the player can leave it in a broken state.
The general caution applicable to any browser applies here: an extension can typically read and modify every page visited, so only extensions with a clear reason to be trusted should be installed.