v1.6.0-beta.62

Beta release for v1.6.0, code complete and ready for pre-release testing.

See here for more information about installing beta releases.

v1.7.0-beta.47

Beta release for (future) v1.7.0 that includes feature request from patron @richqcc.

See here for more information about installing beta releases.

v1.5.2

• Fixed bug where startup process can be triggered twice in some instances which can cause data loss/corruption (Issue: #171)
• Fixed bug where checking for updates whilst syncs are being processed can trigger a local refresh whilst event listeners are enabled (Issue: #133)
• Fixed bug when checking network connection status (Issue: #161)
• Fixed Firefox bug where moving multiple bookmarks results in corrupt sync data
• Fixed Firefox bug where sync data is corrupted when creating new folders via native bookmarking functionality
• Fixed Firefox bug where sync is executed twice when moving bookmarks
• Improved sync engine handling of large amounts of simultaneous changes
• Updated sync engine so that remote data is only updated once after all queued syncs have been processed
• Fixed Android bug when retrieving metadata fails with an error and bookmark panel does not display
• Fixed Android bug where loading dialog displays before form is shown when adding bookmark by sharing to app
• Fixed Android bug where status bar disappears when loading metadata
• Fixed Android bug where error message not displaying when retrieving metadata for shared bookmark fails
• Added ability to cancel sync when extension window is opened during push sync
• Added a delay on checking for sync updates on startup to allow browser to init connection
• Changed check for updates period back to 15 minutes
• Fixed bug where disabling sync from extension window doesn't disable properly in background
• Fixed potential messaging bugs when extension window is opened during sync
• Fixed bug in metadata collection where description displays encoded characters
• Fixed bug where encoded characters are displayed in tags after getting bookmark metadata
• Fixed bug where password fields highlight spelling issues when set to show password
• Fixed bug where sync id is not displayed when disabling sync just after creating a new sync
• Fixed bug when disabling sync, Settings panel flickers and Login panel displays after slight delay
• Fixed bug where only first bookmark tag in field shows autocomplete
• Improved sync UI by adding ability to update service URL when creating a new sync/entering sync credentials (Feature request: #45)
• Added confirmation panel displaying service info when updating service URL
• Updated Sync ID QR code to now also include service URL and updated Android scanning functionality to read new QR code format
• Improved handling of syncing when offline for desktop platforms
• Added option of checking for app updates to Preferences section in Settings panel
• Added ability to click native alerts to open links
• Moved sync bookmarks toolbar setting to prefs panel
• Updated layout CSS to improve handling of browser page zoom (Issue: #173)
• Updated dependencies
• Many, many more minor enhancements and bug fixes

v1.5.1

• Updated Android platform to include v1.5.0 changes (Feature request: #139 and #146), and:
  • Fixed responsive mobile styles to support all mobile device screen sizes and support landscape orientation (Feature request: #47)
  • Fixed bug when fetching metadata for new bookmark by switching cordova-plugin-inappbrowser to xbs repo which includes PR to fix executeScript failing for large return values (Issue: #78 and #125)
  • Added get metadata button to bookmark panel
  • If bookmark metadata isn't retrieved, shared title is now used
  • Reduced start up time to two secs (Feature request: #25)
  • Added preferences section to Settings panel and added preference to display search bar beneath search results (Feature request: #143)
  • Replaced local storage with native storage so cache is no longer subject to WebView local storage limits
  • Updated download functionality to download backup and log files to Download folder
  • Added new scan interface with sync ID validation
  • Updated offline functionality to better handle changes made when offline
  • Fixed bug when back button does not cause the correct action for certain screens
  • Changed add bookmark button to floating action button
  • Fixed button styles to display correct styling when pressed
  • Alerts now display in native snackbar
  • Added install/upgrade functionality
  • Added adaptive icons
  • Added swipe to close on help panel
  • Updated delete bookmark animation
  • Added validating spinner to restore file field
  • Fixed background linear gradient to match other platforms
• Added bookmark folder view to search panel (Feature request: #16)
• Added install backup point which allows user to restore bookmarks to the same state as when extension was installed
• Added reveal password functionality on login panel
• Implemented background syncing to replace checking for uncommitted syncs
• Refactored syncing logic to support separate queuing and execution
• Added sync ID validation to login and scan panels
• Fixed bookmark id handling validation during sync/restore
• Fixed bug with sync bookmarks toolbar toggle switch not hiding confirmation message when switched off
• Fixed flickering on autocomplete text when search text changes
• Fixed bug where service panels are displayed before service status is retrieved
• Add bookmark button on bookmark panel is now disabled until empty form is changed
• Shortened log and backup file names
• Updated HTTP error codes to correspond to changes in API v1.1.11
• Changed background clouds from png to svg image for better resolution on high pixel density displays
• Updated help page content
• Updated close link label on help panel
• Updated logo image
• Removed deprecated crypto-js dependency
• Updated dependencies
• Many, many more minor enhancements and bug fixes

v1.5.0

• Huge improvements to syncing engine:
  • Updated sync process to be more reliable and less prone to issues
  • Fixed issues when changing local bookmarks using native tools that can cause sync failures/duplication/corruption
  • Population of local bookmarks takes much less time in Chrome (unfortunately Firefox is excluded for now due to a Mozilla bug)
  • UI updated to display syncing animation when syncs are in progress
  • Browser icons updated to reflect sync status and direction (uploading/downloading)
• Sync is no longer disabled when clearing local browser cache or by third-party privacy plugins (Issue: #38)
• Bookmarking Chrome-specific URLs (i.e. chrome://...) no longer breaks sync in Firefox (Issue: #58)
• Many more bookmark URL protocols now supported
• Added support for syncing Firefox native separators (Feature request: #64)
• Added button to manually update sync with latest changes (Feature request: #21)
• Updated required permissions, "read and change all website data" is now optional and added options to Settings panel (Chrome only, Firefox implementation is currently blocked due to a Mozilla bug) (Feature request: #43)
• Much improved password validation when creating new syncs: more accurate password strength meter, warnings and suggestions displayed to help user choose a more effective password and relaxed validation rules to allow users more freedom in choosing a password (Feature requests: #42 and #48)
• Bookmarking of non-HTML web pages such as PDFs now supported (Issue: #66)
• Very large sync data sizes now supported (Issue: #20)
• Extension icons updated to make current sync status clearer (Feature request: #77)
• Bookmark URL validation improved (Issue: #62)
• Sync ID field value now saved whenever it is updated resolving issues when pasting values from a password manager (Issues: #86 and #101)
• Default keyboard shortcut now included (Feature request: #98)
• Added button for easily copying sync ID (Feature request: #102)
• Added retry after delay when checking for sync updates at startup, avoids "Connection lost" warnings when using proxied connections for example
• Added button to clear existing tags, useful when pages contain many irrelevant tags
• Removed debug mode, added better logging and ability to download log file to provide when logging issues
• Improved code security: more restrictive content security policy, removed all references to innerHTML, removed references to eval (javascript bookmarklets no longer supported)
• Updated donation options, Liberapay and better crypto donation process added
• User interface updates and improvements
• Prettier backup file JSON data
• Many, many more minor enhancements and bug fixes

v1.4.0

• Added Firefox support, download the add-on here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/xbs/
• Huge improvements to encryption: now uses native Web Crypto API rather than external cryptography library, key derivation uses PBKDF2 with 250,000 rounds of SHA-256, encryption uses AES-GCM with a random 16 byte IV and the user's random 32 char sync ID as a salt. For comparison, LastPass' key derivation uses a similar approach but with only 100,100 rounds by default.
• Existing syncs will be automatically upgraded to use the latest encryption. Upgraded syncs cannot sync to older version of xBrowserSync.
• Data is now compressed before being encrypted reducing sync size by up to 60%.
• When adding or modifying a bookmark using the xBrowserSync interface, local bookmarks are no longer removed and re-added - only the target bookmark is affected.
• xBrowserSync now adds bookmarks by default directly to Other Bookmarks, the _xBrowserSync_ folder is no longer used and is renamed to Legacy xBrowserSync bookmarks on upgrade.
• When creating a new sync, password must now be confirmed and required password complexity has been increased to ensure stronger encryption.
• Updated to use smaller font files for faster more responsive experience.
• Page metadata collection method improved, content scripts no longer run automatically when a page is loaded and page metadata no longer needs to be stored in browser's local storage cache.
• Latest sync changes now pulled down on browser start up.
• Ability to create new sync remove from mobile apps to prevent user deleting all local bookmarks inadvertently.
• Sync confirmation text updated to clearly inform user that local bookmarks data will be deleted.
• Login panel fields now use monospace font.
• Bookmark and Change Service panels now display validation messages.
• Bookmark panel URL field now much less restrictive to allow for different bookmark formats.
• Bookmark panel URL field validation now checks if URL already exists.
• Bookmark panel tags now respect maximum width by displaying ellipses if tag text too long to show.
• Bookmark panel tags field no longer suggest tags that have already been added.
• Change Service panel now allows IP addresses as well as host names.
• Service panel now displays loading text when retrieving service status.
• Service panel now displays data usage in most relevant unit.
• Panel styling updated to include drop shadows.
• About panel cleaned up to display only relevant information.
• Message now displayed when app is updated with link to release notes.
• Dependencies updated.
• Many, many more minor enhancements and bug fixes.

v1.3.1

• Android and iOS apps released!
• Redesigned, more intuitive sync/login panel and settings panel.
• Cleaned up extension dependencies for smaller footprint and faster loading.
• Added support for bookmarklets.
• Search queries now allow commas between keywords.
• Titleless bookmarks now display their URL host as a title.
• Bookmark descriptions are now shortened to 300 characters to the nearest word.
• “Connection Lost” warnings are no longer shown when checking for updates in the background.
• Many, many more minor enhancements and bug fixes.

v1.2.1

• [Added] Search results are now sorted in order of highest score and date bookmark added. Note: for existing syncs, only bookmarks added after v1.2.1 was installed will be sorted by date added.
• [Added] Searching with no search terms entered displays bookmarks in order of date bookmark added. Note: for existing syncs, only bookmarks added after v1.2.1 was installed will be sorted by date added.
• [Added] Support for Twitter meta page tags.
• [Fixed] Can now handle bookmarks without titles.
• [Fixed] Searching for "un" no longer displays "undefined" as a suggestion.
• [Fixed] Page meta tag detection no longer case sensitive.

v1.2.0

• [Added] Mobile apps support. Expect releases for Android and iOS very soon.
• [Added] Firefox support. xBrowserSync now works with Firefox's new WebExtensions browser extension API. However, Mozilla are still in the process of implementing the full API used by Chrome and currently there are gaps, some of which xBrowserSync depends on. Once support has been added xBrowserSync will be released for Firefox.
• [Added] Data usage chart. Check how much of your allocated sync data you are currently using in Settings > Sync > Data Usage.
• [Added] Adding a bookmark via native browser bookmark button now adds description and tags metadata automatically.
• [Added] Bookmark updates made whilst offline will now be synced automatically when connection is restored.
• [Added] About panel (this).
• [Fixed] Synced data is now left encrypted before being cached locally, for extra security.
• [Fixed] QR code now displayed using canvas, much clearer at higher resolutions.
• [Fixed] Bookmark searches no longer match partial words to improve results relevance.
• [Fixed] Suppressed the frequency of alerts if unable to connect to the xBrowserSync service when syncing in background.
• Numerous other minor enhancements and bug fixes.

v1.1.1

• Updated website links to https.
• Stopped punctuation appearing in search lookahead.
• Fixed change conflict when data out of sync.
• Fixed issue with browser action icon sometimes not updating correctly.