Xmarks Sync

Xmarks

Company type	Private
Industry	Software
Predecessor	Foxmarks
Founded	2006
Founder	Mitch Kapor
Defunct	2018-05-01
Fate	Acquired by LastPass in 2010; service discontinued in 2018
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Bookmark synchronization add-on for web browsers
Parent	LastPass (from 2010)

Xmarks, initially known as Foxmarks, was a bookmark synchronization add-on designed for web browsers. It was created by the San Francisco-based company Foxmarks (later renamed Xmarks), which was established in 2006 by Mitch Kapor. In December 2010, LastPass acquired the service.

On March 30, 2018, LastPass declared that Xmarks would cease operations on May 1, 2018.

Overview

Xmarks functioned as a browser synchronization extension compatible with Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari (for OS X 10.5/10.6). It enabled users to sync bookmarks across multiple devices. Additionally, it supported synchronization of passwords, open tabs, and browsing history exclusively for Firefox. Although there was no direct support for Opera, users could utilize the Chrome extension through certain workarounds.

By April 2009, Xmarks ranked among the top Firefox add-ons, boasting over 150,000 downloads weekly and approaching 15 million total downloads.

History

In March 2009, Foxmarks rebranded as Xmarks and introduced new functionalities such as suggested bookmark tagging.

On September 27, 2010, the company announced plans to discontinue its service by January 2011 due to financial challenges stemming from its donation-based funding model. CEO James Joaquin highlighted significant interest from prospective buyers and users willing to subscribe to a premium offering. To sustain the service, Xmarks launched a premium subscription on December 9, 2010, seeking commitments from 100,000 users willing to pay between $10 and $20 annually. By October 7, 2010, investors had injected $9 million; however, without adequate user pledges by October 15, those funds were nearly exhausted.

Password management firm LastPass acquired Xmarks on December 2, 2010. Following this acquisition, updates were primarily limited to fixing bugs without introducing new features. On October 9, 2015, LastPass itself was purchased by LogMeIn, Inc. for $125 million. Afterward, LastPass confirmed continued support for Xmarks.

Nevertheless, on March 30, 2018, LastPass announced that Xmarks would be discontinued effective May 1, 2018.

Xmarks domain blockage in India

In May 2012, major Indian internet service providers blocked access to the xmarks.com domain following a court directive. Users attempting to visit the site encountered notices indicating "Access to this site has been blocked as per Court Orders."

Privacy

To protect user data during transmission between browsers and its servers, Xmarks employed encryption for bookmarks. Addressing concerns regarding storing information on third-party servers, Firefox users had the option to save bookmarks on personal WebDAV or FTP servers.

The company conducted analysis of bookmark data to improve features such as "Suggested Tags" and "Smarter Search," which enhanced Google web search results. According to its privacy policy, this analysis was performed without disclosing individual user identities.