Introduction
Bookmarks are one of the most fundamental features of web browsers, but have you ever reconsidered their necessity?
In the past, I organized my bookmarks into folders, saving a vast number of web pages. I categorized them so that I could quickly access what I needed at any time. However, over the years, this habit gradually faded, and now I barely use bookmarks at all. Since I naturally remember frequently visited sites and can easily open them using the URL autofill function, I no longer feel the need for bookmarks.
Currently, I use Zen and Arc as my main browsers. I save around 5 to 8 frequently used sites in Essential (or Favorite in Arc) and Pin, but I don’t register anything in the actual bookmark function.
Of course, browsing habits and styles vary from person to person, so my shift in information management may not apply to everyone. However, isn't this kind of change becoming increasingly common?
Why I Stopped Using Bookmarks
1. URL Autofill
Modern browsers are incredibly smart. Simply typing a few letters into the search bar brings up past browsing history, frequently visited pages, and even suggested sites. With UI and UX becoming more refined, accessing the websites I want has become much faster, significantly reducing my need for bookmarks.
Moreover, I naturally remember the titles and keywords of frequently visited sites. Just by typing a few words into the search bar, the browser almost always suggests the right page. As a result, I no longer have to go through the hassle of opening or organizing bookmarks—I can reach my destination effortlessly.
2. I Rarely Revisit Bookmarks
Even if I save a large number of bookmarks, I end up revisiting only a small fraction of them. Articles I found interesting or reference pages I thought I might need often lose their appeal or relevance over time, eventually getting abandoned.
Especially when I'm busy, I don’t have the luxury of reviewing my old bookmarks. Before I know it, I have a massive collection of outdated links sitting untouched for years.
These neglected bookmarks essentially become digital clutter. Organizing them is a hassle, and when I actually need to find something, they are buried so deep that using a search engine is often faster.
Rather than accumulating a pile of unused links, I find it more practical to not save bookmarks in the first place. Instead, I search for information when needed and only save the essential websites that I regularly visit. This approach ultimately proves to be more efficient.
3. The Gap Between Interests and Organization
Even if I try to organize bookmarks into folders, my interests, work focus, and browsing habits change over time. Eventually, my initial categorization no longer makes sense, and I find myself needing to reorganize everything.
For example, I might create folders like "Design", "Programming", and "Work", but a few years later, these categories no longer feel relevant. Some topics may become obsolete, or my way of organizing information may change entirely. The need to constantly reorganize my bookmarks becomes frustrating, and in the end, I lose the motivation to maintain them at all.
At that point, using search engines or browser autofill feels much more convenient than manually managing bookmarks.
4. My Main Browser Changes from Time to Time
In recent years, I’ve started switching browsers regularly. I moved from Vivaldi to Brave, and now my main browsers are Arc and Zen. Every time I switch, I face the hassle of exporting and importing bookmarks.
Of course, transferring bookmarks is technically easy, but every time I migrate, I ask myself:
"Do I really need to reorganize my bookmarks again?"
The thought alone feels tedious, so I often end up leaving them behind and never actually using them.
5. Alternative Tools Are More Convenient
Even though I no longer rely on browser bookmarks, that doesn’t mean I don’t save anything at all. I still keep a small selection of essential information, but instead of using bookmarks, I prefer tools like Notion, Raindrop, and Evernote.
These tools allow for more flexible organization and are not tied to a specific browser.
However, my usage of Raindrop and Evernote has significantly declined, and nowadays, I rely almost exclusively on Notion.
Why I Chose Notion: Adding "Depth" to Bookmarks
The reason I use Notion as my bookmark manager is that it allows me to add context to my bookmarks. Instead of simply saving links, I can record why I saved them and how I intended to use them later—turning bookmarks into a more practical database.
When using a browser’s built-in bookmarking feature, the following crucial details are often missing:
- Why did I save this page?
- What was my intended purpose for it?
- How did I plan to use it later?
As a result, when revisiting bookmarks, I often find myself wondering, “Why did I save this in the first place?” At that point, the bookmark has lost its value.
However, with Notion, I can add notes when saving bookmarks and link them to related notes within Notion. This allows me to organize relationships between bookmarks, transforming them from a mere collection of links into a structured database.
Some practical examples of how I use this approach include:
- Saving articles and technical documentation while linking them to my study notes
- Organizing research for work and categorizing it by project
- Tagging bookmarks to create themed collections
By structuring bookmarks in a relational database-like manner, Notion enables multi-dimensional organization, connecting scattered information in a way that traditional browser bookmarks cannot.
Tip: When Are Browser Bookmarks Still Useful?
So, does this mean browser bookmarks are completely unnecessary? Not quite. I still find them useful in the following cases:
- Pages I frequently access for work or hobbies (5–10 core sites)
For frequently used tools that I switch between often, browser bookmarks are still convenient. For instance, I regularly open Discord, ChatGPT, Notion, and GitHub for work.
To keep these essentials within reach, I save them as Essentials in Zen or Pins in Arc, ensuring they remain easily accessible. Instead of searching for these sites each time, I treat them as preset work templates, improving workflow efficiency.
- Pages I want to temporarily save (e.g., articles to read later)
For articles or references I’m still deciding whether to save in Notion, I sometimes use bookmarks as a temporary holding place. However, more often than not, I simply leave them open in tabs.
With Zen and Arc’s Workspaces (or Spaces in Arc), I can group tabs into an "Unsorted" workspace, eliminating the need for bookmarks altogether. This lets me maintain project-specific tab groups, further reducing my reliance on bookmarks.
In summary, I still use browser bookmarks, but only for sites that require quick access and pages that need to be temporarily saved.
Conclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Bookmarks?
The inspiration for writing this article came from a recent experience of organizing old, unsorted tabs and bookmarks from browsers I had used in the past. As I went through the process, I realized that most of my bookmarks were no longer necessary. This made me question the role that bookmarks play in today’s browsing environment. Looking back on my web browsing life, I found it interesting how a feature I once relied on heavily has now become almost obsolete. This shift seems to reflect not only the evolution of technology but also the way we manage information today.
With the advancement of AI and browsers, the way we search and navigate the web has fundamentally changed, and as a result, the role of bookmarks has also transformed.
Recently, I had the chance to explore Arc’s built-in feature that automatically closes tabs after 12 hours. This reinforced my feeling that the traditional way of keeping tabs open indefinitely or managing bookmarks manually is being redefined.
The concept of bookmarks may continue to evolve. Beyond the factors discussed in this article, bookmarking as we know it today could change even further. If AI can learn our browsing habits and suggest frequently visited pages exactly when we need them, we might no longer need to manage bookmarks manually—or the very concept of bookmarks might disappear entirely.
Additionally, browsers themselves could advance from the current "save and organize" model to a "contextual and dynamic information retrieval" approach. We might soon experience a browsing style that is beyond our current imagination.
Our interaction with the internet continues to evolve alongside technological advancements. How will the idea of bookmarks change in the future? I plan to keep observing my own browsing habits and enjoy the ongoing transformation of how we engage with the web.
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