Private vs public bookmarks (and how sharing works)

Bommel is a bookmark locker first — your library stays private until you choose to publish. Sharing is explicit: a bookmark only becomes public when you publish it or save it with the privacy toggle off.

If you want to use Bommel as a secure Second Brain for invoices, health documents, or private notes, keep the default private setting on. Publishing is always a deliberate step.

The default: private

A new bookmark is private by default on every plan (Free and Pro). It lives only in your library until you publish it or turn off "Keep this Bommel private" before saving.

Because a public bookmark shows what you saved with it, take a second before publishing anything sensitive. Do not publish passwords or personal documents you did not mean to share.

What "private" means

• Visible only to you in your signed-in library.
• Not on your @handle profile, not in search, not in trending.
• Cannot be opened by a public link until you publish or create a private link.

To keep a bookmark private, leave "Keep this Bommel private" on when you save (or open its Share sheet later and choose Make private). This works on Free — privacy is not paywalled.

Publishing to the community

When you are ready to share:

1. Open the bookmark's Share sheet, or turn off the private toggle before saving.
2. Claim a @handle and verify your email if you have not already.
3. Choose Publish — the bookmark goes through a safety check, then appears on your profile and in search.

You can make something private again anytime from the Share sheet.

Sending a private bookmark to one person

A private link lets one person read a bookmark without making it public. Create it from the Share sheet while the bookmark stays private.

Public collections

Collections are shelves on your public profile. Only bookmarks you have published can be added to them.

Where to next

• Your public profile
• Public collections
• Explore and the public directory