WebCull - Documentation - Proxy Parsing And Media Embeds

Proxy

Proxy Scraping Controls Saved Site Details

Proxy Scraping lets WebCull visit saved bookmark URLs to fetch titles, icons, descriptions, and other site details. It is useful when a bookmark was created from only a URL or when its saved details are missing or stale.

Setting location

The setting is controlled from private bookmark manager settings or from the E2EE privacy review.

When it runs

The bookmark detail panel can fetch site information for eligible URLs when Proxy Scraping is enabled.

What it reads

WebCull needs the bookmark URL so it can visit the page and read available site details.

What it can return

Fetched details can include title, icon, description, page keywords, email, phone, and links, depending on what the page provides.

Turn off

Turn Proxy Scraping off to stop site-detail fetches. For E2EE accounts, it defaults off when you have not made a prior choice; the privacy review keeps an existing explicit choice.

Suggestions

Fetched Site Details Are Suggested Before They Change An Existing Bookmark

For existing bookmarks, WebCull can suggest fetched site details instead of immediately applying them. The bookmark detail panel can show separate suggestions for title, icon, and description.

Quality gate

WebCull hides suggestions that are incomplete, low quality, or likely to be generic error-page text.

Apply

Applying a suggestion updates only the selected field. With E2EE on, fetched metadata is encrypted on your device before saving.

Dismiss

Dismissing all pending suggestions stops the same bookmark from immediately showing the same suggestion again.

URL changes

When a bookmark URL changes, the detail panel can offer a Fetch site info for this URL? action before requesting fresh site details.

Extension

Browser Extension Capture Is Different From Proxy Parsing

The browser extension can collect information from the page already open in your browser. This is separate from Proxy Scraping, because the information comes from the page you are viewing instead of WebCull visiting the saved URL for you.

Captured fields

The extension save flow can send title, URL, page text, favicon data, meta description, and meta keywords.

Icon selection

The extension icon picker can use icons from the current page, icons the browser can reach, or WebCull fallback icons when a page does not provide a clear option.

With E2EE

When E2EE is on, extension-captured title, URL, text, icon, description, and keywords are encrypted before they are sent to WebCull.

Permissions

Capture behavior depends on the installed extension, the current browser, the active page, and available extension permissions.

Embeds

Media Embeds Render Playable Third-Party Content

Media Embeds shows playable media in the bookmark detail panel when the saved bookmark URL matches a supported provider.

Supported providers

Supported providers include YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Reddit, Spotify, Twitch, Streamable, Dailymotion, CodePen, SoundCloud, Twitter, and TikTok.

Turn on

Open private bookmark manager settings, find Media, then turn Media Embeds on. During E2EE setup, the media embed toggle defaults off.

Turn off

Turn the same Media Embeds setting off. When off, the bookmark detail panel does not render provider embeds.

When it loads

Embeds are checked only when a bookmark detail panel is rendered. They are not shown from browser extension popup views.

Preview before loading

Some providers can show a preview first and load the playable embed after interaction. Providers without preview support may load the player when the detail panel opens.

Provider options

Where supported, WebCull uses privacy-oriented embed URLs such as YouTube's nocookie domain and provider Do Not Track parameters.

E2EE

E2EE Changes Proxy And Embed Behavior

E2EE protects stored bookmark URLs. If you opt in to private metadata fetching, WebCull's proxy receives the URL you ask it to visit. Loading a media embed is a separate request from your browser to a third-party provider.

Proxy Scraping

Optional private metadata fetching. Enable Proxy Scraping to opt in. Your encrypted account must be unlocked and not converting to or from E2EE.

Extension capture

Still available when the extension can read the active page. Captured fields are encrypted before upload.

Media Embeds

Optional. E2EE setup defaults media embeds off. If an E2EE user later turns media embeds on, WebCull shows a privacy warning before saving the setting.

Bookmark data

Stored bookmark data remains encrypted even if an embed loads. The embed is a separate request from your browser to the media provider.

Privacy

Privacy Boundaries

Proxy parsing, extension capture, and media embeds share different information in different ways. Review each setting separately when deciding what to enable.

Proxy parsing

WebCull's proxy receives and visits the requested URL, including for opt-in private fetching with E2EE. Accepted private metadata is encrypted on your device before saving; that does not hide the URL from the proxy during the fetch. Turn Proxy Scraping off if you do not want to send URLs for this purpose.

Extension capture

The browser extension reads the active page and saves the captured details with the bookmark.

Media embeds

Third-party providers can receive network metadata when their iframe or thumbnail is loaded, including IP address, browser user agent, referrer, and provider cookies already present in the browser.

Public URLs

This page describes private bookmark manager parsing and embed behavior. Public URL presentation settings are documented separately under Public URLs.