Why it's a strong pick

Session Buddy needs no login or sign-up, and by default its data lives in files on your own device. Its privacy policy says it does not send your collections, history or settings to any outside service. It also has a search that covers open tabs, collections and history. The trade-offs: because data stays on your device, you must back it up yourself, and the newer cloud collections feature is optional and premium.

What it does

Session Buddy keeps your tabs in two ways. Collections are saved sets of tabs and links, which you can colour-code. Tab history lets you view and restore tabs as they were, find closed tabs and recover after a crash or restart. One search box covers open tabs, collections and history. You can also import and export in several formats, per Session Buddy's own site.

Key features

Collections. Save groups of tabs and links, with colour-coding to tell them apart.
Tab history. Per the developer, you can recover tabs after a crash or restart and find tabs you closed.
Unified search. One search across open tabs, collections and history.
Import and export. The vendor lists more than 15 formats, including text, JSON, CSV, Markdown and HTML.
Backup and restore. The vendor describes an automatic backup and a one-click manual backup.
Cloud collections (optional). Version 4.2.0 adds these as an opt-in premium feature, to move data between profiles or installs.

Who it's for

Session Buddy is for people who want a safety net for open tabs and a searchable library of saved sets, without an account. It fits a solo user on one computer who will back up now and then. If you want a very simple list, see OneTab. If you want project folders that sync, see Toby or Workona.

Is Session Buddy local only?

By default, yes. Its privacy policy says it stores your collections, history and settings in files that exist only on your device. Version 4.2.0 adds cloud collections, which the release notes call an opt-in premium feature being enabled gradually. If you never turn that on, the local-only description still holds. Read the policy again if you do.

Does Session Buddy need an account?

No. Its website says you can use it without a login and no sign-up is required. That also means nobody can restore your sessions for you if your computer fails, which is why the developer tells you to back up often. Cloud collections are the optional exception, and we did not test how they sign you in.

What permissions does Session Buddy ask for?

We could not read an official permissions list, so check the install prompt on the Chrome Web Store. The store's privacy tab lists four data categories: personal information, financial and payment information, authentication information and web history. Our Session Buddy safety check covers how those labels compare with the privacy policy.

Does Session Buddy work with Chrome's new extension rules?

The developer says version 4 was rebuilt to meet Chrome's new requirements and replaces version 3, which stops working. It says version 4 needs Chrome 109 or newer. We did not find the words "Manifest V3" on its site, so we use the developer's wording. If you still have version 3 data, use the vendor's migration page soon.

FAQ

Is Session Buddy free? It is free to install. Cloud collections are described as a premium feature, so check its site for what that costs.

Who makes Session Buddy? The store lists it as offered by sessionbuddy.com, and the site's posts are signed "hansifer". We could not confirm a legal company.

Is it open source? We found no public source code for it.

Good to know

Back up your data. Session Buddy stores it only on your device, so a wiped Chrome profile takes your sessions with it. Use the backup tools and keep a copy somewhere else. The developer's data reliability guide explains how.

Other tab managers to compare

Session Buddy is one of 8 picks in our tab managers guide:

OneTab: Turns all your open tabs into one list you can restore later. Free to install.
Toby: Save tabs into collections and spaces, and keep them in a side panel. Account required.
Workona: Save tabs into project spaces that sync through the cloud. Free plan, paid plans.
Tab Wrangler: Closes tabs you have not touched for a while and keeps them in a list you can search. Free and open source.
Tab Session Manager: A free, open-source extension that saves your windows and tabs and brings them back later.
Auto Tab Discard: Cuts the memory use of inactive tabs with Chrome’s native tab discarding, without closing them. Open source.
The Marvellous Suspender: Suspends idle tabs to free memory and CPU. Open source, based on The Great Suspender. Asks for access to all sites.

Compare: OneTab vs Session Buddy · Toby vs Session Buddy

See alternatives: Session Buddy alternatives

Is it safe? Session Buddy safety check