Convergate

Browsers keep track of the addresses of websites you've visited, something that's very handy when you want to retrace your steps online. But a new browser extension takes the idea to the next level.

The History Search extension indexes every website you visit and lets you search your history afterward. A free version keeps track of your 3,000 most recently visited pages, but paying $4 per month lifts that limit, developer Convergate said Tuesday.

The extension, available for Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge, uses encryption both when transferring data to its cloud storage service and storing it there, Convergate said.

The utility could help digital pack rats, researchers, diarists and people who've struggled to remember where they saw some juicy piece of information on the web, which is to say just about everybody. You might have to spend some time getting it to work well, though, sifting out things like Gmail messages you might not want to see. And common search terms that appear on lots of websites will generate predictably long lists of results you'll have to sift through.

Plenty of companies have gotten a fast start by showing advertising -- and sometimes by sharing your personal information with advertisers so they can better target a particular audience. History Search, though, is going with the old-school commercial model, charging you money for a service. It doesn't sell or share data with advertisers.

"To further align our business and financial incentives with that of our users' we have deliberately decided to make History Search a paid service, deriving income through paying users, not advertising," Convergate said.

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