Getting started

SoftGlaze Browser is a desktop app. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit, keeps everything in a database on that computer, and has no account to sign up for.

Before you install

There is no published release yet, so there is nothing to download from the download page today. Everything below is how the install works, and it will not change when the build ships.

When it does ship:

1. Check the file’s SHA-256 before running it. The download page lists the hash for the release. In PowerShell, in your Downloads folder: Get-FileHash .\SoftGlaze-Browser-Setup-<version>.exe -Algorithm SHA256. Compare the Hash it prints with the published one. Case doesn’t matter; every other character does.
2. Expect a SmartScreen warning. The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows says the publisher is unknown. That warning is telling the truth. Click More info, then Run anyway, but only if the checksum matched.

First run

The first launch does three things, in this order.

You create a local login. Name, email address and a password. That account is the owner of the workspace, stored hashed in the local database. It is not a SoftGlaze account: we never see it, and we cannot reset it for you.

It downloads browser engines. 3 Chrome for Testing builds to start with, from Google’s own hosts, and Firefox from Mozilla’s if you use a Firefox profile. Downloads are HTTPS-only and restricted to an allowlist of those vendors’ hosts.

It installs four extensions into the app’s own profile data directories: SoftGlaze Screen Recorder, Cookie-Editor, uBlock Origin (MV3), Proxy SwitchyOmega 3 (MV3). Only the recorder is enabled; the rest are installed and switched off. They come from the Chrome Web Store’s own download endpoint.

All of that needs an internet connection the first time. Nothing is sent to us at any point, because there is no SoftGlaze server to send it to. The full list of outside services the app contacts is on the security page.

Your first profile

1. Open Profiles and press New Profile. The editor opens with a fingerprint already generated: user agent, screen, GPU, cores, memory, device name and MAC address. The Environment Overview on the right is what a site would see.
2. Leave the OS alone. New profiles report the OS of the computer they run on, which is the safest default; the editor warns you if you change it.
3. Go to the Proxy tab, add or pick a proxy, and press Check network. You get the exit IP, its country, a latency figure and a grade from A to F before the profile ever uses it.
4. Save it, then Launch. The profile opens in its own browser window with its own cookie jar. The app’s start page shows you the exit IP, timezone and device the profile is reporting.

Turn on database encryption

Whole-database encryption exists and is off by default. Until you turn it on, proxy passwords, per-profile account passwords and Data Vault entries sit in plain text in the database at %APPDATA%\softglaze-browser.

It is in Settings, under Database Encryption. It encrypts the whole workspace with your workspace password. Two things to know before you switch it on:

• Make a workspace backup first. Workspace Backup & Restore is in the same area of Settings.
• The password becomes the only way in. There is no reset and no backdoor.

While the app is running and unlocked there is a decrypted working copy on disk, so this protects a stolen drive or a copied backup, not a machine someone is sitting at.

The trial, and what happens after it

7 days with every feature, no card. After 7 days you get 3 more days with reminders. Then the app locks to a renewal screen until you buy a plan. Your profiles and data stay on your computer, and unlock as soon as you do.

The paid plan is Pro at $5 a month per workspace, with a 14-day refund. Buying is not open yet. See pricing for why.