I've somehow ended up with almost 5,000 open tabs in the DuckDuckGo browser on my Android device (Samsung, running Android v14) and I need to extract the URLs before I close them all. The issue is that DuckDuckGo doesn't save history for privacy reasons, so once I close a tab, it's gone for good. I know all my open tabs will reappear when I relaunch the app, which means there's definitely data there that I don't want to lose.
I initially thought I could go through each tab manually to bookmark important URLs, but that's impossible with so many open at once. I do a lot of research across various topics, and about 30-65% of these tabs contain vital information that I may not find again.
I looked for a bulk bookmark option, but I couldn't find anything that would let me save all these URLs at once. I have some technical skills and use DeX on my Android, so I could figure something out if someone can guide me. All I need is a way to save every URL from this session before I close the tabs. I'd appreciate any help on this urgent matter! 😢😩
5 Answers
I possibly found a workaround for you. On the newest DDG browser version, first go to your tabs page (by clicking on the square open tabs number). Click on the "3 stacked dots" in the upper right-hand corner and click "Select tabs". Then you'll see small circles appear on each tab's thumbnail. Click on the "3 stacked dots" again and click on "Select all'. Blue check marks will appear on each thumbnail. Once again click on the" 3 stacked dots" and now select "Bookmark xx Tabs". ("xx" indicates the number of tabs affected.) If you have "sync & backup" working correctly, you will have all of your open tabs bookmarked and available on all synced devices. (HINT: I don't know if this procedure will work for 5000 tabs, as I only have 75.)
I understand that this is not what we want, but at least you will have immediate access to all your tabs on another device. Good Luck!
You could try taking screenshots of the tabs if all else fails! It’s not the most efficient method, but at least you’d have a visual reference of what you need to bookmark later. Just be careful with the number of screenshots so you don't end up with more clutter!
I'm curious why you'd keep all those tabs open if privacy is a concern? Just a heads-up, managing that many tabs can lead to some serious stress!
It’s a long story! I’m a university student with ADHD and tend to keep everything open while I research. It’s chaotic but it works for me... mostly!
I understand your plight. Given how much research you do, perhaps consider switching browsers afterward? Some offer better tab management and history features without sacrificing your privacy. Just a thought for the future!
It sounds like a tough situation! Since DuckDuckGo doesn't allow history, your best bet might be to use an Android automation app like Tasker or Automate. With some script setup, you could potentially extract the URLs from all open tabs and save them to a text file or similar. It's a bit advanced, but it's doable. Good luck!
I agree, that sounds like the way to go! You can also check out some forums on using these apps; there are usually guides for this kind of task.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll try that out as a last resort if I can't find a more straightforward method.