Getting Started
Now that you have installed the extension, you can start highlighting text, images, take notes, and more.
Haven't installed Web Highlights yet? Head over to our Installation page.
Web Highlights does not require any sign-up. However, creating an account unlocks the full feature set.
There are two ways to get started:
- Offline Mode — Use Web Highlights without signing up and keep everything on your device. Choose this if you prefer local storage and don't need cross-device access. Your highlights and notes will only exist on the device you're using.
- Cloud Sync Mode — Store your highlights in the cloud so you can access them from any device through the web app. Also unlocks additional features like image highlighting, AI summaries, Notion export, and more.
Feature comparison — Offline vs Cloud Sync
Here is a simplified overview of what each mode offers:
| Feature | Offline | Cloud Sync |
|---|---|---|
| Highlight webpages | ✅ | ✅ |
| Highlight PDFs | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multiple colors | ✅ | ✅ |
| Keyboard shortcuts | ✅ | ✅ |
| Tags & organization | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reader mode | ✅ | ✅ |
| Copy to Markdown | ✅ | ✅ |
| YouTube highlighting | 1 / day | 1 / day (Ultimate: unlimited) |
| AI summaries & chat | 1 / day | 1 / day (Ultimate: unlimited) |
| Flashcard learning | 10 cards | 10 cards (Ultimate: unlimited) |
| Cloud sync & backup | ❌ | ✅ |
| Access from any device | ❌ | ✅ |
| Web app — grid, search & filters | ❌ | ✅ (advanced filters: Ultimate) |
| Formatted highlighting | ❌ | ✅ Ultimate |
| Image highlighting | ❌ | ✅ Ultimate |
| Export to PDF & HTML | ❌ | ✅ Ultimate |
| Export to Notion | ❌ | ✅ Ultimate |
| Export to Capacities | ❌ | ✅ Ultimate |
Full plan comparison
This table is a simplified offline vs cloud view. For the complete Free vs Premium vs Ultimate feature matrix — the same one shown in the app — visit the Features page or check Pricing.
To use cloud sync mode, just create an account. You'll get access to all Web Highlights features with a 7-day free trial.
After that, you can pick either the affordable Premium or Ultimate plan to keep syncing your highlights and notes between devices.
Offline Mode: Start Using Without an Account
The offline mode lets you highlight text and take notes without any account. No sign-up required — you can start highlighting websites and PDFs right away.
When to use Offline Mode? 💡
Use the offline mode if you need a simple highlighter and don't need cross-device access. Your highlights and notes will only be accessible on the device you're using and some features will be limited.
Learn how to highlight text on webpages on our next page.
Cloud Sync Mode: Access Your Highlights From Anywhere
Cloud sync stores your highlights and notes in the cloud, so you can access them from any device through the web app.
It also unlocks additional features like image highlighting, export to Notion and Capacities, advanced filters, and more. See the full list on the Features page.
When to use Cloud Sync Mode? 💡
Use cloud sync if you want to access your highlights from anywhere and use all features like image highlighting, export to Notion, Obsidian, etc.
Create an Account
Creating an account is simple and unlocks all features of Web Highlights. You have two options to sign up:
1. Sign Up From Extension
Open the sidebar by clicking the Web Highlights icon in your browser toolbar.
Then, select the "Cloud" icon to sign up:
The cloud icon indicates your unsynced data. In this example, the icon indicates that there are 4 changes that are not synced to any account.
After clicking the cloud icon, you will see the sign-in/sign-up page:
From here, you can sign up with your email or Google account.
2. Sign Up From Web App
Visit our web app at app.web-highlights.com to sign up using your email or Google account.
Click "Create an account" and sign up with your email or Google account.
Once registered, you can go to any webpage and reload the page. Your highlights and notes will sync across all your devices and should appear in the web app.
Once the sync is finished, you should see a checkmark on the cloud icon:
This checkmark means that your highlights and notes were successfully synced to the web app.
You can now find them in your dashboard. Here is how the dashboard of the web app looks with some highlighted websites:
FAQ
Can I switch between offline and cloud sync modes?
Yes, you can start with offline mode. When you want cross-device access, switch to cloud sync by creating an account. Web Highlights will sync all your existing highlights and bookmarks to the cloud so you can access them from anywhere.
What happens to my highlights if I don't renew my premium subscription?
If your premium subscription ends, you will not lose your existing highlights and annotations. They remain accessible, but new highlights will not be saved to the cloud. This is similar to what happens when your free trial ends.