How I built Glassy: A fast, local-first glass new tab extension for Chrome

Motivation

Before building Glassy, I used a lot of other new tab extensions, but they started lagging and tracked user data like sites and shortcuts. Since I love glass UI designs, I decided to build my own new tab page.

I added useful tools that help with my daily workflow, like notes, a to-do list, and a Pomodoro timer. After building it, I thought it would be amazing if everything was fully customizable. So, I added a settings panel where I can change colors, adjust the glass effect, and set custom live wallpapers just the way I like.

From personal project to product

Then I realized that other users are probably facing the exact same issues with lagging and data tracking in existing extensions. So, I thought, why keep this only to myself? I decided to launch it as a product so other users could also enjoy a clean, private, and smooth experience.

I published it on the Chrome Web Store, and it got approved on the first try! It's been about three days since launch, and around 15 people are already using it. Seeing people actually use something I spent months building has been incredibly rewarding.

As a developer, the true happiness is spending months coding late nights and finally seeing users happily using what you built.

Local-first privacy

One thing I focused on was keeping personal productivity data local. Notes, to-dos, shortcuts, settings, and wallpapers are stored in your browser, so they load quickly without depending on a remote database for those features.

Availability and pricing

Glassy includes a 2-day free trial with all features unlocked. If you decide to keep using it, there's a one-time $5 payment for lifetime access, including future updates. Your premium access is linked to your Google account, so you can sign in on any supported browser where Glassy is available.

You can check it out here: https://glassy-extension.web.app/