1. Purpose
Records browsing as sessions with timing, tab/domain switches, revisits, a cognitive cost index, inferred intent from domains, and user-selected outcomes. Does not read page text or full URLs (domains only).
2. What is stored
| Stored | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Domain names | e.g. wikipedia.org — not full links or search text |
| Session timing | Start, duration, when a session ended |
| Tab / domain switches | How often you changed tab or changed site |
| Revisits | Returning to a domain after having moved away |
| Intent (guess) | A coarse category (work, research, …) from domain rules only |
| Cognitive cost | On-device index from duration, tab/domain switching, and revisits. For comparing sessions in the ledger only; not a clinical or performance metric. |
| Fragmentation & loop scores | Derived from the same session numbers |
| Your outcome | Success, partial, or failed — your judgment |
3. What is never stored
- Full URLs, paths, or query strings
- Page titles (not collected in this build)
- Keystrokes, forms, passwords, or page text
- Screenshots
- Incognito activity (incognito is ignored)
- Analytics or calls to external servers
For a plain-language summary, see the privacy overview on this site.
Pricing
The extension is free to install from the Chrome Web Store. An optional £9.99 / year subscription supports continued development — a voluntary supporter tier, not a requirement to use Cognitive Ledger.
4. Installing the extension
Google Chrome (recommended)
- Open Cognitive Ledger on the Chrome Web Store.
- Confirm the publisher is Berta / Rondanini Publishing Ltd, then click Add to Chrome and approve the permissions shown.
Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and other Chromium browsers
If your browser can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store, use the same listing as above. If your browser has its own store, search there for Cognitive Ledger and verify the publisher name before installing.
Work or school-managed devices
Your administrator may push the extension automatically. If you do not see Cognitive Ledger in your extensions list, ask IT whether it is approved for your profile.
5. The popup
Click the extension icon to open the popup.
Current session
Shows the active session: intent, primary domain, duration, tab/domain switches, revisits, cognitive cost, fragmentation. Values update while the session is open.
Today
Summary for the calendar day: session count, total time, total cognitive cost, and outcome counts (success / partial / failed / unmarked).
Recent sessions
Session history lists recent sessions in batches (Show more for older ones). If outcome is still unmarked, you can set Success, Partial, or Failed from here.
6. End session & mark outcome
End session & mark outcome reveals three buttons. Nothing is saved until you click one.
-
Success — Session ends immediately, saved with outcome
success, metrics frozen; listed under Recent sessions. -
Partial — Same with outcome
partial. -
Failed — Same with outcome
fail. Outcome updates the label only; underlying session metrics unchanged.
After any choice, the current session clears; the next tracked browsing starts a new session. Nothing leaves your device unless you export.
7. Options
Open from Open Options in the popup or from the extension’s details page.
Domain → intent map
All normal http(s) sites are already counted in sessions. Under Your domain → intent
map you can assign an intent to any hostname (and subdomains). Optional
Import domains from bookmarks asks Chrome for bookmark access once; only
domains are extracted from URLs — not bookmark titles, not synced
anywhere. After import you review a table of suggested intent and
match % per domain, can change the intent, then add selected rows to your map.
Optionally you can paste a Tranco CSV (rank,domain lines) or
fetch a CSV from tranco-list.eu (with permission) to seed the same review
table.
- Session idle timeout — If Chrome reports you idle longer than this, the session ends automatically and is saved as unmarked until you update it.
- Loop detection window / threshold — Controls “revisit loop” notifications for the same domain within a time window.
- Fragmentation switch threshold — Tab switches within five minutes that trigger a fragmentation notification.
- Data retention — Older sessions may be pruned after this many days.
- Notifications — Master switch for optional browser notifications.
- Outcome prompts — Setting stored for future use.
Export JSON downloads your ledger and settings. Clear all data removes sessions and related state (with confirmation); settings remain unless you reset them. Reset settings restores defaults.
8. Notifications
Optional messages when you revisit a domain often enough (loop) or switch tabs very frequently in a short window (fragmentation). Cooldowns and a daily cap limit noise.
9. Cognitive cost & fragmentation
Cognitive cost — computed on-device from session length, tab/domain switches, and revisits. Single index for within-ledger comparison; not intelligence, health, HR, or clinical measurement.
Fragmentation — 0–100 style score from switch rate; band labels are descriptive for the ledger only.
10. FAQ
Why is intent “unknown”? The extension ships a large built-in list of common domains (from public rankings), but the web is huge — intent stays a rough heuristic. Use Options → domain map or bookmark import for sites you care about.
Incognito? Not tracked in this build.
Edge / Brave / other Chromium? Use the official store listing when your browser supports it; policies differ by browser and version.
11. Publisher & site
Cognitive Ledger is published by Berta / Rondanini Publishing Ltd. Product pages on this site: Home · Privacy overview · Support.