Sync or Store Data Locally in Helperbird
Decide whether Helperbird keeps its data on one device only. What stays behind, what is unaffected, and how to move settings between computers without sync.
On this page
This page is for deciding whether Helperbird should keep its data on one device. The Sync toggle that does it lives in the Settings card on the Helperbird settings page, in the Info list. How to Sync Your Helperbird Settings Across Devices has the steps for turning it on.
Reasons to Keep Data on One Device
- A shared or public computer, where your setup should not follow the next person.
- A school or library machine that several students sign in to.
- You want a different setup at work and at home.
- You keep a lot of notes or highlights and would rather they stayed put than half travelled.
- Your school or workplace has turned browser sync off, so Helperbird's sync has nothing to write to.
What Stays on the Device
With Sync off, everything Helperbird saves for you is written to that one computer:
- Fonts, colors, spacing and feature toggles.
- Highlights, sticky notes, notes and the reading list.
Nothing you change reaches your other computers, and nothing from them reaches here.
What Sync Off Does Not Affect
Your subscription. Turning Sync off does not drop you to Free. Helperbird still checks synced storage for your license key when it is not on the device.
Settings pushed by your school or workplace. Managed settings are read whichever way the toggle is set, so an admin deployment works in either mode.
Switching Does Not Move Your Data
Switching the toggle changes where Helperbird reads and writes. It does not copy anything across.
Your old settings stay in the place you switched away from, untouched. Switch back and they return. In between, Helperbird can look like a fresh install. That is the empty side of the switch, not lost data.
Moving Settings Without Sync
To carry a setup to another computer with Sync off, export your settings on one device and import them on the other.
An export file never holds your subscription key, your subscription details, this storage choice, or your managed policy. Import strips the same list. So a file from a school machine cannot change a personal one's storage mode, its license, or its admin lock.
Why Notes and Highlights Can Stop Travelling
This one applies with Sync on. Browser sync caps how big a single stored item can be, at 8 KB. Helperbird splits your highlights, sticky notes, notes and reading list into smaller pieces so they fit.
When one of those collections outgrows what sync will hold, Helperbird saves it to this device instead, so nothing is lost. Your other settings keep syncing, and that collection stops travelling while it is over the limit.
If that has happened to you, Helperbird Settings Not Syncing Between Devices has the fix.
Video Tutorial
Need Additional Help?
Not sure which setting suits your situation? Reach out to our Helperbird support team and we will help you pick.
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Printed from the Helperbird Help Center · Updated August 13th, 2026
Questions? We are happy to help — helperbird.com/support