Hi again 👋 This is my second Kanban tab launch after 5 years.
In 2020, I was stuck on a mountain in Malaysia during the Covid lockdown. My internet was incredibly unreliable, and I got frustrated waiting for heavy project management tools like Trello to load every time I opened a new tab to check my tasks. I wanted something that felt instant, worked offline, and didn’t require a 10 second loading screen.
While the original version worked well for the desktop, I felt that for a productivity tool to be truly effective, it needed to be ubiquitous, without compromising user privacy.
So, for this second launch, my approach changed from “just a simple extension” to a “privacy-first ecosystem”. The two biggest hurdles I wanted to address were mobile sync and data security.
🔐 End-to-end encryption: Most “compatible” apps have access to your data. I didn’t want it. I implemented client-side AES-256 encryption, meaning your work gets encrypted before it hits my server. I can’t even read them.
⚡ Speed: To keep it lightweight and quick, I stayed away from heavy frameworks. It’s built with vanilla JS, IndexedDB, and WebWorkers. It loads exactly as fast as your browser can open a tab.
📱 Cross Platform: I’ve finally brought it to mobile (Android so far) via Capacitor, so your native-first board syncs in realtime via WebSockets.
🚫 Zero Friction: I still believe in the “no-sign-up” experience. You can try the entire app instantly without handing over an email address.
I myself have been using KanbanTab daily, and currently we have a stable user base of about 80 daily active users. My biggest challenge is staying minimal while still being powerful. What is a ‘must have’ feature that will make you switch your daily workflow to a new tab board like Kanban Tab?
I’ll be here all day to answer questions about tech stacks, encryption, or my time on that mountain in Malaysia! 🤠