Lastline: Free Chrome Extension for Auto Reading Position

🥕 FREE CHROME EXTENSION

Lastline — Auto Reading Position Saver

Lastline remembers exactly where you stopped reading on any webpage and takes you right back — auto-scroll saver with highlights, markers and bookmarks.

Get Pro → Install Free on Chrome Web Store →

Lastline — Auto Reading Position Saver

Never lose your place on the web again. Automatically remembers where you stopped on any webpage and takes you right back.

Lastline is a Chrome extension that automatically saves your scroll position on every webpage you read. Unlike bookmarking or remembering a page number, Lastline works in the background — no clicks, no manual saving, no effort. When you return to any page you've read before, it takes you right back to the exact spot where you left off, even if the page has changed since your last visit.

Core Philosophy

• Zero-effort tracking: Works automatically in the background — no clicks, no manual saves, no mental overhead.
• Anchor-based restoration: Finds your spot using text you read, not just a percentage — so it works even if the page reflows, ads load, or content shifts.
• Free first: Core save/restore, history (last 10 pages), and quick bookmarks (3 per page) are free forever.
• Privacy-respecting: Everything stays local to your browser. No accounts, no servers, no telemetry.
• Works everywhere: Every normal webpage (http/https) — articles, documentation, long-form content, forums, blogs.

What It Does

📍

Auto-save position

As you scroll, your position is saved automatically. No bookmarking, no clicking — just read.

🔍

Anchor-based restore

Finds your spot using text you read, not just a percentage — so it works even if the page changes.

📊

Progress bar

A subtle, always-visible progress bar at the top of every page shows how far you've read.

📖

History & jump-back

Last 10 pages saved (free) — click any to jump straight back to where you left off.

🖱️

Right-click controls

Jump to position, save now, or toggle tracking — all from the context menu.

⌨️

Keyboard shortcuts

Alt+Shift+J to jump, Alt+Shift+S to save — instantly, from anywhere.

⭐

Quick bookmarks

Mark key positions with a single click — up to 3 per page, free forever.

🔄

SPA-aware

Detects route changes in single-page apps (Gmail, Twitter, etc.) and saves/restores correctly.

How It Works

Lastline uses a two-layer approach to find your position, making it more reliable than plain percentage-based savers:

1. Text Anchor (Primary)

When you scroll, Lastline captures a short snippet of text from the center of your viewport — the text you were actually reading. On return, it searches for that exact snippet in the page's current DOM. This works even if:

• An ad loads above the content
• Comments expand or collapse
• The page reflows due to font changes or window size
• Images finish loading and shift layout

2. Scroll Fraction (Fallback)

If the text snippet can't be found (e.g., the page content has changed completely, or the text was in a dynamic element that was removed), Lastline falls back to a scroll percentage — the same method most competitors use, but only as a backup.

3. Visual Marker

After restoring, a brief visual marker (underline glow, highlight, badge, or side indicator) appears where you left off, then fades away — so you know exactly where you were without the marker being distracting.

Free vs Pro ($5/mo)

Feature	Free	Pro
Auto-save scroll position	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Anchor-based restore	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Progress bar (basic)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Quick bookmarks (3 per page)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Right-click menu & shortcuts	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Per-site toggle & global on/off	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
History pages saved	Last 10	Unlimited
Highlights (total)	Up to 50	Unlimited
Custom progress bar color	❌ No	✅ Yes
Named markers (unlimited)	❌ No	✅ Yes
Reading dashboard (minutes read, pages, streak)	❌ No	✅ Yes
Export/Import all data	❌ No	✅ Yes
Cross-device sync (settings)	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

💡 Core reading experience is free forever. Pro adds convenience and power — unlimited history, unlimited highlights, named markers, reading stats, and customization. Get Pro →

Key Features Explained

Auto-Save & Restore

Lastline saves your position automatically as you scroll — no clicks required. When you revisit a page, it restores your position instantly. The save is debounced (0.6s) so it doesn't write to storage on every pixel scrolled.

⚠️ Important: Pages shorter than 400px of scrollable area are not saved — they don't need tracking since you can see the whole page at once.

Progress Bar

A subtle, always-visible strip at the very top of every page shows your reading progress. It updates smoothly as you scroll. The basic amber color is free; custom colors are Pro.

Text Highlights

Select any text on a page, and a small floating toolbar appears. Choose a color (yellow, green, blue, pink) to highlight the text. Highlights persist across visits and can be annotated with notes.

⚠️ Free limit: 50 highlights total. Pro unlocks unlimited highlights.

Markers vs Bookmarks

Two distinct ways to mark positions:

• ⭐ Quick Bookmarks (Free): Unnamed, auto-labeled bookmarks. Right-click "Quick Bookmark This Position" or use the popup. Up to 3 per page.
• 📍 Named Markers (Pro): Named, unlimited markers. Right-click "Add Named Marker Here (Pro)" — give it a name, and it appears in the popup's Markers list, ready to jump to.

Reading Dashboard (Pro)

Track your reading habits: total minutes read, pages read, and your current streak (consecutive days with reading activity). Time is counted only while the tab is visible — a background tab doesn't count as reading.

History & Jump-Back

The popup shows your last 10 saved pages (free) or unlimited (Pro). Each entry shows the page title, favicon, progress percentage, and time since last saved. Click "Jump" to open the page at your last position.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Alt+Shift+J — Jump to last saved position on this page
• Alt+Shift+S — Save current position now

Customize these anytime at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

Right-Click Context Menu

Right-click anywhere on a page to access:

• 📖 Jump to Last Saved Position
• 💾 Save Position Now
• 📍 Add Named Marker Here (Pro)
• ⭐ Quick Bookmark This Position
• Toggle Tracking for This Site

Per-Site Controls

Use the popup's dropdown to exclude a site from tracking entirely. Excluded sites won't save or restore positions, and no progress bar or highlights will appear.

SPA / Single-Page App Support

Many modern sites (Gmail, Twitter/X, Reddit, etc.) load content dynamically without a full page reload. Lastline detects these route changes and saves/restores positions correctly for each page within the same app.

Custom Scroll Containers (Advanced)

For sites where the page itself doesn't scroll — only an inner panel does (chat apps, embedded editors, code editors) — you can configure a custom scroll container selector per hostname in Settings. This is a typed CSS selector, not a visual picker (you'll need to find the selector via DevTools).

⚠️ Note: Custom containers use fraction-only restoration. The anchor-based text restoration and visual marker are not supported for custom containers this round.

Technical Details

How Position Restoration Works

Step 1: On every scroll, Lastline captures your current scroll fraction plus a text snippet from the center of your viewport.

Step 2: On return, it searches for that text snippet in the current DOM.

Step 3: If found, it scrolls to that element's position plus an offset (1/3 of viewport height).

Step 4: If not found, it falls back to the saved scroll fraction.

Step 5: A visual marker appears at the restored position, then fades away.

Data Storage

• Storage: All data (history, highlights, markers, bookmarks, settings) is stored in chrome.storage.local — local to your browser only.
• Sync: Settings (global toggle, site rules, preferences) sync across devices via chrome.storage.sync. Bulk data (history, highlights, markers) stays local due to Chrome's sync size limits.
• Privacy: No data leaves your browser. No accounts, no servers, no telemetry.

URL Normalization

Lastline strips common tracking parameters from URLs (utm_*, fbclid, gclid, msclkid, etc.) so that the same page with different tracking codes doesn't appear as multiple entries in your history. Content-differentiating parameters (like ?page=2) are preserved.

SPA Route Detection

Lastline patches history.pushState and history.replaceState to detect route changes in SPAs, and listens for popstate events (back/forward navigation). On each route change, it restores the position for the new route and saves the position for the outgoing route.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

⚠️ Expecting highlights to work across page reloads without saving
Highlights are saved automatically — they persist across visits. If a highlight doesn't appear after reloading, check that you're on the same URL and that you haven't exceeded the 50-highlight free limit.

⚠️ Using the extension on browser internal pages (chrome://)
Lastline works only on normal web pages (http:// or https://). Browser internal pages can't be scripted by any extension.

⚠️ Confusing markers with bookmarks
Quick Bookmarks (free) are auto-labeled, capped at 3 per page. Named Markers (Pro) are user-named, unlimited. They appear in separate lists in the popup.

⚠️ Expecting custom scroll containers to support visual markers
Custom containers use fraction-only restoration. The anchor-based text restoration and visual marker are not supported for custom containers in this version.

Quick Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Alt+Shift+J	Jump to last saved position on this page
Alt+Shift+S	Save current position now

Right-Click Menu

Menu Item	Action
📖 Jump to Last Saved Position	Scroll to your last saved spot
💾 Save Position Now	Manually save current scroll position
📍 Add Named Marker Here Pro	Create a named marker at this position
⭐ Quick Bookmark This Position	Save an unnamed bookmark (free, 3/page)
Toggle Tracking for This Site	Enable/disable tracking for current domain

Free vs Pro Limits

Item	Free	Pro
History entries	10	Unlimited
Highlights total	50	Unlimited
Quick bookmarks per page	3	3 (fixed)
Named markers	0	Unlimited
Custom progress bar color	❌	✅
Reading dashboard	❌	✅
Export/Import	❌	✅

Worked Example — Reading a Long Article

Scenario: You're reading a 10,000-word technical guide

1. Open the page — Lastline hasn't saved a position yet, so nothing happens.

2. Scroll to page 40% — Lastline saves your position automatically (debounced, after you stop scrolling for 0.6s).

3. Close the tab — Lastline also saves on tab close as a safety net.

4. Reopen the page the next day — Lastline finds the text snippet from the center of where you were reading and scrolls you exactly to that spot.

5. A brief amber underline glow appears — marking exactly where you left off, then fades away.

6. Continue reading from 40% — you never lost your place.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Lastline work on pages that change content dynamically?

Lastline uses two methods: a text snippet from the center of your viewport (primary) and a scroll percentage (fallback). The text snippet approach works even if the page reflows, ads load, or new content is inserted above your position. If the exact snippet can't be found (e.g., the page content has changed entirely), it falls back to the percentage.

Does Lastline work on PDFs or other non-HTML content?

No — Lastline works only on normal web pages (HTML content served over http/https). PDFs, images, and other non-HTML content are not supported.

What happens if I clear my browser data?

All Lastline data (history, highlights, markers, bookmarks, settings) is stored in Chrome's local storage. If you clear browsing data and select "Cookies and other site data" or "Cached images and files," you'll lose your Lastline data. To keep your data, export it first (Pro) or avoid clearing storage.

Does Lastline track my browsing history?

Lastline tracks only the pages you've read, and only to save your position. It does not track your browsing history in the traditional sense — no timeline, no URLs beyond your saved positions, no telemetry, no data sent anywhere.

How do I activate Pro after purchasing?

After purchasing on Gumroad, check your receipt email for your License Key. Open Lastline → Settings → paste your key → click Verify. Pro unlocks immediately.

What's the difference between a bookmark and a marker?

Quick Bookmarks (free) are unnamed, auto-labeled, capped at 3 per page. Named Markers (Pro) are user-named, unlimited, and appear in the popup's Markers list. Both let you jump to specific positions, but markers are more powerful and organized.

Does Lastline work in incognito mode?

Yes, if you enable the extension in incognito mode. In Chrome, go to chrome://extensions, find Lastline, and toggle "Allow in incognito." Data in incognito is stored separately and cleared when the incognito window closes.

Why are some pages not showing in my history?

Pages shorter than 400px of scrollable content are not saved — they don't need tracking. Also, if you've excluded the site via the popup's "Track this site" dropdown, no data is saved for that domain.

Accuracy Statement

Lastline's anchor-based restoration is tested against real-world scenarios: pages with ads that load after initial render, pages with dynamic comments, pages where the text is still present but the layout has shifted, and pages where the text is no longer present (falling back to percentage). The scroll-fraction math is tested against 6 scenarios, including pages shorter than the viewport (no scrollable area) and scroll positions at extremes.

Feedback & Support

• Privacy Policy: ExtensionHub Privacy Policy
• Contact: Contact Me
• User Guide: Lastline Guide
• Homepage: ExtensionHub.app

Lastline v1.0.0 — Never lose your place on the web again.