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A link can say more about you than the page it opens.

A link to a rain jacket in a shop's newsletter often carries extra parts after the address: which newsletter you came from, which campaign, and sometimes an ID that is unique to your click. Share that link with a friend and those parts travel with it.

QR codes add a second problem. You cannot read one before you scan it, and a sticker over the real code looks just the same.

So we built CheckLink, the newest app in Stormberry Labs.

Paste a link, share one into it from any app, or scan a QR code, and it shows what the link holds before anything is opened. The parts that tell Google, Meta, Amazon and others about your click are marked in red, each with who learns it and what it tells. Untick anything you want to keep, such as an affiliate tag that pays a creator you want to support, then copy or share the clean link.

For QR codes it says in plain words what the code holds. A web address gets the full link check, and Wi-Fi details, contacts and payment requests are described. Payment requests are shown, never paid.

It also points out signs worth a second look, such as a name that looks like a known brand's or an address hidden inside another. When it finds nothing, it says so, and reminds you that this does not prove a site is genuine.

The app asks for one permission, the camera, and only when you press Scan. It has no internet permission at all, so the app itself cannot send what you check anywhere.

Free, no account, open source. Version 0.0.1, our first and early release, on Android through Zapstore.

Get it on Android through Zapstore: zapstore.dev/apps/no.stormberry.checklink

Or check a link in your browser: check.stormberry.as

The code is open for anyone to check: github.com/StormberryAS/CheckLink

It is the newest app in Stormberry Labs, where we build a functioning prototype to start an idea. If you have one sitting at that stage, we are glad to talk.

A photo can say more than it shows, starting with where you stood when you took it.

Most phone cameras write the date and time to the second and the phone model into every photo, and if you ever let the camera use your location, the GPS position too. Many dedicated cameras add their serial number, and cameras and editing software can add your name.

Some platforms remove this when you upload. A photo sent as an email attachment, as a file in a chat or through a shared folder link usually keeps all of it.

So we built MetadataScrubber, the newest app in Stormberry Labs.

Choose a photo and it lists what the file carries besides the picture, sorted into red, amber and green by how much each detail gives away, from where and who to hidden extras such as a built-in preview that can still show the photo before it was cropped. The red items, the ones to remove before sharing publicly, are ticked for you. Also consider ticking amber before sharing publicly.

Removing these hidden details leaves the picture itself untouched: nothing is re-saved and no quality is lost. If one of your choices would re-save it, the page tells you before you press the button. Then it reads the new file back and shows you what is left, because trust comes from showing, not claiming.

Everything runs on your own device, and you can test that yourself: load the page, switch off your network, and it keeps working. The page's own security policy also stops it from uploading anything.

JPEG, PNG, WebP and HEIC. Free, no account, open source. Also available for Android phones at Zapstore.

Try it on a photo you were about to share: metadata.stormberry.as

On Android, get it through Zapstore: zapstore.dev/apps/no.stormberry.metadatascrubber

The code is open for anyone to check: github.com/StormberryAS/MetadataScrubber

It is the newest app in Stormberry Labs, where we build a functioning prototype to start an idea. If you have one sitting at that stage, we are glad to talk.