How account linking works
Why the extension and webapp use separate sessions under one account.
The extension and the webapp dashboard share one Thumbsy account, but each keeps its own sign-in session rather than sharing a single token.
Why
If both sides shared one session, signing out of the dashboard — or the dashboard rotating its session for security — could unexpectedly break the extension's ability to save thumbnails. Keeping them independent means:
- Signing out of the extension doesn't sign you out of the dashboard, or vice versa
- A session refresh on one side never invalidates the other
- Your saves keep working even if you're only "logged in" on one side at a given moment
How it happens
When you click Open Library from the extension popup, your extension session is used to mint a separate webapp session behind the scenes — you land on the dashboard already signed in, without re-entering credentials. The two sessions stay independent from that point on.
You won't notice this in normal use; it's worth knowing mainly so that "I signed out of the dashboard but the extension still works" makes sense rather than looking like a bug.