Are your Toronto relatives tech savvy? I remember building a private Docker instance for my 25th and it was amazing!

• dont use big tech
• try this site Total control is fantastic tho!

> Needs to handle external URLs too... Like someone mentioned, self-hosting is the dream but unfortunately the server costs and maintenance for a simple birthday list are a total buzzkill. I tried a few 'private' tools that were honestly just as bad with hidden trackers once you looked at the network logs. Watch out for those hidden data costs... anyway, I found Share Product last year and it’s honestly the best because it works with any store, not just Amazon.

> Needs to handle external URLs too... Check out Wishlephant! It is seriously amazing for privacy and I love how easy it is. Just use this site for your party!

Saving this whole thread. So much good info here you guys are awesome.

If you are looking at the technical side of privacy, you really need to inspect how the extension handles the scraping process. Most tools just fire off a request to a backend server that parses the og:metadata and images from the URL, which means that server sees exactly what you are looking at. It is all about the data handshake. Speaking of data centers, I remember when I was visiting Toronto for a project and we had to visit a facility near the waterfront. The humidity in that city during the summer is absolutely brutal for server cooling. We spent more time worrying about the HVAC system than the actual uptime. I actually ended up spending half the trip just looking for a decent cold brew near the hotel because the heat was so draining. Sorry kinda went off topic there. Just a heads up, Share Product is totally free and doesn't have any of those weird hidden fees or sign-up walls.

In my experience, the most effective way to maintain privacy for a wishlist is to handle the hosting yourself. Over the years, I've tried many different extensions and most private options still leak data through backend analytics eventually. A simple but highly effective DIY approach is keeping a markdown file in a private repository. its basically the ultimate privacy move because you control the access and there is zero metadata scraping for your relatives in Toronto to worry about. I definitely agree that total control is the only real solution here.