January 6, 2026
Privacy or PR-ivacy?
Show HN: Prism.Tools – Free and privacy-focused developer utilities
Free dev tools promise privacy — users cheer, skeptics question GitHub hosting
TLDR: A new free toolbox promises privacy by keeping everything in your browser. The crowd loves the convenience, but a loud debate erupted over GitHub hosting and memorability, with purists doubting the “privacy” claim and power users pushing keyboard-first designs and self-hosted alternatives.
A developer dropped a buffet of free, browser-only utilities — think code prettifiers, image tools, password makers, and even a token decoder — all with the promise that “data never leaves your browser.” The crowd clapped, one fan called it a testament to the power of the web, and the vibe was “finally, a toolbox that doesn’t nag me.”
Then the plot twist: privacy hawks swooped in. One commenter side-eyed the “privacy” claim because it’s hosted on GitHub Pages, implying big platforms might still log visits. Cue debate: can a site be private if the host can see you? Meanwhile, power users flexed their keyboard cred — lukaslukas bragged their version has “no clicking required, you can only use keys.” Another mood: people love these sites but forget them when they need them, giving shoutouts to the legendary CyberChef as the one tool everyone actually remembers. Practical folks suggested self-hosted bundles like it-tools to solve both privacy and memory.
The drama boils down to three camps: the cheer squad loving the convenience, the privacy purists calling out GitHub hosting, and the keyboard warriors dunking on clicks. Jokes flew about needing a QR code for your brain and naming your tool like a pop hit so people don’t forget it. Internet, never change.
Key Points
- •Prism.Tools offers a free collection of browser-based developer utilities emphasizing privacy (“data never leaves your browser”).
- •The site includes formatting tools such as code, JSON, and SQL formatters, plus YAML ↔ JSON conversion.
- •Conversion and generation capabilities cover CURL to Fetch, SVG to JSX, JSON to TypeScript, UUIDs, passwords, and hashes (MD5, SHA-256, SHA-512).
- •Testing and utility tools include a JWT decoder, regex tester, diff checker, URL parser, and various encoders/decoders (Base64, URL, HTML).
- •Design and web helpers include an SVG editor, CSS gradient/shadow/grid/timing tools, favicon and QR code generators, meta tags and robots.txt generators.