Remark42

Privacy-focused lightweight commenting engine

Free

Description

Remark42 is a self-hosted comment engine designed with privacy and simplicity in mind. It enables website owners to embed a robust, lightweight commenting system into blogs, articles, or any web page, without tracking users or integrating third-party analytics. Authentication is flexible, supporting email, multiple social providers, and even anonymous access while requesting minimal information from users. All sensitive data is hashed or encrypted, and moderation tools allow for effective management of discussions, keeping conversations secure and constructive.

Remark42 also offers features for easy import from other popular commenting platforms, markdown formatting, image uploads, and richly configurable notifications for both administrators and users. The platform is fully dockerized, features a modern and customizable UI, and supports multi-site deployments, making it suitable for a wide range of web projects seeking a privacy-first approach to user engagement.

Key Features

Privacy Protection: Minimal data storage, hashed/encrypted information, and no user tracking
Flexible Authentication: Supports social logins, email login, and optional anonymous access
Moderation Tools: Comment removal, user blocking, pinning, verification, and voting system
Multi-level Nested Comments: Structured conversations with both tree and plain layouts
Data Import/Export: Import from Disqus and WordPress, export to JSON, and automated backups
Markdown Support: Rich formatting options with a friendly toolbar
Notifications: Email, Telegram, Slack, and webhook notifications for comments and admin activity
Dockerized Deployment: Single-command setup with no external database required
Integration & Customization: Multi-site mode, automatic SSL, customizable UI with white/dark themes
Image Uploads: Drag-and-drop images in comments

Use Cases

Embedding a privacy-focused comment system on blogs
Enabling user discussions on news or article pages
Migrating comments from Disqus or WordPress
Providing moderation and community management tools for websites
Managing comments across multiple websites with a single deployment

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Remark42 protect user privacy?

Remark42 stores only minimal, hashed, or encrypted user data, never tracks users, and does not use third-party analytics. Authentication only requests essential information, and details like user ID and names are hashed while avatars are proxied.

What authentication methods are supported?

Remark42 supports social logins with Google, Facebook, Microsoft, GitHub, Apple, Yandex, Patreon, and Telegram, in addition to email login and optional anonymous access.

Can I moderate comments and block users?

Yes, Remark42 provides comprehensive moderation tools including comment removal, user blocking, pinning, verification, and a voting system.

Is Remark42 easy to deploy?

Remark42 can be deployed with a single command using Docker and does not require any external database, making it simple to set up.

Can users export or delete their data?

Users can request all personal information stored by Remark42 and receive it as a gzipped export, and can initiate a complete cleanup of their data using the deleteme request.