New Zealand’s own browser —
built to be loyal to you.
Most browsers are made by companies that profit from watching you. We think that’s backwards. Velnode is built in Aotearoa by Dignity New Zealand — an independent team making a browser that answers to the people who use it, not to advertisers.
Why we exist
Your browser sees everything. It should be on your side.
Your browser is the most intimate software you own — everything you read, search, watch and buy passes through it. Most browsers are built by companies whose business is turning that into ad profiles. That’s not a flaw in those products; it’s the point of them.
We started from the opposite belief: the software closest to your life should be the most trustworthy, not the least. Velnode is built so it can’t quietly work against you.
Who we are
Dignity New Zealand
We’re Dignity New Zealand — an independent software company building tools that treat people with dignity. Not as users to be optimised, or data to be sold, or attention to be harvested. As people.
That word — dignity — is the whole brief. A browser with dignity keeps your secrets, asks before it acts, and never pretends a dark pattern is a feature. It’s the standard we hold every part of Velnode to.
Made in Aotearoa
Built here, for our community — and yours.
Velnode is New Zealand–built, developed under the NZ Privacy Act 2020 — one of the stronger privacy frameworks in the world. We build for our community first, and for everyone, anywhere, who’s had enough of being watched.
NZ Privacy Act 2020
Strong baseline privacy obligations, and no part in any mass-surveillance arrangement.
Independent for good
No VC firm, no parent company. Your interests never compete with a growth mandate.
A simple stake
We want Velnode to be the browser you reach for once you’ve had enough of being watched.
What we stand for
Six things we won’t compromise on
Principles, not slogans — they shape what we build and what we refuse to.
Your data is yours
It’s yours — sealed so we can’t read or sell it. Today it lives on your device by default.
No investors to please
We’re independent. Our only mandate is the people who use Velnode.
Free forever, in full
Browser, vault, local Vee and zero-knowledge sync stay free — every feature unlocked.
Private by default
Your AI and your data run on your machine today. The cloud is opt-in, never assumed.
No dark patterns
Plain-English policies, honest defaults, and an off switch you can actually find.
Built to last
Not a flip, not a moonshot. A browser you can trust for the long run.
The money question
How Velnode is funded
No tracking ads. We never sell your data. No outside investors. Here’s how the project stays alive.
The full browser, vault, local Vee, and zero-knowledge sync stay free.
An optional paid add-on for hosted Vee AI, higher sync quotas, and support.
Gifts from people who want an independent browser to survive — no strings attached.
The road so far
What’s been built
From a local-first data layer to a signed plugin store — built iteratively, shipped in public.
Local-first core
All browsing data in on-device JSON files — file-backed, append-only, never localStorage. Yours.
Vee — the on-device AI
A local assistant that summarises, searches and answers using only your data. Cloud AI optional, with your own key.
Password Vault
On-device encrypted vault — passphrase-locked, 24-word recovery, optional zero-knowledge cloud sync.
Veehive plugin store
Ed25519-signed bundles, per-capability gating, consent UI, and 10 first-party plugins off by default.
Zero-knowledge sync
Optional cross-device sync — sealed on your device first. We hold ciphertext, not your browsing.
Pro tier
Hosted Vee AI, higher limits, priority support — optional, never required for the browser.
A browser that’s on your side.
If that’s the kind of internet you want, come build it with us — by using Velnode, telling a friend, or chipping in.
What’s next
Where Velnode is headed
We build in the open and ship when it’s ready — no fixed dates, no hype.
- 🧠 A stronger built-in AI — a more capable on-device model for Vee
- 🔏 Code-signed installers + automatic updates — no more “unknown publisher” warning
- 🍎 🐧 macOS and Linux versions
- 🧩 More Veehive plugins — new first-party tools, with a developer platform later
- 🛡️ VPN, your way — any VPN works today, browser-only routing (SOCKS5), and Tor mode; a built-in Velnode VPN is planned for a future release
- ☁️ Velnode Pro (optional) — hosted AI with no API key needed; cloud sync stays free for everyone