1.
You Install the App
Add the Chrome extension in one click, or install the small desktop app for Mac or Windows. There is no account to make, no form to fill, and no payment. The install takes about ten seconds.
how does idleforest work
How IdleForest Works
IdleForest runs in the background and uses the internet bandwidth you are not using. It routes small, paid data tasks through your spare connection, and it sends the money from those tasks to verified tree-planting partners. You pay nothing, and you never change how you browse. Install it once, and it plants trees while you go about your day.
Featured on Chrome Web Store · 4.8 ★ from 33 reviews · 5,364 verified trees planted
Spare bandwidth
Sessionless data tasks
Paid by companies
Funds verified trees
What Idle Bandwidth Is
Most of the time, your internet connection sits idle. Even with your browser open, you use only a small slice of what your connection can carry. The rest goes to waste.
Idle bandwidth is that unused capacity. IdleForest borrows it, and only it. Your browsing, streaming, and downloads always come first, so you keep the full speed you pay for. The moment you need the connection, the app steps back.
How the App Turns Bandwidth Into Trees
Four things happen between the moment you install the app and the moment a tree goes in the ground. Here is the full chain.
2.
It Runs Small Data Tasks in the Background
The app sends small data tasks through your spare bandwidth, such as uptime checks and market-research queries. These tasks are sessionless. They carry no cookies, no personal details, and no part of your browsing history.
3.
Companies Pay for Those Tasks
Businesses pay to run these tasks across many connections at once. Your share is small on its own. Across every user running the app, it adds up to real money each month.
4.
The Money Funds Verified Tree Planting
IdleForest passes that money to its reforestation partners, Trees for the Future, Tree-Nation, and 1ClickImpact, who plant the trees and verify them on the ground. You can watch the totals climb on the impact page.
What Data Moves Through Your Connection
The tasks that run through your connection are automated data requests from paying clients. Think of them as small lookups: is this website up, what does this product cost in this region. They have nothing to do with you.
Your logins, your files, your accounts, and your browsing history never enter the process. Each task is sessionless, so there are no cookies and no identifiers tied to it. The app does not read your tabs, your bookmarks, or your search history.
Because the app uses only spare capacity, your own browsing always takes priority. You can see the full breakdown of task types in our transparency report, and how we handle data in our privacy policy.
Read our privacy policyWhy Fund Trees This Way
Data tasks like these run across the internet every second of the day. The capacity to carry them already exists, sitting idle on millions of connections. IdleForest channels a slice of that demand into reforestation instead of letting it go to waste.
It also keeps some of this work off the large data centers that handle it today, which carry their own energy cost. The result is the same trees, funded by capacity you were not using anyway, at no cost to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IdleForest really free?
Yes. There is no cost, no subscription, and no donation. You do not pay, and you are not asked to. The trees are funded by the revenue from idle bandwidth tasks, not by you.
Will it slow down my computer or internet?
No. The app uses only the bandwidth you are not using, and it steps aside the moment you need it. When you start a video call, open a heavy site, or download a file, IdleForest backs off. Your browsing keeps its full speed.
What data passes through my connection?
Automated data requests from paying clients, such as uptime checks and price lookups. None of it is yours. Your logins, files, and browsing history never enter the process, and the tasks carry no cookies or identifiers.
Is it safe to install?
Yes. IdleForest is featured on the Chrome Web Store and rated 4.8 stars from 33 reviews. The app runs in the background and touches only spare bandwidth, not your personal data.
Can I use it with Ecosia or another search engine?
Yes. IdleForest does not change your search engine, your browser, or any setting. It runs alongside whatever you already use, including Ecosia, Brave, and Firefox. You can stack the impact.
Can I use it with EcosiaHow much bandwidth does it use?
Only what is spare. The app reads how much capacity is free and uses a small part of it. When your connection gets busy, it backs off on its own, so you do not notice it running.
How do I know the trees are real?
The money goes to named reforestation partners who plant and verify the trees on the ground. You can see the running totals and the partners on the transparency page, with reports from each partner.
Does it work on mobile?
Not yet. IdleForest runs as a Chrome extension and as a desktop app for Mac and Windows. Mobile networks carry far less idle bandwidth than home connections, so a mobile version is on the roadmap but not live.
How do I pause or uninstall it?
You can pause it at any time from the extension menu, or remove it like any other extension or program. Once removed, no bandwidth is used and no data is collected. The trees you have already funded stay funded.
Start Planting Trees in 10 Seconds
Install it once, change nothing, and let it run. Your spare bandwidth does the rest.