diff --git a/extensions/src/hello-world/web-views/hello-world.web-view.tsx b/extensions/src/hello-world/web-views/hello-world.web-view.tsx
index 361b13b864..54f4bb3d29 100644
--- a/extensions/src/hello-world/web-views/hello-world.web-view.tsx
+++ b/extensions/src/hello-world/web-views/hello-world.web-view.tsx
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ papi
 globalThis.webViewComponent = function HelloWorld() {
   const test = useContext(TestContext) || "Context didn't work!! :(";
 
-  const [clicks, setClicks] = useState(0);
+  const [clicks, setClicks] = globalThis.useWebViewState<number>('clicks', 0);
   const [rows, setRows] = useState(initializeRows());
   const [selectedRows, setSelectedRows] = useState(new Set<Key>());
   const [scrRef, setScrRef] = useSetting('platform.verseRef', defaultScrRef);
@@ -67,7 +67,12 @@ globalThis.webViewComponent = function HelloWorld() {
   // Update the clicks when we are informed helloWorld has been run
   useEvent(
     'helloWorld.onHelloWorld',
-    useCallback(({ times }: HelloWorldEvent) => setClicks(times), []),
+    useCallback(
+      ({ times }: HelloWorldEvent) => {
+        if (times > clicks) setClicks(times);
+      },
+      [clicks, setClicks],
+    ),
   );
 
   const [echoResult] = usePromise(
diff --git a/lib/papi-dts/papi.d.ts b/lib/papi-dts/papi.d.ts
index b0e5650ae1..7f0afb7f95 100644
--- a/lib/papi-dts/papi.d.ts
+++ b/lib/papi-dts/papi.d.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 /// <reference types="node" />
 declare module 'shared/global-this.model' {
   import { LogLevel } from 'electron-log';
-  import { FunctionComponent } from 'react';
+  import { FunctionComponent, Dispatch, SetStateAction } from 'react';
   /**
    * Variables that are defined in global scope. These must be defined in main.ts (main), index.ts (renderer), and extension-host.ts (extension host)
    */
@@ -20,9 +20,30 @@ declare module 'shared/global-this.model' {
     var logLevel: LogLevel;
     /**
      * A function that each React WebView extension must provide for Paranext to display it.
-     * Only used in WebView iframes
+     * Only used in WebView iframes.
      */
     var webViewComponent: FunctionComponent;
+    /**
+     * A React hook for working with a state object tied to a webview.
+     * Only used in WebView iframes.
+     * @param stateKey Key of the state value to use. The webview state holds a unique value per key.
+     * NOTE: `stateKey` needs to be a constant string, not something that could change during execution.
+     * @param defaultStateValue Value to use if the web view state didn't contain a value for the given 'stateKey'
+     * @returns string holding the state value and a function to use to update the state value
+     * @example const [lastPersonSeen, setLastPersonSeen] = useWebViewState('lastSeen');
+     */
+    var useWebViewState: <T>(
+      stateKey: string,
+      defaultStateValue: NonNullable<T>,
+    ) => [webViewState: NonNullable<T>, setWebViewState: Dispatch<SetStateAction<NonNullable<T>>>];
+    /**
+     * Retrieve the value from web view state with the given 'stateKey', if it exists.
+     */
+    var getWebViewState: <T>(stateKey: string) => T | undefined;
+    /**
+     * Set the value for a given key in the web view state.
+     */
+    var setWebViewState: <T>(stateKey: string, stateValue: NonNullable<T>) => void;
   }
   /** Type of Paranext process */
   export enum ProcessType {
@@ -1725,6 +1746,8 @@ declare module 'shared/data/web-view.model' {
     content: string;
     /** Name of the tab for the WebView */
     title?: string;
+    /** General object to store unique state for this webview */
+    state?: Record<string, string>;
   };
   /** WebView representation using React */
   export type WebViewDefinitionReact = WebViewDefinitionBase & {
@@ -1907,6 +1930,40 @@ declare module 'shared/log-error.model' {
     constructor(message?: string);
   }
 }
+declare module 'renderer/services/web-view-state.service' {
+  /**
+   * Get the web view state associated with the given ID
+   * This function is only intended to be used at startup. getWebViewState is intended for web views to call.
+   * @param id ID of the web view
+   * @returns state object of the given web view
+   */
+  export function getFullWebViewStateById(id: string): Record<string, string>;
+  /**
+   * Set the web view state associated with the given ID
+   * This function is only intended to be used at startup. setWebViewState is intended for web views to call.
+   * @param id ID of the web view
+   * @param state State to set for the given web view
+   */
+  export function setFullWebViewStateById(id: string, state: Record<string, string>): void;
+  /**
+   * Get the web view state associated with the given ID
+   * @param id ID of the web view
+   * @param stateKey Key used to retrieve the state value
+   * @returns string (if it exists) containing the state for the given key of the given web view
+   */
+  export function getWebViewStateById<T>(id: string, stateKey: string): T | undefined;
+  /**
+   * Set the web view state object associated with the given ID
+   * @param id ID of the web view
+   * @param stateKey Key for the associated state
+   * @param stateValue Value of the state for the given key of the given web view - must work with JSON.stringify/parse
+   */
+  export function setWebViewStateById<T>(id: string, stateKey: string, stateValue: T): void;
+  /** Purge any web view state that hasn't been touched since the process has been running.
+   *  Only call this once all web views have been loaded.
+   */
+  export function cleanupOldWebViewState(): void;
+}
 declare module 'shared/services/web-view.service' {
   import { Unsubscriber } from 'shared/utils/papi-util';
   import { MutableRefObject } from 'react';
diff --git a/src/renderer/global-this.model.ts b/src/renderer/global-this.model.ts
index ee1a0b074d..388db7fb07 100644
--- a/src/renderer/global-this.model.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/global-this.model.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ import * as SillsdevScripture from '@sillsdev/scripture';
 import { ProcessType } from '@shared/global-this.model';
 import papi, { Papi } from '@renderer/services/papi-frontend.service';
 import { getModuleSimilarApiMessage } from '@shared/utils/papi-util';
+import {
+  getWebViewStateById,
+  setWebViewStateById,
+} from '@renderer/services/web-view-state.service';
+import useWebViewState from '@renderer/hooks/use-webview-state';
 
 // #region webpack DefinePlugin types setup - these should be from the renderer webpack DefinePlugin
 
@@ -57,6 +62,9 @@ declare global {
   var createRoot: typeof ReactDOMClient.createRoot;
   var SillsdevScripture: SillsdevScriptureType;
   var webViewRequire: WebViewRequire;
+  // Web view state functions are used in the default imports for each webview in web-view.service.ts
+  var getWebViewStateById: <T>(id: string, stateKey: string) => T | undefined;
+  var setWebViewStateById: <T>(id: string, stateKey: string, stateValue: NonNullable<T>) => void;
 }
 /* eslint-enable */
 
@@ -81,5 +89,10 @@ globalThis.ReactDOMClient = ReactDOMClient;
 globalThis.createRoot = ReactDOMClient.createRoot;
 globalThis.SillsdevScripture = SillsdevScripture;
 globalThis.webViewRequire = webViewRequire;
+// We don't expose get/setWebViewStateById in PAPI because web views don't have access to IDs
+globalThis.getWebViewStateById = getWebViewStateById;
+globalThis.setWebViewStateById = setWebViewStateById;
+// We store the hook reference because we need it to bind it to the webview's iframe 'window' context
+globalThis.useWebViewState = useWebViewState;
 
 // #endregion
diff --git a/src/renderer/hooks/use-webview-state.ts b/src/renderer/hooks/use-webview-state.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c231f1523c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/hooks/use-webview-state.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { useState, useEffect, Dispatch, SetStateAction } from 'react';
+
+// We don't add this to PAPI directly like other hooks because `this` has to be bound to a web view's iframe context
+/** See src/shared/global-this.model.ts for normal hook documentation */
+export default function useWebViewState<T>(
+  this: {
+    getWebViewState: (stateKey: string) => T | undefined;
+    setWebViewState: (stateKey: string, stateValue: NonNullable<T>) => void;
+  },
+  stateKey: string,
+  defaultStateValue: NonNullable<T>,
+): [webViewState: NonNullable<T>, setWebViewState: Dispatch<SetStateAction<NonNullable<T>>>] {
+  const [state, setState] = useState(() => this.getWebViewState(stateKey) ?? defaultStateValue);
+
+  // Whenever the state changes, save the updated value
+  useEffect(() => {
+    this.setWebViewState(stateKey, state);
+  }, [stateKey, state]);
+
+  return [state, setState];
+}
diff --git a/src/renderer/index.tsx b/src/renderer/index.tsx
index 0886e42af9..d1747dea9e 100644
--- a/src/renderer/index.tsx
+++ b/src/renderer/index.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import * as webViewService from '@shared/services/web-view.service';
 import logger from '@shared/services/logger.service';
 import webViewProviderService from '@shared/services/web-view-provider.service';
 import App from './app.component';
+import { cleanupOldWebViewState } from './services/web-view-state.service';
 
 logger.info('Starting renderer');
 
@@ -18,3 +19,8 @@ webViewService.initialize();
 const container = document.getElementById('root');
 const root = createRoot(container as HTMLElement);
 root.render(<App />);
+
+// This doesn't run if the renderer has an uncaught exception (which is a good thing)
+window.addEventListener('beforeunload', () => {
+  cleanupOldWebViewState();
+});
diff --git a/src/renderer/services/web-view-state.service.ts b/src/renderer/services/web-view-state.service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1e9c167f40
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/renderer/services/web-view-state.service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+const WEBVIEW_STATE_KEY = 'web-view-state';
+const stateMap = new Map<string, Record<string, string>>();
+const idsLookedUp = new Set<string>();
+
+function loadIfNeeded(): void {
+  // If we have any data or tried to look something up, we've already loaded
+  if (stateMap.size > 0 || idsLookedUp.size > 0) return;
+
+  const serializedState = localStorage.getItem(WEBVIEW_STATE_KEY);
+  if (!serializedState) return;
+
+  const entries = JSON.parse(serializedState) as [[string, Record<string, string>]];
+  entries.forEach(([key, value]) => {
+    if (key && value) stateMap.set(key, value);
+  });
+}
+
+function save(): void {
+  // If no one looked anything up, don't overwrite anything
+  if (idsLookedUp.size <= 0) return;
+
+  const stateToSave = JSON.stringify(Array.from(stateMap.entries()));
+  localStorage.setItem(WEBVIEW_STATE_KEY, stateToSave);
+}
+
+function getRecord(id: string): Record<string, string> {
+  loadIfNeeded();
+  idsLookedUp.add(id);
+
+  const savedState = stateMap.get(id);
+  if (savedState) return savedState;
+
+  const newState = {};
+  stateMap.set(id, newState);
+  return newState;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get the web view state associated with the given ID
+ * This function is only intended to be used at startup. getWebViewState is intended for web views to call.
+ * @param id ID of the web view
+ * @returns state object of the given web view
+ */
+export function getFullWebViewStateById(id: string): Record<string, string> {
+  if (!id) throw new Error('id must be provided to get webview state');
+  return getRecord(id);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Set the web view state associated with the given ID
+ * This function is only intended to be used at startup. setWebViewState is intended for web views to call.
+ * @param id ID of the web view
+ * @param state State to set for the given web view
+ */
+export function setFullWebViewStateById(id: string, state: Record<string, string>): void {
+  if (!id || !state) throw new Error('id and state must be provided to set webview state');
+  loadIfNeeded();
+  idsLookedUp.add(id);
+  stateMap.set(id, state);
+  save();
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get the web view state associated with the given ID
+ * @param id ID of the web view
+ * @param stateKey Key used to retrieve the state value
+ * @returns string (if it exists) containing the state for the given key of the given web view
+ */
+export function getWebViewStateById<T>(id: string, stateKey: string): T | undefined {
+  if (!id || !stateKey) throw new Error('id and stateKey must be provided to get webview state');
+  const state: Record<string, string> = getRecord(id);
+  const stateValue: string | undefined = state[stateKey];
+  return stateValue ? (JSON.parse(stateValue) as T) : undefined;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Set the web view state object associated with the given ID
+ * @param id ID of the web view
+ * @param stateKey Key for the associated state
+ * @param stateValue Value of the state for the given key of the given web view - must work with JSON.stringify/parse
+ */
+export function setWebViewStateById<T>(id: string, stateKey: string, stateValue: T): void {
+  if (!id || !stateKey) throw new Error('id and stateKey must be provided to set webview state');
+  const stringifiedValue = JSON.stringify(stateValue);
+  try {
+    const roundTripped = JSON.parse(stringifiedValue);
+    const roundTrippedStringified = JSON.stringify(roundTripped);
+    if (stringifiedValue !== roundTrippedStringified) {
+      throw new Error(`roundtrip failure`);
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    throw new Error(`"${stateKey}" value cannot round trip with JSON.stringify and JSON.parse.`);
+  }
+
+  const state: Record<string, string> = getRecord(id);
+  state[stateKey] = stringifiedValue;
+  save();
+}
+
+/** Purge any web view state that hasn't been touched since the process has been running.
+ *  Only call this once all web views have been loaded.
+ */
+export function cleanupOldWebViewState(): void {
+  if (stateMap.size <= 0 || idsLookedUp.size <= 0) return;
+  stateMap.forEach((_, id) => {
+    if (!idsLookedUp.has(id)) stateMap.delete(id);
+  });
+  save();
+}
diff --git a/src/shared/data/web-view.model.ts b/src/shared/data/web-view.model.ts
index d54005cb98..1df6f8b90c 100644
--- a/src/shared/data/web-view.model.ts
+++ b/src/shared/data/web-view.model.ts
@@ -89,6 +89,8 @@ type WebViewDefinitionBase = {
   content: string;
   /** Name of the tab for the WebView */
   title?: string;
+  /** General object to store unique state for this webview */
+  state?: Record<string, string>;
 };
 
 /** WebView representation using React */
diff --git a/src/shared/global-this.model.ts b/src/shared/global-this.model.ts
index ad7e9a95e9..caaf20e2e9 100644
--- a/src/shared/global-this.model.ts
+++ b/src/shared/global-this.model.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 /* eslint-disable no-var */
 
 import { LogLevel } from 'electron-log';
-import { FunctionComponent } from 'react';
+import { FunctionComponent, Dispatch, SetStateAction } from 'react';
 
 /**
  * Variables that are defined in global scope. These must be defined in main.ts (main), index.ts (renderer), and extension-host.ts (extension host)
@@ -21,9 +21,30 @@ declare global {
   var logLevel: LogLevel;
   /**
    * A function that each React WebView extension must provide for Paranext to display it.
-   * Only used in WebView iframes
+   * Only used in WebView iframes.
    */
   var webViewComponent: FunctionComponent;
+  /**
+   * A React hook for working with a state object tied to a webview.
+   * Only used in WebView iframes.
+   * @param stateKey Key of the state value to use. The webview state holds a unique value per key.
+   * NOTE: `stateKey` needs to be a constant string, not something that could change during execution.
+   * @param defaultStateValue Value to use if the web view state didn't contain a value for the given 'stateKey'
+   * @returns string holding the state value and a function to use to update the state value
+   * @example const [lastPersonSeen, setLastPersonSeen] = useWebViewState('lastSeen');
+   */
+  var useWebViewState: <T>(
+    stateKey: string,
+    defaultStateValue: NonNullable<T>,
+  ) => [webViewState: NonNullable<T>, setWebViewState: Dispatch<SetStateAction<NonNullable<T>>>];
+  /**
+   * Retrieve the value from web view state with the given 'stateKey', if it exists.
+   */
+  var getWebViewState: <T>(stateKey: string) => T | undefined;
+  /**
+   * Set the value for a given key in the web view state.
+   */
+  var setWebViewState: <T>(stateKey: string, stateValue: NonNullable<T>) => void;
 }
 
 /** Type of Paranext process */
diff --git a/src/shared/services/web-view.service.ts b/src/shared/services/web-view.service.ts
index 1797c86aec..487d7d6c65 100644
--- a/src/shared/services/web-view.service.ts
+++ b/src/shared/services/web-view.service.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ import AsyncVariable from '@shared/utils/async-variable';
 import logger from '@shared/services/logger.service';
 import LogError from '@shared/log-error.model';
 import memoizeOne from 'memoize-one';
+import {
+  getFullWebViewStateById,
+  setFullWebViewStateById,
+} from '@renderer/services/web-view-state.service';
 
 /** rc-dock's onLayoutChange prop made asynchronous - resolves */
 export type OnLayoutChangeRCDock = (
@@ -423,6 +427,8 @@ export const getWebView = async (
       existingSavedWebView = convertWebViewDefinitionToSaved(
         existingWebView.data as WebViewDefinition,
       );
+      // Load the web view state since the web view provider doesn't have access to the data store
+      existingSavedWebView.state = getFullWebViewStateById(existingWebView.id);
       didFindExistingWebView = true;
     }
   }
@@ -441,6 +447,9 @@ export const getWebView = async (
   // The web view provider didn't want to create this web view
   if (!webView) return undefined;
 
+  // The web view provider might have updated the web view state, so save it
+  if (webView.state) setFullWebViewStateById(webView.id, webView.state);
+
   /**
    * The web view we are getting is new. Either the webview provider gave us a new webview instead
    * of the existing one or there wasn't an existing one in the first place
@@ -457,7 +466,9 @@ export const getWebView = async (
   // WebView.contentType is assumed to be React by default. Extensions can specify otherwise
   const contentType = webView.contentType ? webView.contentType : WebViewContentType.React;
 
-  // Note: `webViewRequire` below is defined in `src\renderer\global-this.model.ts`.
+  // `webViewRequire`, `getWebViewStateById`, and `setWebViewStateById` below are defined in `src\renderer\global-this.model.ts`
+  // `useWebViewState` below is defined in `src\shared\global-this.model.ts`
+  // We have to bind `useWebViewState` to the current `window` context because calls within PAPI don't have access to a webview's `window` context
   /** String that sets up 'import' statements in the webview to pull in libraries and clear out internet access and such */
   const imports = `
   var papi = window.parent.papi;
@@ -468,6 +479,11 @@ export const getWebView = async (
   var createRoot = window.parent.createRoot;
   var SillsdevScripture = window.parent.SillsdevScripture;
   var require = window.parent.webViewRequire;
+  var getWebViewStateById = window.parent.getWebViewStateById;
+  var setWebViewStateById = window.parent.setWebViewStateById;
+  window.getWebViewState = (stateKey) => { return getWebViewStateById('${webView.id}', stateKey) };
+  window.setWebViewState = (stateKey, stateValue) => { setWebViewStateById('${webView.id}', stateKey, stateValue) };
+  window.useWebViewState = window.parent.useWebViewState.bind(window);
   window.fetch = papi.fetch;
   delete window.parent;
   delete window.top;