What Chrome extensions can ask for
Each permission an extension can request, what it lets that extension do in plain words, and which of the extensions we track actually ask for it.
Permissions
- accessibilityFeatures.modify Turn your accessibility features on or off.
- accessibilityFeatures.read See which accessibility features you have turned on.
- activeTab Read and change the page in the current tab, but only after you click the extension.
- alarms Schedule its own code to run at set times, even when you are not using it.
- alwaysOnTopWindows Keep its own window above your others.
- audioCapture Use your microphone.
- background Keep running in the background while Chrome is open.
- bookmarks Read and change your bookmarks.
- browser Open new browser windows.
- browsingData Delete your browsing data, including history, cookies and cached files.
- clipboardRead Read whatever you have copied to your clipboard.
- clipboardWrite Put content on your clipboard.
- commands Respond to keyboard shortcuts you press.
- contentSettings Change what sites are allowed to do, such as running JavaScript or using your camera.
- contextMenus Add its own items to your right-click menu.
- cookies Read and change cookies for the sites it has access to, including the ones that keep you signed in.
- debugger Attach to pages with the same tools a developer uses, which allows reading and changing almost anything in them.
- declarativeContent React to what a page contains without reading the page itself.
- declarativeNetRequest Block or change requests using rules it declares in advance, without being able to read your traffic.
- declarativeNetRequestFeedback See which of its own blocking rules matched.
- declarativeNetRequestWithHostAccess Block or change requests on the sites it has access to, using rules declared in advance.
- desktopCapture Record your screen, a window, or a tab, after you choose which.
- downloads Start downloads and see what you have downloaded.
- downloads.open Open files you have downloaded.
- downloads.shelf Hide the download bar at the bottom of the window.
- enterprise.deviceAttributes Read device identifiers, on managed devices where an administrator has allowed it.
- favicon Read the site icons of pages in your history.
- fileSystem Read and write files you choose from your computer.
- fontSettings Change the fonts your browser uses.
- fullscreen Put a page into full screen.
- gcm Receive push messages from its developer’s servers.
- geolocation See your physical location.
- history Read and change your browsing history.
- identity Sign you in to its developer’s service using your Google account.
- identity.email See the email address of the Google account you are signed in with.
- idle See whether you are currently active at your computer.
- management See your other extensions and turn them on or off.
- nativeMessaging Exchange messages with a companion program installed on your computer.
- notifications Show you desktop notifications.
- offscreen Do work in a hidden page, for tasks a background script cannot do alone.
- overrideEscFullscreen Keep full screen when you press Escape.
- pageCapture Save a complete copy of any page you have open, including what is behind a login.
- pointerLock Capture your mouse pointer, as games do.
- power Keep your screen or system from going to sleep.
- privacy Change your browser’s privacy settings.
- proxy Change the proxy your browser sends all traffic through.
- scripting Run its own code inside the pages you visit.
- search Run searches in your default search engine on your behalf.
- serial Talk directly to devices connected over a serial port.
- sessions See and restore tabs you recently closed, including on your other devices.
- sidePanel Show its own panel beside the page.
- storage Save its own settings and data in your browser.
- system.cpu See information about your processor.
- system.display See information about your monitors.
- system.memory See how much memory your computer has.
- system.network See your network interfaces and addresses.
- tabCapture Record the contents and audio of a tab.
- tabGroups See and change how your tabs are grouped.
- tabs See the addresses and titles of every tab you have open.
- topSites See the sites you visit most often.
- tts Read text aloud through your speakers.
- unlimitedStorage Store an unlimited amount of data in your browser instead of the usual quota.
- usb Talk directly to USB devices you have plugged in.
- userScripts Run scripts of its own choosing inside pages, including code fetched after installation.
- videoCapture Use your camera.
- webNavigation See every page you navigate to, as it happens.
- webRequest Watch all network traffic from the sites it has access to, including what is sent and received.
- webRequestAuthProvider Respond to sign-in prompts that websites and proxies present.
- webRequestBlocking Block or alter network requests before they are sent.
- webview Embed and control web pages inside its own interface.
- windows See and arrange your browser windows.