chrome.browsingData
- Description
Use the
chrome.browsingData
API to remove browsing data from a user's local profile. - Permissions
browsingData
Manifest #
You must declare the "browsingData" permission in the extension manifest to use this API.
{
"name": "My extension",
...
"permissions": [
"browsingData",
],
...
}
Usage #
The simplest use-case for this API is a a time-based mechanism for clearing a user's browsing data. Your code should provide a timestamp which indicates the historical date after which the user's browsing data should be removed. This timestamp is formatted as the number of milliseconds since the Unix epoch (which can be retrieved from a JavaScript Date
object via the getTime
method).
For example, to clear all of a user's browsing data from the last week, you might write code as follows:
var callback = function () {
// Do something clever here once data has been removed.
};
var millisecondsPerWeek = 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 7;
var oneWeekAgo = (new Date()).getTime() - millisecondsPerWeek;
chrome.browsingData.remove({
"since": oneWeekAgo
}, {
"appcache": true,
"cache": true,
"cacheStorage": true,
"cookies": true,
"downloads": true,
"fileSystems": true,
"formData": true,
"history": true,
"indexedDB": true,
"localStorage": true,
"passwords": true,
"serviceWorkers": true,
"webSQL": true
}, callback);
The chrome.browsingData.remove
method allows you to remove various types of browsing data with a single call, and will be much faster than calling multiple more specific methods. If, however, you only want to clear one specific type of browsing data (cookies, for example), the more granular methods offer a readable alternative to a call filled with JSON.
var callback = function () {
// Do something clever here once data has been removed.
};
var millisecondsPerWeek = 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 7;
var oneWeekAgo = (new Date()).getTime() - millisecondsPerWeek;
chrome.browsingData.removeCookies({
"since": oneWeekAgo
}, callback);
If the user is syncing their data, chrome.browsingData.remove
may automatically rebuild the cookie for the Sync account after clearing it. This is to ensure that Sync can continue working, so that the data can be eventually deleted on the server. However the more specific chrome.browsingData.removeCookies
can be used to clear the cookie for the Sync account, and Sync will be paused in this case.
Important: Removing browsing data involves a good deal of heavy lifting in the background, and can take tens of seconds to complete, depending on a user's profile. You should use the callback mechanism to keep your users up to date on the removal's status.
Specific Origins #
To remove data for a specific origin or to exclude a set of origins from deletion, you can use the RemovalOptions.origins
and RemovalOptions.excludeOrigins
parameters. They can only be applied to cookies, cache, and storage (CacheStorage, FileSystems, IndexedDB, LocalStorage, ServiceWorkers, and WebSQL).
chrome.browsingData.remove({
"origins": ["https://www.example.com"]
}, {
"cacheStorage": true,
"cookies": true,
"fileSystems": true,
"indexedDB": true,
"localStorage": true,
"serviceWorkers": true,
"webSQL": true
}, callback);
Important: As cookies are scoped more broadly than other types of storage, deleting cookies for an origin will delete all cookies of the registrable domain. For example, deleting data for https://www.example.com
will delete cookies with a domain of .example.com
as well.
Origin Types #
Adding an originTypes
property to the API's options object allows you to specify which types of origins ought to be effected. Currently, origins are divided into three categories:
unprotectedWeb
covers the general case of websites that users visit without taking any special action. If you don't specify anoriginTypes
, the API defaults to removing data from unprotected web origins.protectedWeb
covers those web origins that have been installed as hosted applications. Installing Angry Birds, for example, protects the originhttp://chrome.angrybirds.com
, and removes it from theunprotectedWeb
category. Please do be careful when triggering deletion of data for these origins: make sure your users know what they're getting, as this will irrevocably remove their game data. No one wants to knock tiny pig houses over more often than necessary.extension
covers origins under thechrome-extensions:
scheme. Removing extension data is, again, something you should be very careful about.
We could adjust the previous example to remove only data from protected websites as follows:
var callback = function () {
// Do something clever here once data has been removed.
};
var millisecondsPerWeek = 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 7;
var oneWeekAgo = (new Date()).getTime() - millisecondsPerWeek;
chrome.browsingData.remove({
"since": oneWeekAgo,
"originTypes": {
"protectedWeb": true
}
}, {
"appcache": true,
"cache": true,
"cacheStorage": true,
"cookies": true,
"downloads": true,
"fileSystems": true,
"formData": true,
"history": true,
"indexedDB": true,
"localStorage": true,
"passwords": true,
"serviceWorkers": true,
"webSQL": true
}, callback);
Seriously: Be careful with protectedWeb
and extension
. These are destructive operations that your users will write angry email about if they're not well-informed about what to expect when your extension removes data on their behalf.
Examples #
Samples for the browsingData
API are available on the samples page.
Summary
- Types
- Methods
chrome.browsingData.remove(options: RemovalOptions, dataToRemove: DataTypeSet, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeAppcache(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeCache(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeCacheStorage(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeCookies(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeDownloads(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeFileSystems(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeFormData(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeHistory(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeIndexedDB(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeLocalStorage(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removePasswords(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removePluginData(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeServiceWorkers(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.removeWebSQL(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
chrome.browsingData.settings(callback: function)
Types
DataTypeSet
A set of data types. Missing data types are interpreted as false
.
Properties
- appcacheboolean optional
Websites' appcaches.
- cacheboolean optional
The browser's cache.
- cacheStorageboolean optional
Cache storage
- cookiesboolean optional
The browser's cookies.
- downloadsboolean optional
The browser's download list.
- fileSystemsboolean optional
Websites' file systems.
- formDataboolean optional
The browser's stored form data.
- historyboolean optional
The browser's history.
- indexedDBboolean optional
Websites' IndexedDB data.
- localStorageboolean optional
Websites' local storage data.
- passwordsboolean optional
Stored passwords.
- pluginDataboolean optional
Deprecated. Support for Flash has been removed. This data type will be ignored.
Plugins' data.
- serverBoundCertificatesboolean optional
Deprecated. Support for server-bound certificates has been removed. This data type will be ignored.
Server-bound certificates.
- serviceWorkersboolean optional
Service Workers.
- webSQLboolean optional
Websites' WebSQL data.
RemovalOptions
Options that determine exactly what data will be removed.
Properties
- excludeOriginsstring[] optional
When present, data for origins in this list is excluded from deletion. Can't be used together with
origins
. Only supported for cookies, storage and cache. Cookies are excluded for the whole registrable domain. - originTypesobject optional
An object whose properties specify which origin types ought to be cleared. If this object isn't specified, it defaults to clearing only "unprotected" origins. Please ensure that you really want to remove application data before adding 'protectedWeb' or 'extensions'.
- extensionboolean optional
Extensions and packaged applications a user has installed (be _really_ careful!).
- protectedWebboolean optional
Websites that have been installed as hosted applications (be careful!).
- unprotectedWebboolean optional
Normal websites.
- originsstring[] optional
When present, only data for origins in this list is deleted. Only supported for cookies, storage and cache. Cookies are cleared for the whole registrable domain.
- sincenumber optional
Remove data accumulated on or after this date, represented in milliseconds since the epoch (accessible via the
getTime
method of the JavaScriptDate
object). If absent, defaults to 0 (which would remove all browsing data).
Methods
remove
chrome.browsingData.remove(options: RemovalOptions, dataToRemove: DataTypeSet, callback: function)
Clears various types of browsing data stored in a user's profile.
Parameters
- options
- dataToRemove
The set of data types to remove.
- callbackfunction
Called when deletion has completed.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeAppcache
chrome.browsingData.removeAppcache(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears websites' appcache data.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when websites' appcache data has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeCache
chrome.browsingData.removeCache(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears the browser's cache.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when the browser's cache has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeCacheStorage
chrome.browsingData.removeCacheStorage(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears websites' cache storage data.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when websites' cache storage has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeCookies
chrome.browsingData.removeCookies(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears the browser's cookies and server-bound certificates modified within a particular timeframe.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when the browser's cookies and server-bound certificates have been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeDownloads
chrome.browsingData.removeDownloads(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears the browser's list of downloaded files (not the downloaded files themselves).
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when the browser's list of downloaded files has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeFileSystems
chrome.browsingData.removeFileSystems(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears websites' file system data.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when websites' file systems have been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeFormData
chrome.browsingData.removeFormData(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears the browser's stored form data (autofill).
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when the browser's form data has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeHistory
chrome.browsingData.removeHistory(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears the browser's history.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when the browser's history has cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeIndexedDB
chrome.browsingData.removeIndexedDB(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears websites' IndexedDB data.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when websites' IndexedDB data has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeLocalStorage
chrome.browsingData.removeLocalStorage(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears websites' local storage data.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when websites' local storage has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removePasswords
chrome.browsingData.removePasswords(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears the browser's stored passwords.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when the browser's passwords have been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removePluginData
chrome.browsingData.removePluginData(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Deprecated. Support for Flash has been removed. This function has no effect.
Clears plugins' data.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when plugins' data has been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeServiceWorkers
chrome.browsingData.removeServiceWorkers(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears websites' service workers.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when websites' service workers have been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
removeWebSQL
chrome.browsingData.removeWebSQL(options: RemovalOptions, callback: function)
Clears websites' WebSQL data.
Parameters
- options
- callbackfunction
Called when websites' WebSQL databases have been cleared.
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
() => {...}
settings
chrome.browsingData.settings(callback: function)
Reports which types of data are currently selected in the 'Clear browsing data' settings UI. Note: some of the data types included in this API are not available in the settings UI, and some UI settings control more than one data type listed here.
Parameters
- callbackfunction
The callback parameter should be a function that looks like this:
(result: object) => {...}
- resultobject
- dataRemovalPermitted
All of the types will be present in the result, with values of
true
if they are permitted to be removed (e.g., by enterprise policy) andfalse
if not. - dataToRemove
All of the types will be present in the result, with values of
true
if they are both selected to be removed and permitted to be removed, otherwisefalse
. - options