Set Chrome policies for users or browsers
For administrators who manage Chrome policies from the Google Admin console.
You can enforce Chrome policies from your Admin console that apply to:
- User accounts to sync policies and preferences across a user's devices. Settings apply whenever the user signs in to Chrome Browser with their managed account on any device.
- Enrolled browsers to enforce policies when users open Chrome Browser on managed Microsoft® Windows®, Apple® Mac®, or Linux computers. Signing in is not required.
Step 1: Understand when settings apply
Exactly when your Chrome policies are enforced depends on whether you set them for user accounts or enrolled browsers.
Policies set for users
Apply when users sign in with a managed Google Account on any device:
- Chrome Browser on any Windows, Mac, or Linux computer
- Chromebook or other device running Chrome OS
- Android apps that run on supported Chrome devices
Don't apply when users:
- Sign in to a Google Account outside of your organization, such as a personal Gmail account.
- Sign in to a Chromebook as a guest.
Best for work settings and preferences that should sync across devices (work apps, home tabs, themes, and so on.)
Get started: Set up Chrome Browser user-level management
Policies set for enrolled browsers
- Apply when users open Chrome Browser on a computer where the browser is enrolled (Windows, Mac, or Linux).
- Signing in is not required.
- Best for policies that you want to enforce at the device level (security settings, blocked apps, and so on.).
Get started: Set up Chrome Browser Cloud Management
Step 2: Make settings in your Admin console
Before you begin: To make settings for a specific group of user accounts or enrolled Chrome Browsers, put the users or browsers in an organizational unit.
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Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
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From the Admin console Home page, go to Devices.
If you don't see Devices on the Home page, at the bottom, click More controls.
- On the left, click Chrome browser management.
- Click User & browser settings.
- To apply the setting to all users and enrolled browsers, leave the top organizational unit selected. Otherwise, select a child organizational unit.
- Make the settings you want. Learn about each setting.
Tip: Quickly find a setting by entering text in Search settings at the top.
You see Inherited if a setting is inherited from a parent. Or, you see Locally applied if the setting is overridden for the child.
- Click Save.
Settings typically take effect in minutes, but can take up to 24 hours to apply for everyone.
Learn about each setting
Many settings allow you to enforce a policy that users cannot change or set a default that users can change. For example, you can specify a homepage that everyone must use or let people set their own homepage.
Tip: Many admins leave the default settings and only configure settings, such as startup pages, new tab pages, apps and extensions, and themes.
General
Custom avatarReplaces the default wallpaper with your own custom wallpaper. You can upload images in JPG format (.jpg or .jpeg files) up to a size of 16 MB. Other file types are not supported.
Available with Android 5.0 Lollipop and later devices and Chrome devices with Chrome version 40 and later.
Allows your users to unlock their Chrome device without a password using an Android phone. If the user and the devices are nearby, the user no longer needs to enter a password to unlock their Chrome device.
Mobile
Chrome Mobile (BETA)Warning: An experimental feature—Inform your users before changing this setting. To provide feedback or report issues, fill out this form.
This setting allows you to select if supported policies should apply to Chrome Browser on mobile devices. Chrome Browser management needs to be turned on before enabling this setting. Once Chrome Browser management and this setting are enabled, users who are signed in to Chrome Browser on Android with your organization's account will begin receiving the settings you set. When a user signs out of a managed account, the policy stops applying and the local profile on the device is deleted.
Enrollment Controls
Device enrollmentOnly takes effect if the device is being enrolled into the domain for the first time or if the device was previously deprovisioned
Selecting Keep Chrome device in current location means that when you enroll the Chrome device, it stays in the top-level organizational unit for your domain and pulls device settings from there.
Selecting Place Chrome device in user organization means that when you enroll the Chrome device, the device is placed in the organizational unit that the enrolling user is in. The settings you've applied for that user's organizational unit are applied to the device.
Place Chrome device in user organization is a useful setting if you need to manually enroll many devices. The device settings unique to the user's organizational unit are automatically added to the device, instead of requiring an additional step of manually moving each device into a specific organizational unit after enrollment.
The Asset identifier during enrollment setting controls whether users can add an asset ID and location for a device when they enroll it:
- If you select Do not allow for users in this organization, users don't have the option to enter the asset ID and location.
- If you select Users in this organization can provide asset ID and location during enrollment, users can enter the asset ID and location of the device.
If you choose to allow users to enter the asset ID and location, the Device information page is shown with pre-existing data for the fields or blank if no data exists. The user can edit or enter the device details before they complete enrollment to populate the asset ID and location fields in the Admin console and at chrome://policy.
By default, users in this organizational unit are allowed to enroll a new or re-enroll a deprovisioned device. Enrolling a new device or re-enrolling a deprovisioned device consumes an upgrade. Users can also re-enroll a device that was wiped or factory reset. Re-enrolling a device that was wiped or factory reset doesn't consume a new upgrade because the device is still managed.
Selecting Only allow users in this organization to re-enroll existing devices (cannot enroll new or deprovisioned devices) allows users to only re-enroll devices that were wiped or factory reset, but not deprovisioned. They can’t enroll new or re-enroll deprovisioned devices (anytime an upgrade would be consumed).
Selecting Do not allow users in this organization to enroll new or re-enroll existing devices prevents users from enrolling or re-enrolling any device, which includes re-enrolling through forced re-enrollment.
Selecting Apply all user policies when users sign into Chrome, and provide a managed Chrome experience turns on Chrome Browser management. Policies set for managed Google Accounts are enforced when users sign in to Chrome Browser with their account on any device.
For information about how to set up Chrome Browser user-level management, see Manage user profiles on Chrome Browser.
Apps & extensions
The new apps and extensions page centralizes all app and extension provisioning:
- Allow and block apps
- Force-install apps
- Pin apps to the taskbar
The application settings page includes additional app and extension settings:
- Install sources
- Allowed app types
- Block extensions by permission
- Chrome Web Store homepage and permissions
This setting allows you to block users from ending processes with the Chrome task manager. By default, users can end processes using the task manager.
Select Allow users to end processes with the Chrome task manager to allow users to end processes using the task manager.
If you select Block users from ending processes with the Chrome task manager, it means users can't end processes using the task manager. If you choose this setting, users can still open the task manager, but can’t use it to end a process because the End process button is disabled.
Site isolation
Site isolationTurns on site isolation for managed Chrome Browser users on Chrome devices. Isolate websites and origins that you specify.
- Turn on site isolation for all websites—Every site runs in a dedicated rendering process. All sites are isolated from each other. (Default setting if you don't specify anything)
- Turn off site isolation for all websites, except those set below—Only the sites you specify run in a separate process. Each entry runs in a dedicated rendering process.
You can also enter a list of origins, separated by commas, to isolate them from their respective websites. For example, you could enter https://login.example.com to isolate it from the rest of the https://example.com website.
For details, see Protect your data with site isolation.
Turn on site isolation for managed Chrome Browser users on Android devices. Isolate websites and origins that you specify.
Note: Enabling site isolation on Android devices can reduce Chrome Browser performance, so it's disabled by default on Android.
- Allow user to choose to enable site isolation—User can choose whether to turn on site isolation.
- Turn on site isolation for all websites—Every site runs in a dedicated rendering process. All sites are isolated from each other.
- Turn off site isolation for all websites, except those set below—Only the sites you specify run in a separate process. Each entry runs in a dedicated rendering process.
You can also enter a list of origins, separated by commas, to isolate them from their respective websites. For example, you could enter https://login.example.com to isolate it from the rest of the https://example.com website.
Security
Password managerWhen you choose Always allow use of password manager, users can have Chrome Browser remember passwords and provide them automatically the next time they sign in to a site. If you choose Never allow use of password manager, users cannot save new passwords but they can still use passwords that were previously saved. You can allow the user to configure password manager, or you can specify that it's always allowed or disallowed.
Turns on or off the lock screen on a user’s device. If you disable the lock screen (Do not allow locking screen), the system signs out the user in cases where the lock screen would normally have activated. Idle settings that lead to the lock screen (for example, Lock screen on sleep) will also sign the user out.
Specifies whether users can use quick unlock modes, including PIN and fingerprint, to unlock the lock screen on their device.
Idle time in minutes
To specify the amount of idle time before a user’s device goes to sleep or signs them out, enter a value in minutes. To use the system default, which varies by device, leave the box empty.
Action on idle
Select what you want the device to do after the idle time expires:
- Sleep—If you want the device to go into Sleep mode
- Logout—If you want to sign out the current user
- Lock Screen—If you want to lock the screen on the user's device without signing them out
Action on lid close
Select if you want a user's device to go to sleep or sign them out when they close the device lid.
Lock screen on sleep
Select to lock a user’s screen when the device goes to sleep or let the user decide. If you select Allow user to configure, users configure the option in their device settings.
Specifies whether users can browse in Incognito mode.
Choose Disallow incognito mode to prevent users from opening new Incognito windows. However, it does not close Incognito windows that are already open or prevent users from opening new tabs in those windows.
Controls whether the browser saves the user's browsing history.
Specifies whether users can clear browser data, including their browsing and download history.
Note: Preventing users from clearing browser data doesn't guarantee that browser and download history is kept. For example, if a user deletes their profile, their browsing history is cleared.
Specifies whether users browse in Ephemeral mode or not.
Ephemeral mode lets your employees to work from their personal laptop or a shared device that they trust, while reducing the chances of any browsing information being left behind on their device.
Note: If you use this setting, we recommend that you do not disable Chrome sync in the Admin console.
If you select Perform online OCSP/CRL checks, Chrome devices will perform online revocation checks of HTTPS certificates.
Sets whether websites are allowed to track the user's physical location.
In the case of Chrome Browser, this policy corresponds to the user options in their Chrome settings. Tracking the physical location can be allowed by default, denied by default, or the user can be asked each time a website requests the physical location.
In the case of Android apps running on Chrome, if this policy is set to denied by default, Android apps cannot access location information. If you set this policy to any other value or leave it unset, the user is asked to consent when an Android app wants to access location information.
Sets the frequency of forced online sign-in flows for SAML-based single sign-on accounts.
When you set this policy, each time users sign out after the set frequency period, they must go through the online sign-in flow for SAML-based single sign-on accounts.
Sign-on frequency options:
- Every day
- Every 3 days
- Every week
- Every 2 weeks
- Every 3 weeks
- Every 4 weeks
- Never
Important: Before using this policy, review the requirements in Configure SAML single sign-on for Chrome devices.
Allows you to enable or disable SAML-based single sign-on for Chrome devices.
Important: Before using this policy, review the requirements in Configure SAML single sign-on for Chrome devices.
Allows you to temporarily enable or disable Rivest Cipher 4 (RC4) cipher suite in TLS if certain legacy servers need it.
Note: RC4 is not secure. We recommend that you reconfigure servers to support AES encryption.
Configures the required domain name for remote access clients and prevents users from changing the setting. Only clients from the specified domain can connect to the host device. If this setting is disabled or not set, the host allows connections from authorized users from any domain.
Local anchors SHA-1
Controls whether SHA-1 signed certificates issued by local trust anchors are allowed. When this setting is enabled, SHA-1 signed certificates are allowed as long as they successfully validate and chain to a locally-installed Certificate Authority (CA) certificate.
Local anchors common name fallback
Controls whether to allow or block certificates issued by local trust anchors that are missing the subjectAlternativeName extension. When this setting is enabled, Chrome Browser will use the commonName of a server certificate to match a host name if the certificate is missing a subjectAlternativeName extension, as long as it successfully validates and chains to a locally-installed CA certificate.
Note: Enabling is not recommended—It might allow bypassing the nameConstraints extension that restricts the host names for a given authorized certificate.
Symantec Corporation's legacy PKI infrastructure
Allows certificates issued by Symantec Corporation's Legacy PKI operations to be trusted if they otherwise successfully validate and chain to a recognized CA certificate. For non-Chrome OS systems, this policy depends on the operating system still recognizing certificates from Symantec's legacy infrastructure. If an OS update changes the OS handling of certificates, this policy no longer has an effect. This policy is intended as a temporary workaround to give enterprises more time to transition away from legacy Symantec certificates.
Specifies URLs where certificate-transparency requirements are not enforced on certificates. In turn, Chrome Browser can use certificates that were issued by the Certificate Authority (CA) and not publicly disclosed. If the CA issues illegitimate certificates for a specified URL, they might not be detected.
Only the host name portion of the URL is matched. Wildcard host names are not supported. For URL syntax, see URL Blacklist filter format.
If a certificate chain contains certificates with a specified subjectPublicKeyInfo hash, certificate transparency requirements are not enforced on certificates. Therefore, Chrome Browser can use certificates that were issued by the Certificate Authority (CA) to an organization but were not publicly disclosed.
For details on specifying a subjectPublicKeyInfo hash, see the CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForCas policy.
If a certificate chain contains certificates issued by a legacy Certificate Authority (CA) with a specified subjectPublicKeyInfo hash, certificate transparency requirements are not enforced on certificates. Legacy CAs are trusted by some operating systems that run Chrome Browser, but not Chrome OS or Android. Chrome Browser can use certificates that were issued to an organization but were not publicly disclosed.
For details on specifying subjectPublicKeyInfo hashes, see the CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForLegacyCas policy.
Specifies whether Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology® is optimized for stability or performance. Hyper-Threading Technology uses processor resources more efficiently and increases processor throughput.
Session settings
Show logout button in traySelect to show the sign out button explicitly in the shelf. This setting can be useful for users when they need to quickly sign out from a Chrome device.
Network
Proxy modeSpecifies how Chrome Browser connects to the internet.
If you leave the setting at its default Allow user to configure, the user can change the proxy configuration in their Chrome settings. If you choose any of the other Proxy Mode options, the user can't change the configuration.
Never use a proxy means that the Chrome device always establishes a direct connection to the internet without passing through a proxy server. If you do not set a policy and the user doesn't change the configuration, a direct connection is also the default configuration for Chrome devices.
Always auto detect the proxy instructs the Chrome device to determine which proxy server to connect to using the Web Proxy Autodiscovery Protocol (WPAD).
Always use the proxy specified below sets a specific proxy server for handling requests from the user. If you select this option, you need to enter the URL of the proxy server in the Proxy Server URL box. Format the Proxy Server URL as 'IP address:port', such as '192.168.1.1:3128'. Leave it empty for any other Proxy Mode setting.
If there are any URLs that should bypass the proxy server that handles other user requests, enter them in the Proxy Bypass List box. If you include multiple URLs, separate them using commas.
Always use the proxy auto-config specified below inserts the URL of the .pac file that should be used for network connections for the Proxy Server Auto Configuration File URL.
Android apps running on Chrome OS
If you have enabled Android Apps on supported Chrome devices, a subset of proxy settings is made available to Android apps, which they may voluntarily choose to honor (typically apps using Android System WebView or the in-built network stack will do so).
If you choose never use a proxy server, Android apps are informed that no proxy is configured.
If you choose use system proxy settings or fixed server proxy, Android apps are provided with the HTTP proxy server address and port.
If you choose auto detect proxy server, the script URL "http://wpad/wpad.dat" is provided to Android apps. No other part of the proxy auto-detection protocol is used.
If you choose .pac proxy script, the script URL is provided to Android apps.
Specifies which HTTP authentication schemes are supported. When a server or proxy accepts multiple authentication schemes, the supported authentication scheme with the highest security is selected. You can override the default behavior by disabling specific authentication schemes.
- Basic—Most insecure method with authentication handled without any encryption.
- Digest—A challenge-response scheme that is more secure than basic authentication.
- NTLM—(NT LAN Manager) A more advanced challenge-response scheme that is more secure than digest.
- Negotiate—The most secure option. We recommend this option if available. Otherwise, we recommend NTLM.
Only supported on Chrome devices
Enabling this setting will allow SSL record splitting in Chrome. Record splitting is a workaround for a weakness in SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 but can cause compatibility issues with some HTTPS servers and proxies.
Reduces cellular data usage and speeds up mobile web browsing by using proxy servers hosted at Google to optimize website content.
You can choose to Always enable data compression proxy or Always disable data compression proxy. The default setting is Allow the user to decide.
Allows you to specify a UDP port range to use for WebRTC connections from the user. The port range is 1024–65535 and the maximum should be greater than or equal to the minimum.
Allows the Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) protocol to be used in Chrome. QUIC is a transport protocol that reduces latency compared to Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). For details, see Chromium.
Android applications
Control Android backup and restore serviceAllows users to back up content, data, and settings from Android apps to their Google Account. When users sign in to another Chrome device, they can restore their Android app data.
Sets whether Android apps are allowed to track the user's physical location.
You can set to:
- Disable location services for Android apps in Chrome OS—Android apps cannot access location information.
- Allow the user to decide whether an Android app in Chrome OS can use location services—User is asked to consent when an Android app wants to access location information.
Chrome version 75 and earlier
By default, users can add a secondary account (for example, their personal Gmail account) to get access to more Android apps than just the ones you explicitly approved for managed Google Play. To stop users from adding a second Google Account, check the Google account box.
By default, Chrome OS Certificate Authority (CA) certificates are not synchronized to Android apps. To make them available to Android apps, select Enable usage of Chrome OS CA certificates in Android apps.
Startup
Home buttonSpecifies whether the Home button appears on the toolbar. For Chrome, this policy corresponds to the user setting Show Home button in their Chrome Settings.
Controls what users see when they click the Home button on the toolbar. You can select Allow user to configure (default), Homepage is always the new tab page, or Homepage is always the URL set below.
To set a URL, you enter the URL in the box.
Allows you to specify additional page URLs that should load when users start their Chrome devices. The pages you list here appear on additional tabs.
Content
Safe Search and Restricted ModeGoogle SafeSearch
Allows you to turn on or off SafeSearch, which filters offensive content in user search results. You can select:
- Do not enforce Safe Search for Google Web Search queries (default).
- Always use Safe Search for Google Web Search queries—Users must use SafeSearch.
YouTube Restricted mode
Before you set restrictions on YouTube, we recommend updating to the latest stable version of Chrome.
- Do not enforce Restricted Mode on YouTube (default).
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Enforce at least Moderate Restricted Mode on YouTube—Forces users to use Restricted mode. The mode algorithmically limits which videos are viewable based on their content.
- Enforce Strict Restricted Mode for YouTube—Forces users to use Strict Restricted mode to further limit available videos.
For details on restriction levels, see Manage your organization's YouTube settings.
Controls whether users in your organization can take screenshots on Chrome devices. The policy applies to screenshots taken by any means, including the keyboard shortcut and apps and extensions that use the Chrome API to capture screenshots.
If you enable Android apps on supported Chrome devices in your organization, screenshot policies also apply to those devices.
Allows you to specify a list of URL patterns (as a JSON string) for which sites Chrome automatically selects for client certificates. If set, Chrome skips the client certificate selection prompt for matching sites if a valid client certificate is installed. If this policy is not set, auto-selection won’t be done for websites that request certificates.
The ISSUER/CN parameter specifies the common name of the certification authority that client certificates must have as their issuer to be autoselected.
How to format the JSON string:
{"pattern":"https://www.example.com","filter":{"ISSUER":{"CN":"certificate issuer name"}}}
Example JSON string:
{"pattern": "https://[*.]ext.example.com", "filter": {}},
{"pattern": "https://[*.]corp.example.com", "filter": {}},
{"pattern": "https://[*.]intranet.usercontent.com", "filter": {}}
Specifies URLs and domains for which no prompt is shown when the device requests attestation certificates from security keys.
Controls whether the browser allows webpages to use the Web-based Graphics Library (WebGL) API and plugins. WebGL is a software library that enables JavaScript to allow it to generate interactive 3D graphics.
Default cookie setting
Sets whether websites are allowed to store browsing information, such as your site preferences or profile information.
This setting corresponds to a user’s cookie options in Chrome Settings. You can allow the user to configure the option. Or, you can specify that cookies are always allowed, never allowed, or kept only for the duration of a user's session.
Allow cookies for URL patterns
Allows you to specify a list of URL patterns of sites that are allowed to set cookies. For example, you can put URLs in the following formats on separate lines:
- "http://www.example.com"
- "[*.]example.edu"
If this policy is not set, what you specify under Default cookie setting is the global default or a user can set their own configuration.
Block cookies for URL patterns
Allows you to specify a list of URL patterns of sites that are not allowed to set cookies. For example, you can put URLs in the following formats on separate lines:
- "http://www.example.com"
- "[*.]example.edu"
If this policy is not set, what you specify under Default cookie setting is the global default or a user can set their own configuration.
Allow session-only Cookies for URL patterns
Allows you to specify a list of URL patterns of sites that are allowed to set session-only cookies. You can put URLs in the following formats on separate lines:
- "http://www.example.com"
- "[*.]example.edu"
The cookies after these sessions are deleted. If this policy is not set, what you specify under Default cookie setting is the global default, or a user can set their own configuration.
You can select:
- Allow the user to decide (default)
- Allow third-party cookies—To allow third-party cookies
If you disable this setting, third-party cookies are blocked.
Sets whether websites are allowed to display images. For Show images on these sites and Block images on these sites, put one URL pattern on each line.
Sets whether websites are allowed to run JavaScript. If you disable JavaScript, some sites might not work properly.
Sets whether websites are allowed to display desktop notifications.
You can allow or deny notifications or ask the user each time a website wants to show desktop notifications.
Note: With Chrome version 64 and later, JavaScript alerts are no longer allowed to interrupt users. Apps that previously used alerts, such as Google Calendar, can send notifications instead. To allow this, in the Allow these sites to show notifications box, add calendar.google.com.
Sets whether websites are allowed to run plugins. Plugins are used by websites to enable certain types of web content that Chrome Browser can't process.
Adobe® Flash® Player® will be deprecated in December 2020. In Chrome version 76 and later, Flash Player is turned off by default. For information, see Manage Flash in your users' Chrome Browsers.
This setting is ignored if you Block all plugins in the Plugins setting.
Allows you to specify a list of plugins that are always enabled in Chrome, such as Java, and prevents users from changing the setting. Names of plugins are case-sensitive, and you enter one plugin per line.
The names can include wildcards. The * symbol matches an arbitrary number of characters. And, ? specifies an optional single character. The escape character is \. To match actual *, ?, or \ characters, put a \ in front of them.
For example, to enable the Chrome PDF Viewer plugin and anything with Gears in its name, you enter Chrome PDF Viewer *Gears* on separate lines. Disabled plugins specifies a list of plugins to block from running.
Exceptions to disabled plugins specifies a list of plugins that users can enable or disable in Chrome, even if they also match one or more entries in the Disabled plugins list.
Allows Chrome to automatically search and install missing plugins on your users’ Chrome devices.
The default setting is that users are asked for permission to run plugins that could compromise security. If you change it to Always run plugins that require authorization, plugins that are not outdated or disabled can run in Chrome without first asking the user for permission.
Ask user for permission to run outdated plugins is the default setting. Selecting Disallow outdated plugins will block them from running in Chrome. Allow outdated plugins to be used as normal plugins means that the outdated plugins are allowed to run as normal plugins.
Sets whether websites are allowed to show pop-ups. If the browser blocks pop-ups for a site, users see and can click Blocked on the address bar to see the pop-ups that have been blocked.
URL blacklist
Prevents Chrome Browser users from accessing specific URLs.
To configure this setting, enter up to 1,000 URLs on separate lines.
URL blacklist exceptions
Specifies exceptions to the URL blacklist.
To configure the setting, enter up to 1,000 URLs on separate lines.
URL syntax
Each URL must have a valid hostname (such as google.com), an IP address, or an asterisk (*) in place of the host. The asterisk functions like a wildcard, representing all hostnames and IP addresses.
URLs can also include:
- The URL scheme, which is http, https, or ftp, followed by ://
- A valid port value from 1 to 65,535
- The path to the resource
- Query parameters
Notes:
- To disable subdomain matching, put an extra period before the host.
- You cannot use user:pass fields, such as http://user:pass@ftp.example.com/pub/bigfile.iso. Instead, enter http://ftp.example.com/pub/bigfile.iso.
- When both blacklist and blacklist exception filters apply (with the same path length), the exception filter takes precedence.
- If an extra period precedes the host, the policy filters exact host matches only.
- You cannot use a wildcard at the end of a URL, such as https://www.google.com/* and https://google.com/*.
- The policy searches wildcards (*) last.
- The optional query is a set of key-value and key-only tokens delimited by '&'.
- The key-value tokens are separated by '='.
- A query token can optionally end with a '*' to indicate prefix match. Token order is ignored during matching.
Examples
URL blacklist entry | Result |
---|---|
example.com | Blocks all requests to example.com, www.example.com, and sub.www.example.com |
http://example.com | Blocks all HTTP requests to example.com and any of its subdomains, but allows HTTPS and FTP requests |
https://* | Blocks all HTTPS requests to any domain |
mail.example.com | Blocks requests to mail.example.com but not to www.example.com or example.com |
.example.com | Blocks example.com but not its subdomains, like example.com/docs |
.www.example.com | Blocks www.example.com but not its subdomains |
* | Blocks all requests except for those to blacklist exception URLs. This includes any URL scheme, such as http://google.com, https://gmail.com, and chrome://policy |
*:8080 | Blocks all requests to port 8080 |
*/html/crosh.html | Blocks Chrome Secure Shell (Also known as Crosh Shell) |
chrome://settings-frame | Blocks all requests to chrome://settings |
example.com/stuff | Blocks all requests to example.com/stuff and its subdomains |
192.168.1.2 | Blocks requests to 192.168.1.2 |
youtube.com/watch?v=V1 | Blocks youtube video with id V1 |
Using blacklists with Android apps
If you enable Android apps on supported Chrome devices in your organization, the URL blacklist and URL blacklist exception are not honored by apps that use Android System WebView. To enforce a blacklist on these apps, define the blacklisted URLs in a text file (see below). Then, apply the blacklist to the Android apps. For details, see Apply managed configurations to an Android app.
The following example shows how to define a blacklisted URL:
{ "com.android.browser:URLBlacklist": "[\"www.solamora.com\"]" }
For apps that don’t use Android System WebView, consult the app documentation for information on how to restrict access in a similar way.
Lets you configure whether users can sync with Google Drive on their Chrome device. You can enable or disable Drive syncing or let users choose.
This setting has no effect on the Google Drive Android app on Chrome OS. To completely disable any syncing to Google Drive, configure this policy and do not allow the Google Drive Android app to be installed on supported Chrome devices. For details, see Use Android apps on Chrome devices.
Lets you configure whether or not users can sync with Google Drive over a cellular connection on their Chrome device. This policy has no effect on the Google Drive Android app on Chrome OS.
Allow users to cast from Chrome
Decide if users can use a Chromecast device to cast from a Chrome tab.
Show Cast icon in the toolbar
Specify whether Cast appears on the browser toolbar in Chrome. If you select Always show the Cast icon in the toolbar, it always appears on the toolbar or overflow menu and users can't remove it.
If you don't let users cast, you can't configure this policy. The Cast icon doesn't appear on the toolbar.
Printing
PrintingYou can enable or disable printing. When printing is disabled, a user won’t be able to print from the Chrome menu, extensions, JavaScript applications, and so on.
This policy has no effect on Android apps running on Chrome OS.
Selecting Allow using print preview lets your users see a print preview with Google Cloud Print. Selecting Always use the system print dialog instead of print preview will use the computer’s print dialog window and not Cloud Print when printing.
Allows or blocks users from signing in to Cloud Print service to print. On Windows, Mac and Linux, turning this setting off, users can still print using their system print dialog box. If this setting is disabled, users won’t be able to print from Chrome OS.
Enabling this setting lets your user’s Chrome Browser on their Windows, Mac, or Linux computer to act as a proxy between Google Cloud Print and the printers connected to their device. Your users can set up Google Cloud Print by going to https://www.google.com/cloudprint and signing in with their Google Account.
Selecting disallow will block Chrome Browser from sharing your device’s printers with Google Cloud Print.
Settings also available for managed guest session devices.
Default printer selection
To use the default system printer as the default printer for Chrome, select Use default print behavior.
To define a default printer for users, select Define the default printer. When a user prints, the Chrome device tries to find a printer that matches the printer type and ID or name you specify. It then selects it as the default printer.
This policy has no effect on Android apps running on Chrome OS.
Printer Types
Select the type of printer to search for and use as the default printer. To search for all types, select Cloud & Local.
Printer Matching
Select if you want to search for printers by name or ID.
Default Printer
Specify a regular expression that matches the name or ID of the printer that you want to use as the default printer. The expression is case-sensitive. Printing defaults to the first printer that matches the name. For example:
- To match a printer named Solarmora Lobby, enter Solarmora Lobby.
- To match a printer in solarmora-lobby-1 or solarmora-lobby-2, enter solarmora-lobby-.$.
- To match a printer in solarmora-lobby-guest or solarmora-partner-guest, enter solarmora-.*-guest.
This policy has no effect on Android apps running on Chrome OS.
Lets you set up printing to local and network printers so that users can print without setting up Google Cloud Print. When you add a printer, it automatically appears in your users’ list of Chrome printers. For information about setting up native printing, see Manage local and network printers.
For Chrome devices running Chrome OS version 67 and later
Lets you allow or block your users from adding native printers to their Chrome devices.
The default is to Allow users to add new printers. To block your users from adding printers, select Do not allow users to add new printers.
For information about setting up native printing, see Manage local and network printers.
Specifies whether to print in color or black and white by default. Users can choose whether to print in color or black and white on individual print jobs.
Forces users to print in in color or black and white. To let users choose whether to print in color or black and white, select Do not restrict color printing mode.
Specifies whether users can print on both sides of paper. If you choose choose two-sided printing, select whether to bind pages along their long or short edge. Users can only print double-sided on printers with built-in duplex capability. Users can choose whether to print on one or both sides on individual print jobs.
Forces users to print in simplex or duplex mode on printers with built-in duplex capability. To let users choose whether to print on one or both sides on individual print jobs, select Do not restrict duplex printing mode.
Select Include user account and filename in print job to include the user account and file name in the header of print jobs that are sent using a secure IPP over HTTPS (IPPS) connection to printers compatible with the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). Third-party printing features, such as secure printing and usage tracking, can then be enabled, if supported.
Note: Selecting Include user account and filename in print job blocks users from printing to printers that do not support IPPS, even if the printers have already been added.
User Experience
Managed bookmarksLets you push a list of bookmarks for the convenience of users on Chrome on all platforms, including mobile devices. On Chrome devices and Chrome on desktop, the bookmarks appear in a folder on the bookmark bar. The user cannot modify the contents of this folder but can choose to hide it from the bookmark bar.
Determines whether users see a bookmark bar. Allow the user to decide is the default setting.
Allows users to add, edit, or remove items from their Chrome bookmarks bar.
Sets the default download location on Chrome devices and specifies whether a user is allowed to modify that location. The download location choices are:
- Set local Downloads folder as default, but allow user to change
- Set Google Drive as default, but allow user to change
- Force Google Drive
If the user has already explicitly chosen a download location before you select Set Google Drive as default, but allow user to change or Set local Downloads folder as default, but allow user to change, the user's original choice is respected. If the user has not already chosen a download location before you select one of these two policies, the default is set but the user can change it later.
If you select Force Google Drive (regardless of prior user choice), Google Drive is forced to be the download folder and a user is not allowed to change it. However, the user can still move files between local folders and Google Drive using the Files app.
This setting has no effect on Android apps running on Chrome OS. Android apps usually download to a download folder mapped to the Chrome OS downloads folder, however they may download to other locations as well.
Lets you configure whether or not spell checking is enabled on Chrome or let users decide.
Lets you configure whether Chrome uses Google Translate, which offers content translation for web pages in languages not specified on a user's Chrome device. You can allow Chrome to always offer translation, never offer translation, or let users choose.
Controls whether Chrome Browser shows suggestions for a page when it is unable to connect to a web address. The user sees suggestions to navigate to other parts of the website or to search for the page.
Corresponds to the user option Use a web service to help resolve navigation errors in their Chrome settings. You can allow the user to configure the option, or you can specify that it is always on or always off.
Controls whether the Developer tools option appears on the Tools menu. Developer tools allow web developers and programmers access into the internals of the browser and their web applications. For more information about the tools, see the Developer Tools Overview.
The default for G Suite Enterprise customers is to Allow use of built-in developer tools except for force-installed extensions. This setting means all keyboard shortcuts, menu entries, and context menu entries that open the Developer tools or JavaScript console are enabled in general, but are disabled within extensions that are force-installed using enterprise policy.
The default for unmanaged users is Always allow use of built-in developer tools. To disable developer tools in all contexts, select Never allow use of built-in developer tools.
If you have enabled Android apps on supported Chrome devices in your organization, this setting will also control access to Android Developer Options. If set to Never allow use of built-in developer tools, users can’t access Developer Options. If set to any other value or unset, users can access Developer Options by tapping 7 times on the build number in the Android settings app.
Specifies whether the user can use the autofill feature to simplify the completion of online forms. The first time a user fills out a form, Chrome automatically saves the entered information, such as name, address, phone number, or email address.
You can allow the user to configure the option, or you can specify that it is always enabled or disabled.
When DNS prefetching is enabled, Chrome looks up the IP addresses of all links on a displayed webpage so that links the user clicks load faster.
You can allow the user to configure the option, or you can specify that it is always enabled or disabled.
Allows you to decide whether Chrome predicts network actions. You might want Chrome to use a prediction service so it loads pages faster or helps complete searches and URLs that users enter in the address bar.
As an administrator, you can disable or require network prediction. Or, if you select Allow the user to decide, the setting is on for Chrome. Users can then change their own prediction service settings.
Before using this setting, review Let multiple users sign in at the same time.
In the case of Android apps running on Chrome, even if you choose Unrestricted user access (allow any user to be added to any other user's session), only the primary user can use Android apps. If you choose Managed user must be the primary user (secondary users are allowed), Android apps can be used in the primary user as long as the device supports Android apps and you have enabled them in your organization.
After signing in to their device, allows users to switch between accounts in their browser window and Google Play.
- Choose an option:
- To allow users to sign in to any Google Account within the browser, select Allow users to sign-in to any secondary Google Accounts. For details, see Types of Google Accounts.
- To block users from signing in or out of Google Accounts within the browser, select Block users from signing in to or out of secondary Google Accounts.
- To allow users to access Google services using an account only from a list of specified G Suite domains, select Allow users to sign-in only to the G Suite domains set below.
- If you allow users to sign in only to specific G Suite domains:
- Make sure you list all of your organization’s domains. If you don’t, your users might not have access to Google services. To see a list of your domains, click organization’s domains under the domain list.
- To include consumer Google Accounts, such as @gmail.com and @googlemail.com, enter consumer_accounts in the list. You can also allow access to certain accounts and block access to others. For details, see Blocking access to consumer accounts.
- If you allow users to sign in only to specific G Suite domains or block users from signing in or out in the browser, you should also:
- Set a sign-in restriction so that only users in your organization can sign in to devices running Chrome OS. For details, see Sign-in Restriction.
- Turn off guest browsing on devices. For details, see Guest mode.
- Prevent users from browsing in Incognito mode. See Incognito Mode.
Setting also available for managed guest sessions and kiosk apps
To let users span a window across multiple monitors or TVs, you can select Make Unified Desktop mode available to user. By default, this feature is turned off. Users can disable unified desktop and still use 2 external displays, but individual windows are in one display or the other, even if the desktop is extended across both.
- Up to 2 external displays are supported.
- Unified desktop is intended to work across monitors of the same resolution.
- When enabled, unified desktop is the default mode when a user connects a monitor to their device.
To allow web applications to generate and collect WebRTC event logs for your users, select Allow WebRTC Event Log Collection. The logs can help Google identify and resolve issues with audio and video meetings. They contain diagnostic information, such as the time and size of sent and received RTP packets, feedback about congestion on the network, and metadata about time and quality of audio and video frames. The logs have no video or audio content from the meetings.
To collect logs for Hangouts Meet customers, you must enable both this setting and the Client logs upload policy in the Google Admin console.
Omnibox search provider
Search suggestAllows you to enable or disable a prediction service for users to help complete the web addresses or search terms. You can specify that it’s always enabled or disabled or you can let the user configure it in their Chrome settings.
Specifies the name of the default search provider. If you select Lock the Omnibox Search Provider settings to the values below, you can customize the following options:
Omnibox search provider name
Enter a name to use for the address bar. If you don't provide one, Chrome uses the host name from the Omnibox search provider search URL.
Omnibox search provider keyword
Specifies the keyword used as the shortcut to trigger the search.
Omnibox search provider search URL
Specifies the URL of the search engine.
The URL must contain the string '{searchTerms}', which is replaced at query time by the terms the user is searching for, for example, "http://search.my.company/search?q={searchTerms}".
To use Google as your search engine, enter:
{google:baseURL}search?q={searchTerms}&{google:RLZ}{google:originalQueryForSuggestion}{google:assistedQueryStats}{google:searchFieldtrialParameter}{google:searchClient}{google:sourceId}ie={inputEncoding}
Omnibox search provider suggest URL
Specifies the URL of the search engine used to provide search suggestions.
The URL should contain the string '{searchTerms}', which is replaced at query time by the text the user has entered so far.
To use Google as the search engine that provides search suggestions, enter:
{google:baseURL}complete/search?output=chrome&q={searchTerms}
Omnibox search provider instant URL
Specifies the URL of the search engine used to provide instant results.
The URL should contain the string '{searchTerms}', which is replaced at query time by the text the user has entered so far.
Omnibox search provider icon URL
Specifies the icon URL of the search provider. You need to access your search provider site at least once so that the icon file is retrieved and cached before you enable Lock the Omnibox Search Provider settings to the values below.
Omnibox search provider encodings
Specifies the character encodings supported by the search provider.
Encodings are code page names like UTF-8, GB2312, and ISO-8859-1. They are tried in the order provided. The default is UTF-8.
Hardware
External storage devicesControls whether users in your organization can use Chrome devices to mount external drives, including USB flash drives, external hard drives, optical storage, Secure Digital (SD) cards, and other memory cards. If you disallow external storage and a user attempts to mount an external drive, Chrome notifies the user that the policy is in effect.
If you choose to Allow external storage devices (read-only), users can read files from external devices but cannot write to them. Formatting of devices is also disallowed.
This policy does not affect Google Drive or internal storage, such as files saved in the Download folder.
Controls whether users in your organization can let websites access audio input from the built-in microphone on a Chrome device.
When a user connects an external audio input device, the audio on the Chrome device unmutes immediately.
If you have enabled Android apps on supported Chrome devices in your organization and have this setting disabled, the microphone input is disabled for all Android apps without exceptions.
Controls whether users in your organization can play sound on their Chrome devices. The policy applies to all audio outputs on Chrome devices, including built-in speakers, headphone jacks, and external devices attached to HDMI and USB ports.
If you disable audio, the Chrome device still shows its audio controls but users can't change them. Also, a mute icon appears.
This setting has no effect on the Google Drive Android app on Chrome OS.
Specifies whether websites can access the built-in Chrome device webcam.
Disabling video input does not disable the webcam for Google voice and video chat. To disable the webcam for Google voice and video chat, use the Allowed Apps and Extensions setting in User & browser settings to block the following hfhhnacclhffhdffklopdkcgdhifgngh
extension.
If you enabled Android apps on supported Chrome devices in your organization, this setting affects the built-in camera and can be disabled so that no Android app can access the built-in camera.
Determines the behavior of the top row of keys on the keyboard. If this setting is unset or set to media keys, the keyboard's top row of keys will act as media keys. If the policy is set for function keys, then the keys will act as function keys (such as F1, F2). In both scenarios, users can change the behavior. Also, users can turn a media key to a function key (and vice versa) by holding down the search key.
User verification
Verified ModeYou can select:
- Require verified mode boot for Verified Access–User sessions on the devices in Dev mode will always fail the Verified Access check.
- Skip boot mode check for Verified Access–Allows user sessions on the devices in Dev mode to work.
- Service accounts which are allowed to receive user data–List email addresses of the service accounts that gain full access to the Google Verified Access API. These are the service accounts created in the Google API Console.
- Service accounts which can verify users but do not receive user data–List email addresses of the service accounts that gain limited access to the Google Verified Access API. These are the service accounts created in the Google API Console.
For instructions on using these settings with Verified Access, admins should see Enable Verified Access with Chrome devices. Developers should see the Google Verified Access API Developer Guide.
Chrome Management—Partner Access
Chrome Management—Partner AccessNot currently available for G Suite for Education domains
Gives EMM partners programmatic access to manage user policies for Chrome and Chrome devices. Partners can use this access feature to integrate Google Admin console functionality into their EMM console.
When partner access is turned on, your EMM partner can manage individual user policies that determine your users' experience on Chrome and Chrome devices. Therefore EMM partners no longer have to manage user policies by Admin console organizational unit structure. Instead, they can use the structure configured in their EMM console. You can’t simultaneously set the same policy for the same user using partner access and the Admin console. User-level policies configured using partner access controls take precedence over organizational unit policies set in the Admin console. To enforce policies on users by organizational unit, you must select Disable Chrome Management—Partner access.
You can also use your EMM console to set device policies. If you subscribe only to the Chrome Kiosk service, you can only set device policies.
Managed browsers
Chrome management for signed-in usersTo turn on Chrome Browser management, select Apply all user policies when users sign into Chrome, and provide a managed Chrome experience. Policies set for managed Google Accounts are enforced when users sign in to Chrome Browser with their account, on any device.
For information about how to set up Chrome Browser user-level management, see Manage user profiles on Chrome Browser.
Controls Chrome Browser cloud reporting, which is available to admins using Chrome Browser Cloud Management. For more information, see Set up Chrome Browser Cloud Management.
Once this setting is enabled, admins using Chrome Browser Cloud Management can get a detailed view in the Admin console of Chrome Browsers and extensions used in their organization.
Chrome Safe Browsing
Safe BrowsingSpecifies whether Google Safe Browsing is turned on for users.
Safe Browsing in Chrome helps protect users from websites that may contain malware or phishing content. The default setting is Allow user to decide. Alternatively, you can choose to Always enable Safe Browsing or Always disable Safe Browsing.
Specifies whether extended reporting is turned on and sends some system information and page content to Google to help detect dangerous apps and sites.
Specifies URLs that Safe Browsing should trust. Safe Browsing will not check for phishing, malware, unwanted software, or password reuse for listed URLs. Safe Browsing's download protection service does not check downloads hosted on these domains.
Prevents users from downloading dangerous files, such as malware or infected files. You can prevent users from downloading all files or those that Google Safe Browsing identifies as dangerous. If users try downloading dangerous files, Safe Browsing shows them a security warning.
Choose an option:
- No special restrictions—All downloads are allowed. Users still receive warnings about sites identified as dangerous by Safe Browsing. But, they can bypass the warning and download the file.
- Block dangerous downloads—All downloads are allowed, except those marked with Safe Browsing warnings of dangerous downloads.
- Block potentially dangerous downloads—All downloads are allowed, except those marked with Safe Browsing warnings of potentially dangerous downloads. Users cannot bypass the warnings and download the file.
- Block all downloads—No downloads are allowed.
Specifies whether users can bypass Safe Browsing warnings and access deceptive or dangerous sites or download potentially harmful files.
Specifies whether you can prevent users from reusing their password on dangerous websites or on websites that aren’t whitelisted by your organization. Preventing password reuse across multiple websites can protect your organization from compromised accounts.
Specify the domains that are exceptions to the URLs that appear on the Safe Browsing list. Whitelisted domains are not checked for:
- Password reuse
- Phishing and deceptive social engineering sites
- Sites that host malware or unwanted software
- Harmful downloads
Specify the URLs of webpages where users usually enter their password to sign in to their account. If a sign-in process is split across 2 pages, add the URL of the webpage where users enter their password. When users enter their password, a non-reversible hash is stored locally and used to detect password reuse. Make sure that the change password URL that you specify follows these guidelines.
Legacy Browser Support
Legacy Browser SupportSpecifies whether users can open some URLs in an alternative browser, such as Microsoft® Internet Explorer®.
Specifies the length of time, in seconds, that it takes to open the alternative browser. During this time, users see an interstitial page that lets them know they're switching to another browser. By default, URLs immediately open in the alternative browser, without showing the interstitial page.
Allows you to use your Internet Explorer site list to control whether URLs open in Chrome Browser or Internet Explorer.
Specifies the URL of the XML file that contains the list of website URLs that open in an alternative browser. You can review this sample XML file.
Specifies the URL of the XML file that contains the list of website URLs that do not trigger a browser switch.
Specifies a list of website URLs that open in an alternative browser.
Specifies a list of website URLs that do not trigger a browser switch.
By default, only the URL is passed as a parameter to the alternative browser. You can specify parameters to be passed to the alternative browser’s executable. Parameters that you specify are used when the alternative browser is invoked. You can use the special placeholder ${url}
to specify where the URL should appear in the command line.
You don't have to specify the placeholder if it's the only argument or if it should be appended to the end of the command line.
Lets you specify the program that's used as an alternative browser. For example, for Windows computers, the default alternative browser is Internet Explorer.
You can specify a file location or use one of these variables:
${chrome}
—Chrome Browser${firefox}
— Mozilla® Firefox®${ie}
—Internet Explorer${opera}
—Opera®${safari}
—Apple® Safari®
Windows only
Specifies the parameters to be passed to Chrome Browser's executable when returning from the alternative browser. By default, only the URL is passed as a parameter to Chrome Browser. Parameters that you specify are used when Chrome Browser is invoked. You can use the special placeholder ${url}
to specify where the URL should appear in the command line.
You don't have to specify the placeholder if it's the only argument or if it should be appended to the end of the command line.
Windows only
Specifies the executable of Chrome Browser to be launched when returning from the alternative browser.
You can specify a file location or use the variable ${chrome}
, which is the default installation location for Chrome Browser.
Specifies whether to close Chrome Browser after the last tab in the window switches to the alternative browser.
Chrome Browser tabs automatically close after switching to the alternative browser. If you specify Close Chrome completely and the last tab is open in the window before switching, Chrome Browser closes completely.