As a Chrome Enterprise admin, you can use your Admin console to apply app and extension policies across several apps at a time. For example, you might specify all the apps that you want to force install for users or pin on users' Chrome taskbars.
Before you begin
- To make settings for a specific group of users or enrolled Chrome Browsers, put the user accounts or browsers in an organizational unit.
- To apply settings for Chrome Browser users on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers, turn on Chrome management for the organizational unit that they belong to. See Turn on Chrome Browser management.
Set app policies
Can apply for signed-in users on any device or enrolled browsers on Windows, Mac, or Linux. For details, see Understand when settings apply.
Set an app or extension policy (main steps)-
Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).
-
From the Admin console Home page, go to Devices
Chrome.
- Click Apps & extensions
Users & Browsers.
- To apply the setting to all users and enrolled browsers, leave the top organizational unit selected. Otherwise, select a child organizational unit.
- On the right, click Additional settings
.
- Set the app and extension policies that you want to change. See Learn about each setting below.
- Click Save.
Learn about each setting
Android applications on Chrome devicesBy default, users in this organizational unit are not allowed to install Google Play and Android apps on devices. To give users access to the approved apps in the Google Play store on their Chrome devices, select Allow.
Allows you to block users from installing certain types of apps by unchecking the type of allowed app.
Types of app:
Allows you to specify which URLs are allowed to install extensions, apps, and themes. For example, if a URL where you have a .crx file matches the list, a Chrome installation prompt will appear if the user clicks the URL. Put one URL pattern on each line. For examples, see the Chrome developer site.
This policy has no effect on Android apps running on Chrome OS. To set policies for Android apps on Chrome devices that support them, see Use Android apps on Chrome devices
Not supported on Chrome version 78 or later
Allows you to choose whether you want to allow or not allow insecure extension packaging.
Allows you to block external extensions from being installed. An external extension is any extension that is not installed from the Chrome Web Store.
You can use this setting in 2 ways:
Block installing types of extensions
Prevent users from running extensions that request certain permissions that your organizational unit doesn’t allow.
For details, see Block apps and extensions based on permissions.
Prevent apps from altering webpages
Control whether apps or extensions in general can alter webpages that you specify.
For details, see Prevent Chrome extensions from altering webpages.
- Runtime blocked hosts—URLs to pages that you want to prevent apps from altering.
- Runtime allowed hosts—URLs to pages that you want to allow apps to alter. Access is allowed even if the pages are also defined in Blocked URLs.
Specifies whether users can see the Chrome Web Store app in the launcher on Chrome devices and on new tab pages.
You can change the Chrome Web Store homepage to a custom homepage for your users when they're signed in. You can also recommend apps and extensions for your domain in a custom collection named after your domain in the Chrome Web Store.
To let users to publish private apps that are restricted to your domain on the Chrome Web Store, choose Allow users to publish private apps that are restricted to your domain on Chrome Web Store. Then, an option appears that lets you allow or prevent users from publishing private hosted apps if the domain name of the app’s launch_web_url
or app_url
is not owned by your organization.
Related topics: Create a Chrome app collection and Create and publish custom Chrome apps & extensions.
Allows you to monitor the success and failure of the installations to users and devices on your network by using the reporting tool found in the Admin console.
For setup information, see Monitor forced Android app installs.
Note: The report only shows information for managed users using managed Chrome devices that support managed Google Play.
Allows you to choose whether to restore apps and app windows after a crash or reboot.
If you choose not to restore apps and app windows, only browser windows are automatically launched.
Allows you to choose whether to enable the creation of ghost windows while restoring Android apps after a crash or reboot.
Ghost windows are a preview of Android apps that are still loading. The user can see that an app will be available soon and they do not have to manually search for and start the app.