ClearURLs

Remove tracking elements from URLs.

ClearURLs: Protect Your Privacy by Removing URL Trackers

ClearURLs is a Chrome extension designed to enhance your online privacy by automatically removing tracking codes embedded in the URLs. These codes are unnecessary for a webpage to load correctly; instead, they track your online behaviour. ClearURLs works in the background, stripping away these trackers. It also helps prevent tracking injections and rewrite of search results by search engines like Google and Yandex. In addition, it blocks some common ad domains and offers multiple tools to allow for bulk cleanup of URLs.

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Extension stats

By: https://clearurls.xyz

Users: 100,000+

Rating: 3.67

(206)

1 new ratings

Version: 1.26.0 (Last updated: 2022-11-19)

Creation date: 2020-06-07

Risk impact: High risk impact

Risk likelihood:

Low risk likelihood

Manifest version: 2

Permissions:

<all_urls>
webRequest
webRequestBlocking
storage
unlimitedStorage
contextMenus
webNavigation
tabs
downloads

Size: 848.90K

Email: su*****@clearurls.xyz

URLs: Website

Ranking

# 2,246 ▲ 29

Other rankings

#3058 in Workflow & Planning ▲ 5

#128 in include keyword 8 ▲ 20

#128 in tracking keyword 37 ▲ 4

#233 in prevent keyword 26 ▲ 45

#238 in example keyword 2 ▲ 7

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Other platforms

Not available on Android

ClearURLs (v1.26.1)

4.36

(909) 468,543+

ClearURLs (v1.26.0)

4.20

(41) 37,019+

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Extension summary

Analyze keywords

This extension will automatically remove tracking elements from URLs to help protect your privacy when browse through the Internet.

Many websites use tracking elements in the URL (e.g. https://example.com?utm_source=newsletter1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sale) to mark your online activity. All that tracking code is not necessary for a website to be displayed or work correctly and can therefore be removed—that is exactly what ClearURLs does.

Another common example are Amazon URLs. If you search for a product on Amazon you will see a very long URL, such as: https://www.amazon.com/dp/exampleProduct/ref=sxin_0_pb?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&keywords=tea&pd_rd_i=exampleProduct&pd_rd_r=8d39e4cd-1e4f-43db-b6e7-72e969a84aa5&pd_rd_w=1pcKM&pd_rd_wg=hYrNl&pf_rd_p=50bbfd25-5ef7-41a2-68d6-74d854b30e30&pf_rd_r=0GMWD0YYKA7XFGX55ADP&qid=1517757263&rnid=2914120011

Indeed most of the above URL is tracking code. Once ClearURLs has cleaned the address, it will look like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/exampleProduct

All functions in a nutshell

Removes tracking from URLs automatically in the background
Blocks some common ad domains (optional)
Has a built-in tool to clean up multiple URLs at once
Supports redirection to the destination, without tracking services as middleman
Adds an entry to the context menu so that links can be copied quickly and cleanly

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.

Pros

Effectively clears URLs and removes tracking information
Great idea for enhancing privacy and usability
Works well most of the time

Cons

Breaks functionality on several websites (e.g., Google Docs, eBay, Amazon)
No whitelist or blacklist option for site-specific control
Compatibility issues due to Google's policies and removal from the Chrome store

Most mentioned

Breaks websites functionality
No way to whitelist or customize behavior for specific sites
Functionality issues particularly with sites requiring login

User reviews

Breaks all floating elements in Google Sheets (e.g. search, insert link, insert pivot table, sidebars) with no option to whitelist sites. Issue was reported many times on GitLab since 2021, with no fix as of yet.