browsingData

This permission is primarily for privacy-focused extensions or tools that help manage a user's digital footprint.

Examples:

• A "one-click cleanup" extension that clears the cache and cookies.
• A testing tool for web developers that needs to reset the state of a website.
• An extension that automatically clears browsing history at the end of a session.

This permission triggers a warning on installation.

{
  "name": "My Privacy Cleaner",
  "version": "1.0",
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "permissions": [
    "browsingData"
  ],
  "background": {
    "service_worker": "background.js"
  }
}

Why is it risky?

This permission is very powerful and can be destructive. It allows an extension to permanently delete your personal browsing data, which can include:

• Browsing history
• Cookies (which keep you logged into websites)
• Saved passwords
• Website cache and form data

While useful for privacy-cleaning tools, a malicious extension could use this to log you out of all your accounts, erase your history, or cause major inconvenience. Grant this permission only to highly trusted applications.

This example clears the cache from the last 24 hours when the extension is installed.

// background.js

chrome.runtime.onInstalled.addListener(() => {
  const oneDayAgo = (new Date()).getTime() - (24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);

  chrome.browsingData.remove({
    "since": oneDayAgo
  }, {
    "cache": true
  }, () => {
    if (chrome.runtime.lastError) {
      console.error("Failed to clear cache:", chrome.runtime.lastError.message);
    } else {
      console.log("Cache from the last 24 hours has been cleared.");
    }
  });
});