enterprise.hardwarePlatform

This is used for extensions in a corporate environment that need to tailor their behavior based on the specific hardware model.

Examples:

• A corporate support extension that provides model-specific troubleshooting steps.
• An asset management tool that inventories the hardware models in the organization.
• An extension that enables or disables features based on hardware capabilities known to be associated with a specific model.

{
  "name": "My Enterprise Hardware Reporter",
  "version": "1.0",
  "manifest_version": 3,
  "permissions": [
    "enterprise.hardwarePlatform"
  ]
}

Why is it not risky for you?

This is a special permission that only works on computers managed by a company or school IT department. It is designed for corporate environments and will have no effect on your personal computer.

If you see an extension asking for this permission for your personal use, it's likely a mistake or a poorly designed extension, but it does not pose a direct security threat to you because the permission will not function outside of a managed enterprise setting. On a work computer, this permission is used by your IT department to manage device and network settings for administrative and security purposes.

This example retrieves and logs the hardware manufacturer and model.

// background.js or popup.js

async function getHardwareInfo() {
  if (!chrome.enterprise || !chrome.enterprise.hardwarePlatform) {
    console.log('This API is only available on managed devices.');
    return;
  }

  try {
    const platformInfo = await chrome.enterprise.hardwarePlatform.getHardwarePlatformInfo();
    console.log('Hardware Platform Info:');
    console.log(`  Manufacturer: ${platformInfo.manufacturer}`);
    console.log(`  Model: ${platformInfo.model}`);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error retrieving hardware platform info:', error);
  }
}

getHardwareInfo();