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
Why use this extension as opposed to similar ones?
Most other “link cleaners” employ about a dozen rules when looking for tracking parameters to remove. ClearURLs utilizes over 250 rules, so its capabilities are more comprehensive.
And ClearURLs is open source, so everyone can join in to the project and/or can check the source code to error or malicious code.
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
* Blocks hyperlink auditing, also known as ping tracking
* Prevents tracking injection over history API
* Prevents Google from rewriting the search results (to include tracking elements)
* Prevents Yandex from rewriting the search results (to include tracking elements)
What do we collect?
This extension protects and respects your privacy. We do not—and will never—collect any of your usage data.
What do I do if I have trouble?
Visit our GitLab page (https://gitlab.com/KevinRoebert/ClearUrls) or check out our wiki (https://gitlab.com/KevinRoebert/ClearUrls/wikis/home).
Write us…
If have any suggestions or complaints, please contact us on GitLab.
Permissions
Reasoning for needed permissions can be found under here: https://gitlab.com/KevinRoebert/ClearUrls/issues/159.
Contributors
* Kevin Röbert (creator/developer)
* Yi-Ping Huang (translator)
* rayman89 (translator)
* Ramon Santilli (translator)
* Lucifer (translator)
* Shitennouji (translator)
* K3A (contributor)
* perdolka (contributor)
* Nameless (contributor)
* a-polivanchuk (translator)
* hydrargyrum (translator)
* alekksander (translator)
* Zoltan Toldy (translator)
* tartpvule (contributor)
* Giovanni (translator)
* U. Çakmak (translator)
* Sopor (translator)
* elfriob (translator)
A recommended extension…
ClearURLs is also a recommended extension in the ghacks-user.js project (https://github.com/ghacksuserjs/ghacks-user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions), on the Awesome Humane Tech List (https://github.com/humanetech-community/awesome-humane-tech#tracking) and is a recommended extension by Mozilla.
Changelog can be found here: https://gitlab.com/KevinRoebert/ClearUrls/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
Supported languages
English, Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Taiwan), German, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Italian, Turkish, Swedish
This fixed Amazon and AliExpress URLS immediately after installation. Neat URL did not, although that one currently has better ratings.
Great idea, but seriously flawed:
1. No way to add custom rules.
2. No way to whitelist.
3. Blocks Google Drive video player.
I’m using Neat URL instead. Less capable, but more reliable.
Sitelere özel kapatma seçeneği gelmeli. Bazı sitelerde sorunlar çıkarabiliyor. Mesela GDrive sitesinde videoların izlenmesini engelliyor.
Absolutely love it! If it’s recommended by PrivacyTools.io, it’s good on my book. If you haven’t checked them out, they have other solid privacy recommendations.
This extnesion doesn’t appear to do anything at all. It makes not changes to URLs whatsoever.
Can you email me with more ways of protecting my attention from being trafficked for data collection.
[email protected]
Für “Normalsterbliche” gut geeignet, tut was es soll.
Leeeeider zerstört es ein paar Funktionen der AWS Console. SES und Lambda glänzen durch unvorhersehbares Verhalten. Sicher ein exotisches Problem, für mich dann aber leider ein Neckbreaker (der mich 2 Stunden Lebenszeit gekostet hat 😉 ).
Will not work with Vivaldi the best browser on the net,
Funktioniert gut. Danke dir.
Doesn’t do [automatically] what it claims — cleaning URLs of extra tracking parameters. I must go to their website (ClearURLs 1.20.0) and copy and paste the URL. Even then, it only cleans the junk about 30% of the time and it won’t do it automatically in your browser which it should. For example, it won’t clean up this link: https://sun.com/news/world/secret-service-purging-the-trump-loyalists-from-bidens-presidential-detail/wcm/71470dfa-5d0a-4897-abf4-9888e0e24c72.All the extension has to do is strip away everything after “detail”. It’s not that hard, geesh.
If this extension doesn’t clean the junk (based on the name) then change the dang name instead of confusing people. The fact it has so little downloads is a testament to the inferior nature of this extension.
ClearURLs cuts out a lot of garbage in URLs and I appreciate that, but its “Domain Blocking” setting being on by default is WAY OUT OF LINE. I did not expect an extension that cleans up URLs to block Amazon completely, instead I expected it to clean up the Amazon URLs like the extension description states.
Everythings perfect except It really needs a whitelist option, it breaks some websites to piece 🙁
Super Erweiterung. Der einzige Bug den ich finden konnte, der auch sehr nervig ist, ist das wenn man auf southpark.de Episoden auf Englisch schaut die deutsche Sprachausgabe ausgegeben wird. In Firefox ist dieses Problem nicht. Und es muss an der Erweiterung liegen da wenn man diese deinstalliert und die Seite neuläd die englische Sprachausgabe abgespielt wird.
Es una extensión muy útil, pero por desgracia en páginas como amazon rompe algunos enlaces y me envía directamente al inicio de amazon en vez de al producto que yo quiero, también me ha ocurrido en otras ocasiones con otras páginas web.
piena di bug quando si usa su amazon (ora compare il banner di amazon fresh, non funziona il filtro per ordinare i prodotti in base al prezzo) – prego di farla tornare come prima
very cool addon, but is there whitelist ???
Effectively useless. I copy a link but it still s hows the hidden or shortened link 99.99% of the time.
The extension should automatically copy the link in your clipboard and clean it, but no it doesn’t. Even when you copy a link and it sends you to a webpage (you need to have the extension installed to access the webpage) it rarely cleans it. I have to use a URL “revealer” to see and go to the actual link. Uninstalled.
Great tool, but would be significantly more useful if turning it off to fix websites that get broken wouldn’t turn it off for the whole browser. It’s easy to forget to turn it on since I’m so used to ublock and privacy badger managing to remember which sites I’ve allowed and which sites I haven’t
Helpful!
Must have extension! But it would be very cool to add a “clear and open” context menu item that to be 100% sure that the extension works without logs. 🙂
Good to have this but I’m only giving 3stars because it falls short. There is so much more this could be in the spirit of saving the user from having to install 4 more extensions to get the functionality they need from their chrome browser. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful and yet ”this” is all we get. Comon now, more please.
This one really works and others not so well. You can see the URL change and take you to your intended site