Updating Permissions

[Henry]

We're adding these permissions to our extension:

    "identity",
    "http://example.com/*",

Will these cause the extension to be deactivated until approved?

Thanks,

Henry

[Kent Brewster]

Hi, Henry. If I understand how this works (someone will be along shortly to correct me if not) existing installs will remain active because they're using the old permission set, which has already passed review. 

After reading https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/permission_warnings#permissions_with_warnings it does not look to me as if asking for the identity permission will trigger a permission warning pop-up, but definitely check into this before shipping. (Yes, that's the Voice of Experience you're hearing.)

Hope this helps,

--Kent

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[Jackie Han]

According to my understanding, it should be:

• "identity" permission, no warning, will not temporarily disable your extension.
  
• "http://example.com/*" as a host permission, warning (because you can access new host data), will temporarily disable your extension until users re-enable it.
  
• "http://example.com/*" as an optional permission, no warning(because no permission at once), will not temporarily disable your extension. If this is your new optional feature, it is best to use optional permissions, then guide users grant this permission.
  

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韩国恺(Jackie)

[Simeon Vincent]

+1 to what Kent and Jackie have already shared.

If you'd like to double check how permissions upgrades will appear in Chrome, you can manually test the upgrade flow in Chrome. First, pack the base version of your extension using the "Pack extension" button on the chrome://extensions page, then drag the generated CRX file onto the chrome://extensions page. Chrome will most likely disable the extension – don't worry, that's normal. Next, update the extension and re-pack it just as before. Now, when you drag the new crx file onto chrome://extensions, Chrome will check for sensitive permissions upgrades. If you see a prompt about new permissions, so will your users.

Cheers,

Simeon - @dotproto

Chrome Extensions

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[bar...@ai21.com]

Simeon - I can't run the update flow you suggested on Mac. Is it possible?

[Alexei Miagkov]

How to test for permission warnings used to be documented in official documentation:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180114080742/https://developer.chrome.com/apps/permission_warnings#test

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=901093

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[bar...@ai21.com]

According to the documentation and my experience, installing CRXs is blocked on OsX (Macs). Am I missing something?

[Simeon Vincent]

What do you mean? What happens when you try? Detailed steps, screenshots, etc. would be invaluable for figuring out what's going on.

Cheers,

Simeon - @dotproto

Chrome Extensions DevRel

[bar...@ai21.com]

Steps to reproduce on Mac Chrome Version 87:

1. Pack extension locally

2. Drag packed extension

3. Extension is disabled with the following error: "This extension is not listed in the Chrome Web Store and may have been added without your knowledge" . See attached screenshot.

4. Increment version and add new permission

5. Pack extension locally with same pem file

6. Drag packed extension

7. Permission dialogue appear - click cancel

8. As the extension is disabled, I'm not able to experience my users' experience of what happens after an update.

I hope this clarifies things.

[Jon Howard]

I'm seeing the same error as bar...@ai21.com when I try and drag a packed crx file on to Chrome 87 on MacOs.

[Simeon Vincent]

bar...@ai21.com & Jon,

The steps you provided are working exactly as expected. Self signed extensions will not run in Chrome on Mac or Windows, but you don't need them to in order to see the upgrade prompt - the dialog mentioned in step 7 should only content the new permissions.

I'm not able to experience my users' experience of what happens after an update.

There isn't a flow to exactly emulate the end user experience. The only want to see exactly what end users would see is to publish your upgrade demo as a separate extension, install it, publish the update, and wait until your Chrome instance picks up the new version. 

For a rough approximation of what to expect, see these docs from a help page I came across while looking for screenshots: https://support.texthelp.com/help/my-google-docs-toolbar-and-web-toolbar-icon-have-disappeared

Cheers,

Simeon - @dotproto

Chrome Extensions DevRel

[Jon Howard]

@dotproto - thanks for the update ;)