Intent to Prototype: Locked Mode API

[Jun W.]

Contact emails

jun...@chromium.org, ort...@chromium.org, mgi...@chromium.org

Explainer

https://github.com/explainers-by-googlers/locked-mode/blob/main/README.md

Specification

None

Summary

Provides a way for a site to prompt the user to enter a locked-down fullscreen mode, where the user cannot 1) use other apps and OS features or 2) exit this mode without notifying the site. Enables users to take low-stakes tests or focus on specific contents in a classroom setting.

Blink component

Blink>Fullscreen

Motivation

In the education sector, there is a demand for applications to be able to serve students a low-stakes test, where the whole operating system is put in a restricted environment, preventing the student from using any other apps or OS features outside of the test itself. It is not currently possible for a web app to trigger this mode.

Initial public proposal

https://github.com/WICG/proposals/issues/129

TAG review

None

TAG review status

Pending

Risks

Interoperability and Compatibility

Currently, ChromeOS, Windows, and macOS provide this functionality to native apps in proprietary ways. We expect the OS features that will be restricted in Lock Mode to differ by platforms, and we think it's better for the implementation and the underlying platform to offer the best (or most appropriate) level of protection instead of standardizing a set of protections that's universally supported.

Gecko: No signal

WebKit: No signal

Web developers: Positive We are working with partners in the Edu space that use a similar functionality provided by the OS.

Other signals:

WebView application risks

Does this intent deprecate or change behavior of existing APIs, such that it has potentially high risk for Android WebView-based applications?

None

Debuggability

None

Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests?

No

Flag name on chrome://flags

chrome://flags/#enable-experimental-web-platform-features

Finch feature name

None

Non-finch justification

None

Requires code in //chrome?

True

Estimated milestones

No milestones specified

Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status

https://chromestatus.com/feature/5079067728805888

This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status.