Intent to Prototype: Managed configuration for Web Applications

[Anatoliy Potapchuk]

Contact emails

apota...@google.com

Explainer

https://github.com/Ananubis/WebApiDevice/blob/master/Explainer.md

Specification

None

Summary

This new API will help clients who are still using Chrome Apps to migrate to the Web, by using a similar API to chrome.storage.managed Extensions API.

Blink component

Blink

Motivation

Chrome apps will be deprecated by June 2021. The impacted developers and service providers have the requirement to migrate their Chrome Apps to the Web. To keep the existing user experience, we need to launch a list of new Web APIs with the same functionalities. This one is trying to mimic chrome.storage.managed by allowing Web Apps to query key-value configurations provided by device administrators.

Initial public proposal

https://github.com/WICG/proposals/issues/13

TAG review

TAG review status

Pending

Risks

Interoperability and Compatibility

Gecko: No signal

WebKit: No signal

Web developers: No signals

Will this feature be supported on all six Blink platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and Android WebView)?

No

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

No

Tracking bug

https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1141849

Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status

https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5755104466567168

This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status.

[Tain Barzso]

The managed configuration API is a critical function for Chrome/PWA clients because it adds a strong layer of administrative control and security for deployment and everyday use. For Zoom, the current native client utilizes managed configurations, configurable via JSON, to introduce key security and configuration features. Two examples are the ability to prevent K-12 participants from changing their names when entering meetings secured by external authentication, and the ability to limit students from joining meetings outside of their own district or account. These are significant trust and safety issues and, without the managed configuration API, a PWA release would be seen as having a feature regression. This feature regression is a hard stop to our offering what has been characterized as a new and improved client experience.