PSA: Upcoming changes to the `chrome.browsingData` API

[Oliver Dunk]

TLDR: Starting in Chrome 144, we will be removing support for deleting passwords in the `chrome.browsingData` API.

Hi everyone,

We are rolling out a new UI for clearing browsing data in Chrome. As part of this work, we are removing the ability to delete passwords from the UI, since this often led to accidental data loss. We are planning to update the `chrome.browsingData` in Chrome 144 in line with these changes.

Chrome 144 begins rolling out to Chrome beta on December 3rd and to Chrome stable on January 7th.

What's changing

Starting in Chrome 144:

• Calls to `chrome.browsingData.remove()` will treat the `passwords` field as false, even if it is set to true.
• Calls to `chrome.browsingData.removePasswords()` will throw an error.
• The `passwords` field will continue to be supported in `chrome.browsingData.settings()` but will always be false as passwords can no longer be selected in the UI.

We are also updating some existing types to cover data previously included in the `passwords` type:

• HTTP Basic Auth credentials on all platforms, and cached proxy user credentials on ChromeOS, will be included in removeCookies()
• Secure Payment credentials will be included in removeFormData()

Similar to passwords, it will no longer be possible to clear WebAuthn credentials.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Oliver on behalf of Chrome Extensions DevRel