Extension Rejected due to use of permission "tabs"

204 views
Skip to first unread message

Vanessa Dias

unread,
May 14, 2020, 2:20:48 AM5/14/20
to Chromium Extensions

 My extension is getting rejected due to "Use of Permissions".


Adding the content on the rejection email


Your item did not comply with the following section of our Program Policies:


"User Data Privacy"

Your product violates the "Use of Permissions" section of the policy, which requires that you:

  • Request access to the narrowest permissions necessary to implement your product’s features or services.
  • If more than one permission could be used to implement a feature, you must request those with the least access to data or functionality.
  • Don't attempt to "future proof" your product by requesting a permission that might benefit services or features that have not yet been implemented.


 I've been wondering what permissions might have triggered the need for such a review.


 

For the functionality of my extension we requires user to login to gmail account to use the office tools i.e Google translate, Excel, Word, Power Point and more. 

For that reason, I've required the following permissions in the manifest:

tabs

Do I need to add another permission to my manifest file



My questions:

  • What permissions I need to request to get my extension approved
The extension ID is ldbhojoiaggmgkjcepnmcebablbgpbfk

Thanks!

PhistucK

unread,
May 14, 2020, 2:35:27 AM5/14/20
to Vanessa Dias, Chromium Extensions
Why do you need the very powerful tabs permission for that?

☆PhistucK


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extens...@chromium.org.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/chromium-extensions/a9724dd7-977c-496f-8520-0c16ea1e7b8c%40chromium.org.

Vanessa Dias

unread,
May 14, 2020, 2:42:51 AM5/14/20
to Chromium Extensions, van...@mediastinct.com
Could you please tell me which permission needs to be requested?
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extensions+unsub...@chromium.org.

PhistucK

unread,
May 14, 2020, 3:06:45 AM5/14/20
to Vanessa Dias, Chromium Extensions
I do not know how you are doing what you are doing, so it is hard to tell.
If you detect those websites using a content script, I do not think you will need it. Alternatively, if you have host permissions for those websites, I think you will also not need it.
("it" being the tabs permissions)

☆PhistucK


To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extens...@chromium.org.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extens...@chromium.org.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/chromium-extensions/155b4514-d8a6-426c-a510-05b1356b903a%40chromium.org.

Vanessa Dias

unread,
May 14, 2020, 6:55:24 AM5/14/20
to Chromium Extensions, van...@mediastinct.com
Hello PhistucK,

Our extension is to access  google office tools like word, sheet etc. The extension takes the full chrome tab. Is the tab permission needed? Also can you please let me know what permission needs to be added as our extension gets rejected even when I remove the permission  
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extensions+unsub...@chromium.org.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extensions+unsub...@chromium.org.

PhistucK

unread,
May 14, 2020, 7:00:41 AM5/14/20
to Vanessa Dias, Chromium Extensions
If you just want to create a new tab (with a URL of your choosing), you do not need any permission. chrome.tabs.create(...) works without any permission.

I cannot tell you what you need to add because your explanation is not sufficient. What do you technically do?
Also, if you post your manifest (you can replace sensitive parts with dummy strings if you need), I might be able to help a bit more.

☆PhistucK


Hello PhistucK,

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extens...@chromium.org.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extens...@chromium.org.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extens...@chromium.org.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/chromium-extensions/8b3a7e71-f33c-4ad9-b0fe-bd8177394f0b%40chromium.org.

Simeon Vincent

unread,
May 14, 2020, 11:12:58 PM5/14/20
to PhistucK, Vanessa Dias, Chromium Extensions
"The extension takes the full chrome tab." What do you mean by that? Are you injecting content scripts into the page, are you opening a new page, are you creating a new tab page, or something else? The tabs permission doesn't have anything to do with those 3.

It also looks like you're overriding the new tab page without disclosing that to the user in your description.

    "chrome_url_overrides" : {
        "newtab" : "views/tabs/tabs.html"
    },

Chers,

Simeon - @dotproto
Extensions Developer Advocate


To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/chromium-extensions/CABc02_%2B%3D4TYyno4Cg919Qq2mULPmz5V%2BEgsainWmPZgExT1wqA%40mail.gmail.com.

Vanessa Dias

unread,
May 15, 2020, 12:41:35 AM5/15/20
to Simeon Vincent, PhistucK, Chromium Extensions
Hello Simeon,

So this concludes we do not need tab permission

We just need to mention in our description that we are overriding the chrome page. Is that correct? Anything else needs to be mentioned.

Is the overriding method correct?

Josh Shatkin-Margolis

unread,
May 15, 2020, 8:06:31 AM5/15/20
to Chromium Extensions, sim...@chromium.org, phis...@gmail.com
I had the same issue so I removed storage and cookies permission and now it keeps rejecting for spam.  Are others having this issue?

For the past two weeks my Chrome Extension has been taken down despite repeated attempts to fix it, which has been in the Web Store for years without issue.  I have made changes trying to comply but it continuously gets taken down for reasons that don't make any sense to me.  I keep emailing support and receive back the same automated email with the same one sentence reason.  I read through all the policy guidelines and believe it meets them all.  What should I do?

Reason for rejection every time:

"Spam and Placement in the Store"

Item has a blank description field, or missing icons or screenshots, and appears to be suspicious.

When I email them they say:

We may remove your item if it has a unclear description field.

But I have rewritten my descriptions ten times and they still get rejected:

Title: Purple Cloud Click-To-Call

Summary: Initiate and track a customer phone call with a single click in your DealerSocket or ELEAD CRM.

Detailed Description: Purple Cloud Click-to-Call helps you track your phone calls so your boss knows you are working hard and your CRM system gives you credit for completing that phone call task.  Tracking your phone calls also helps ensure you receive commission for any sales calls you make.

Just click the customer's phone number and you are in direct meaningful contact with your customer and on your way to closing your next sale.  It saves you time not having to type in a phone number and ensures you don't dial the wrong number.

Single Purpose Description: This extension allows a user to initiate and track a phone call with a single click in two popular customer relationship management systems: ELEAD and DealerSocket.

Host Permission: This extension integrates with two customer relationship management (CRM) systems: ELEAD and DealerSocket.  This extension needs access to these two CRM's hosted web pages to highlight the phone numbers and detect when they are clicked.

For two weeks the extension has been down and my paying customers are cancelling because of it.  What can I do?  How do I fix this?  How can I talk to someone? 
 
Hello PhistucK,

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extensions+unsub...@chromium.org.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extensions+unsub...@chromium.org.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extensions+unsub...@chromium.org.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Chromium Extensions" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chromium-extensions+unsub...@chromium.org.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages