Troubleshooting
Step-by-step help when a website does not work while ClearURLs is turned on.
Something does not work while ClearURLs is turned on? This page helps you find out whether ClearURLs is the cause and what you can do about it, step by step, without any technical knowledge.
The two most important things first
- If a website does not work, turn the filter off and reload the page. In most cases this immediately tells you whether ClearURLs is involved.
- If you want to report a problem, please read How to report a buggy website. A good report helps us fix the problem much faster.
First check: is ClearURLs causing the problem?
ClearURLs removes tracking fields from addresses (URLs). Very rarely a website needs one of these fields and stops working correctly without it. This is how you find out. It takes less than a minute:
- Open the website that has the problem.
- Click the ClearURLs icon in your browser toolbar (the orange logo next to the address bar).
- In the small window that opens, find the section Configs and turn the switch Filter off.
- Reload the website (press the f5 key or click the reload button).
- Try again what did not work before.
What does the result mean?
- The website now works: ClearURLs is involved in the problem. Turn the Filter switch on again and continue reading in Known problems and fixes below. For many websites there is already a solution.
- The website still does not work: ClearURLs is probably not the cause. Please also check other extensions (for example ad blockers) or the website itself. Do not forget to turn the Filter switch back on.
Turning the filter off does not uninstall anything
The Filter switch only pauses the cleaning. Your settings and the rules stay in place. You can turn it back on at any time with the same switch.
If you want to know what exactly ClearURLs changes on a specific address, you can also use the built-in Cleaning Tool: click the ClearURLs icon and choose the wrench-and-screwdriver icon (screwdriver and wrench crossed), paste the address there and press Clean URLs. This shows you the cleaned address without visiting the website.
Known problems and fixes
The following problems have been reported by users. The list shows the current state of our knowledge. When a problem is fixed in the rules or in the add-on, it disappears from here. Behind every entry you find a link to the public bug report with all technical details.
Google: AI Mode and AI Overviews show error 400 or nothing at all
What happens: When you use Google's AI Mode, or when a search would show an AI Overview, you instead get an error page ("400. That's an error.") or the answer simply does not appear.
Why: Google checks parts of the address very strictly. A field that ClearURLs removes is expected by the AI feature, so Google refuses the request.
What you can do:
- Deactivate the Filter switch (see above) while you use the AI search, or
- wait for a rules update. The problem is known and being worked on. The add-on updates its rules automatically.
Bug reports: Addon #495, Addon #508, Addon #522, Rules #182
Google Docs / Sheets / Slides: dialogs, search or filters do not open
What happens: Inside Google Docs, Sheets or Slides some functions stop reacting, for example the document search (ctrl + f), inserting a link, filters or data validation dialogs.
Why: These Google apps change the address inside the page (without reloading it) to open dialogs. The ClearURLs option that protects you against tracking through this technique unfortunately also confuses these Google apps.
What you can do (recommended fix):
- Click the ClearURLs icon and open the settings (the gear symbol).
- Find the option Prevent tracking injection over history API and turn it off.
- Click Save & reload addon.
- Reload the Google document. If it still fails, additionally clear your browser cache once (ctrl + shift + del, choose "Cached images and files").
Your protection stays almost the same. Only this one technique is no longer blocked. If even that does not help, turn the Filter switch off while you work in Google Docs.
Bug reports: Addon #476, Addon #417, Addon #311
Google: search results reload again and again in a loop
What happens: A page reloads many times in a row. You can watch the address change
between + and %20, and sometimes the search stops completely.
On some websites (for example Google Trends) this can even make your IP address look
suspicious to firewalls.
Why: Two different ways of writing a space in an address (+ and %20) are converted
back and forth between the website and ClearURLs.
What you can do:
- Turn the Filter switch off for searches on the affected website.
- Make sure you have the newest add-on version and let the rules update (open the settings and click Save & reload addon once. This also downloads the newest rules).
Bug reports: Addon #308, Addon #430, Addon #219
Login does not work (Google sign-in, Claude.ai, banks, ...)
What happens: You cannot sign in on a website while ClearURLs is active. Typical cases:
- Sign in with Google buttons that fail or loop, including tools such as the
gcloudcommand-line program. - Claude.ai sign-in links ("magic links") from e-mails are rejected, because the end of the sign-in code is removed from the address.
- Some banks and payment pages refuse to continue.
Why: Sign-in systems put secret one-time codes into the address. In rare cases a rule mistakes such a code for a tracking field and removes it.
What you can do:
- Turn the Filter switch off before you click the sign-in link, sign in, then turn it back on. Most websites only need the special address during sign-in.
- For Claude.ai: copy the full link from the e-mail, turn the filter off, and only then open the link.
Bug reports: Addon #510, Addon #258, Addon #445, Addon #320
Amazon: sorting, wish lists or the shopping cart do not work
What happens: On Amazon the sort results dropdown, editing a wish list, or sometimes the shopping cart does not react when ClearURLs is active.
Why: Amazon uses some address fields for two things at once: tracking and shop functions. We maintain a list of Amazon fields that must not be removed, but Amazon changes its website often.
What you can do:
- Make sure your rules are up to date: open the ClearURLs settings and click Save & reload addon once.
- If it still fails, turn the Filter switch off while you shop.
- You can read which fields we deliberately keep (and why) on the page Excluded Fields.
Bug reports: Rules #227, Rules #295, Addon #392, Addon #518
Reddit, Bing, LinkedIn, iCloud or other well-known sites misbehave
What happens: Examples reported by users: Reddit search (Addon #505), Bing autosuggest (Addon #447), LinkedIn jobs (Addon #512), iCloud file uploads (Rules #315), bol.com payments (Rules #283).
What you can do:
The browser is suddenly very slow or uses a lot of CPU on some pages
What happens: On a few pages (reported for example for github.com/search and some Wikipedia pages) one processor core goes to 100% and the tab stutters.
What you can do:
- Turn the Filter switch off on the affected page.
- Or open the ClearURLs settings, turn Prevent tracking injection over history API off and click Save & reload addon.
Bug reports: Addon #454, Addon #506, Addon #185
Your problem is not in this list?
Then it is still very valuable for us. Please take two minutes and tell us about it. Every reported website makes the rules better for everyone.
"Chrome, Edge or Brave disabled ClearURLs": the Manifest V2 situation
What is happening?
Google is gradually removing the technology (called "Manifest V2") that the current ClearURLs version is built on from Chrome and Chrome-based browsers. As a result, some browsers, for example Brave and newer Chrome versions, disable the add-on automatically with a message like "This extension was turned off because it's no longer supported".
What this means for you:
- Firefox: nothing changes. ClearURLs works and remains fully supported there. Firefox has committed to keep Manifest V2 extensions working.
- Chrome / Brave and other Chrome-based browsers: at the moment ClearURLs can be disabled automatically by the browser. An update of the add-on for the new technology (Manifest V3) is not finished yet.
- Microsoft Edge: the same end is expected here as well. Microsoft builds Edge on Chromium and has announced it will follow Google's Manifest V2 deprecation, so the add-on will stop working on Edge in the coming months.
We are sorry about this. It is a browser decision, not something the add-on can override. You can follow the technical discussion in the bug reports Addon #527 and Addon #528.
"Can I turn ClearURLs off for just one website?"
Short answer: A real website whitelist ("never touch pages on example.com") is the most requested feature, but it is not included in the current released version. We know how important this is. It is the topic with by far the most feedback (Addon #93 with more than a hundred supporters).
What you can do today instead:
| Want to ... | How |
|---|---|
| Pause cleaning once to test or log in | Turn the Filter switch off (see First check) and back on afterwards |
| Stop only address changes inside a page (e.g. Google Docs) | Turn off Prevent tracking injection over history API in the settings |
| Stop ETag header filtering | Turn off the ETag filtering option in the settings |
| Stop hyperlink auditing (ping) blocking | Turn off the Block hyperlink auditing option in the settings |
For technically interested users: your own copy of the rules
Advanced users can point the add-on to their own copy of the rule catalog and add an
exceptions entry there for a website. You can enter the two addresses in the ClearURLs
settings page (the fields "The url to the data.json file (rules)" and
"The url to the rules.hash file (hash)"), then press Save & reload addon.
Please note:
- You have to host both files yourself and keep them up to date. Otherwise you will stop receiving rule improvements.
- The hash file content must be written in lowercase, otherwise the check fails and the rules are rejected.
- The format of
exceptionsis described in Rule Catalogs.
Nothing here helped?
Then please have a look at the FAQ or, best of all, report the problem to us. It only takes a few minutes and helps every user of ClearURLs.
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