Idle Detection is a new feature of the Google Chrome browser for desktop and Android. Though it has no use for users of Chrome, website developers can use the Idle Detection API to track users’ inactivity on their device, and obviously, use the API for various purposes. Chrome v94 comes with Idle Detection enabled by default, but you can disable it.
The idle Detection feature will notify website developers when you inactive on your computer or mobile phone. Mozilla and Apple go up against this new API due to privacy concerns, so this feature isn’t available on Firefox and Safari browsers. However, you can disable the feature in Chrome.
If you do not want to allow websites to know when you are actively using your computer or mobile phone, follow the steps below to disable the Idle Detection feature in Google Chrome.
Steps to Disable Idle Detection in Chrome
- Open Google Chrome browser on your device.
- Type chrome://settings/content/idleDetection in address bar and hit Enter.
- Under the Default behavior option, select the option “Don’t allow sites to know when you are actively using your device”.
- You have now disabled the Idle Detection feature of the Google Chrome browser.
The Idle Detection feature has some use in real life. For example, chats apps and social networking sites can use the feature to notify a user when a contact comes online. Publicly exposed kiosk apps, for instance, in Museums, can use this API to return to the Home view if no one interacts with the kiosk anymore. Read more about it here.
More Resources:
- 3 Methods to Restart Chrome With All Previously Opend Tabs
- How to Disable Privacy Sandbox (FLoC) in Chrome for Android and Desktop
- Get Live Captions on Windows, Mac and Linux via Google Chrome
- Enable Picture-in-Picture (PiP) Mode in Chrome without Extension
- How to Enable Google Assistant Voice Search in Chrome for Android
