Configuration Guide

Policy Reference

All Browsers

Ghostery supports managed storage policies that allow IT administrators to configure extension behavior centrally. These policies are delivered via browser-specific mechanisms (registry, JSON files, or MDM profiles).

Policy Keys Overview

Detailed Policy Reference

disableOnboarding

When set to true, the extension skips the welcome/onboarding flow that normally appears after installation. The extension activates immediately with default protection settings.

Use cases:

• Silent deployment where users shouldn't see any prompts
• Kiosk or shared workstation environments
• Reducing support tickets from confused users

disableUserControl

When set to true, hides the extension popup and settings page. Users cannot:

• Pause protection on specific sites
• Add sites to their personal trust list
• Modify any protection settings
• Access the Ghostery dashboard

Use cases:

• Compliance environments requiring consistent protection
• Preventing users from disabling ad blocking
• Regulated industries (healthcare, finance) with strict data policies

disableUserAccount

When set to true, prevents users from creating a Ghostery account or logging in to an existing account. This keeps the extension in "anonymous" mode.

Use cases:

• Organizations that don't want employees creating external accounts
• Shared/kiosk environments
• Privacy-conscious deployments where no user data should leave the device

disableTrackersPreview

When set to true, hides the trackers wheel preview that Ghostery displays on search engine results pages (SERPs). This feature normally shows users how many trackers each search result contains before they click.

Use cases:

• Cleaner search experience without visual additions
• Environments where the preview may cause confusion
• Reducing visual distractions on search pages

trustedDomains

Pre-defines a list of domains where Ghostery protection is paused by default. Useful for internal company sites or third-party services that require trackers to function.

Format: Array of domain strings (without protocol)

["company.com", "intranet.company.com", "trusted-vendor.com"]

Use cases:

• Internal company applications that break with ad blocking
• Third-party SaaS tools used by your organization
• Sites with required analytics or tracking (e.g., internal analytics)

Configuration Examples

Maximum Lockdown

For environments requiring full IT control with no user interaction:

{
  "disableOnboarding": true,
  "disableUserControl": true,
  "disableTrackersPreview": true,
  "trustedDomains": ["your-company.com", "internal-app.company.com"]
}

User-Friendly with Trusted Sites

Allow users to interact with the extension but pre-configure trusted domains:

{
  "disableOnboarding": true,
  "disableUserControl": false,
  "disableUserAccount": true,
  "trustedDomains": ["your-company.com", "salesforce.com", "workday.com"]
}

Silent Install Only

Just skip the onboarding, allow full user control:

{
  "disableOnboarding": true
}

Platform-Specific Formats

Chrome/Edge (Registry)

Windows registry path for Chrome:

HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\mlomiejdfkolichcflejclcbmpeaniij\policy

Values should be created as:

• Boolean values: REG_DWORD (1 for true, 0 for false)
• Array values: REG_SZ (JSON array as string)

Firefox (JSON Manifest)

{
  "name": "firefox@ghostery.com",
  "description": "Ghostery managed configuration",
  "type": "storage",
  "data": {
    "disableOnboarding": true,
    "disableUserControl": true,
    "trustedDomains": ["company.com"]
  }
}

Google Workspace (Admin Console)

{
  "disableOnboarding": {
    "Value": true
  },
  "disableUserControl": {
    "Value": true
  },
  "trustedDomains": {
    "Value": ["company.com"]
  }
}

Schema Reference

The complete JSON schema for Ghostery managed storage is available in the extension source code:

View managed_storage.json on GitHub