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Google Chrome Group Policy settings

739 settings · 155.0.8059.85 · 19 Oct 2026

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Google › Google Chrome › Legacy Browser Support

URL of an XML file that contains URLs that should never trigger a browser switch.

Computer and userIntune-readyBrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl

Supported on Microsoft Windows 7 or later

What it does

Setting the policy to a valid URL has Google Chrome download the site list from that URL and apply the rules as if they were set up with the BrowserSwitcherUrlGreylist policy. These policies prevent Google Chrome and the alternative browser from opening one another. Leaving it unset (or set to a invalid URL) means Google Chrome doesn't use the policy as a source of rules for not switching browsers. Note: This policy points to an XML file in the same format as Internet Explorer®'s SiteList policy. This loads rules from an XML file, without sharing those rules with Internet Explorer®. Read more on Internet Explorer®'s SiteList policy ( https://docs.microsoft.com/internet-explorer/ie11-deploy-guide/what-is-enterprise-mode ) Example value: http://example.com/greylist.xml

What it writes

Hive
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome

Options

OptionTypeRegistry valueAllowed values
URL of an XML file that contains URLs that should never trigger a browser switch. Text BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl Up to 1000000 characters

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

State
Apply to
Options used when Enabled

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome]
"BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl"=""


PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: URL of an XML file that contains URLs that should never trigger a browser switch.
# Name: BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl' -PropertyType 'String' -Value ''
  • The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
  • Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.
  • The generated payload is incomplete because one or more ADMX element values were not supplied: BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_chrome/BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl
Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: URL of an XML file that contains URLs that should never trigger a browser switch.
# Name: BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl' -Kind 'String' -Expected ''
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: URL of an XML file that contains URLs that should never trigger a browser switch.
# Name: BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl' -PropertyType 'String' -Value ''

History 1 retained release

  1. 155.0.8059.8519 Oct 2026
    • Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name
BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl
Namespace
Google.Policies.Chrome
Template file
chrome.admx
Release
Google Chrome 155.0.8059.85 · file set 1f03ffd12695d620…
Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Both" displayName="$(string.BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl)" explainText="$(string.BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl_Explain)" key="Software\Policies\Google\Chrome" name="BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl" presentation="$(presentation.BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:BrowserSwitcher" />
      <supportedOn ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:SUPPORTED_WIN7" />
      <elements>
        <text id="BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl" maxLength="1000000" valueName="BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl" />
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions"><textBox refId="BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl"><label>URL of an XML file that contains URLs that should never trigger a browser switch.</label></textBox></presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Google.Policies.Chrome:category:BrowserSwitcher
<category displayName="$(string.BrowserSwitcher_group)" name="BrowserSwitcher" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:googlechrome" />
    </category>
Google.Policies.Chrome:category:googlechrome
<category displayName="$(string.googlechrome)" name="googlechrome" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies:Cat_Google" />
    </category>
Google.Policies.Chrome:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Google.Policies:category:Cat_Google
<category displayName="$(string.google)" name="Cat_Google" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Google.Policies.Chrome:category:BrowserSwitcher
<category displayName="$(string.BrowserSwitcher_group)" name="BrowserSwitcher" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:googlechrome" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Google.Policies.Chrome:BrowserSwitcher_group">Legacy Browser Support</string></strings>
Google.Policies.Chrome:category:googlechrome
<category displayName="$(string.googlechrome)" name="googlechrome" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Google.Policies:Cat_Google" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Google.Policies.Chrome:googlechrome">Google Chrome</string></strings>
Google.Policies.Chrome:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Google.Policies.Chrome:SUPPORTED_WIN7">Microsoft Windows 7 or later</string></strings>
Google.Policies:category:Cat_Google
<category displayName="$(string.google)" name="Cat_Google" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Google.Policies:google">Google</string></strings>
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