Google › Google Chrome
Set user data directory
Supported on Microsoft Windows 7 or later
What it does
Configures the directory that Google Chrome will use for storing user data. If you set this policy, Google Chrome will use the provided directory regardless whether the user has specified the '--user-data-dir' flag or not. To avoid data loss or other unexpected errors this policy should not be set to a directory used for other purposes, because Google Chrome manages its contents. See https://support.google.com/chrome/a?p=Supported_directory_variables for a list of variables that can be used. If this policy is left not set the default profile path will be used and the user will be able to override it with the '--user-data-dir' command line flag. Example value: ${users}/${user_name}/Chrome
What it writes
- Hive
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER
- Registry key
Software\Policies\Google\Chrome
Options
| Option | Type | Registry value | Allowed values |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set user data directory | Text | UserDataDir |
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.
Enabled · Computer · template defaults
Registry file (.reg)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome]
"UserDataDir"=""
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: Set user data directory
# Name: UserDataDir
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'UserDataDir' -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: UserDataDir
ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_chrome/UserDataDirIntune 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: Set user data directory
# Name: UserDataDir
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx
$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'UserDataDir' -Kind 'String' -Expected ''
if (-not $isMatch) {
$reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\UserDataDir') | Out-Null
}
if ($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 $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Set user data directory
# Name: UserDataDir
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: chrome.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome' -Name 'UserDataDir' -PropertyType 'String' -Value ''
History 1 retained release
- 155.0.8059.8519 Oct 2026
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.
Template
- Internal name
UserDataDir- Namespace
Google.Policies.Chrome- Template file
chrome.admx- Release
- Google Chrome 155.0.8059.85 · file set
1f03ffd12695d620…
Definition, editor controls and support
Definition
<policy class="Both" displayName="$(string.UserDataDir)" explainText="$(string.UserDataDir_Explain)" key="Software\Policies\Google\Chrome" name="UserDataDir" presentation="$(presentation.UserDataDir)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:googlechrome" />
<supportedOn ref="Google.Policies.Chrome:SUPPORTED_WIN7" />
<elements>
<text id="UserDataDir" maxLength="1000000" valueName="UserDataDir" />
</elements>
</policy>Editor controls
<presentation id="UserDataDir" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions"><textBox refId="UserDataDir"><label>Set user data directory</label></textBox></presentation>Supported platforms and 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="$(string.google)" name="Cat_Google" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Google.Policies.Chrome:category:googlechrome
<category displayName="$(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>