Anonymized data collection must be disabled.
Severity | Group ID | Group Title | Version | Rule ID | Date | STIG Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| medium | V-221597 | SRG-APP-000206 | DTBC-0066 | SV-221597r961083_rule | 2025-05-15 | 2 |
Description
Enable URL-keyed anonymized data collection in Google Chrome and prevent users from changing this setting.
URL-keyed anonymized data collection sends URLs of pages the user visits to Google to make searches and browsing better.
If you enable this policy, URL-keyed anonymized data collection is always active.
If you disable this policy, URL-keyed anonymized data collection is never active.
If this policy is left not set, URL-keyed anonymized data collection will be enabled but the user will be able to change it.
ℹ️ Check
Universal method:
1. In the omnibox (address bar) type chrome://policy
2. If "UrlKeyedAnonymizedDataCollectionEnabled" is not displayed under the “Policy Name” column or it is not set to "0" under the “Policy Value” column, this is a finding.
Windows method:
1. Start regedit
2. Navigate to HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\
3. If the “UrlKeyedAnonymizedDataCollectionEnabled" value name does not exist or its value data is not set to "0," this is a finding.
✔️ Fix
Windows group policy:
1. Open the group policy editor tool with gpedit.msc
2. Navigate to Policy Path: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Google\Google Chrome\
Policy Name: Enable URL-keyed anonymized data collection
Policy State: Disabled
Policy Value: NA