Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied

Posted by doremi on Thursday May 10, 2018 @05:03AM
from the self-post dept.

If you're visiting a webpage that contains UTM paramters like:

https://www.w3schools.com/?utm_source=facebook

You can try use your mouse to select and copy: https://www.w3schools.com/

Paste it in a new tab, you'll find that the UTM parameters are also be copied! You have no way to copy the URL that without UTM parameters.

Chrome version: 66.0.3359.139

( 8 comments | 3 points | on HN )

Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by MildlySerious on Thursday May 10, 2018 @05:09AM (#17037305)

I can't confirm this. Same Chrome version. Copying from this text as well as copying from the address bar after visiting the site, I get exactly the part I copied.

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Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by onion2k on Thursday May 10, 2018 @05:28AM (#17037392)

It does work for me.

Load https://www.w3schools.com/?utm_source=facebook in a new tab.

Highlight "https://www.w3schools.com" in the URL in the address bar.

Copy.

Paste in to Notepad and get "https://www.w3schools.com/?utm_source=facebook".

However, it's any GET vars that seem to be copied. Doing the same thing on https://www.w3schools.com/?abcdef=facebook has the same effect. It only seems to happen on W3Schools too. I suspect it's the site trying to be do something rather than anything nefarious by Chrome.

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Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by detaro on Thursday May 10, 2018 @06:01AM (#17037538)

Same. copy-and-paste works as expected.

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Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by gb00splusx on Thursday May 10, 2018 @05:14AM (#17037338)

Here the same.

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Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by carmat on Thursday May 10, 2018 @06:50AM (#17037748)

It's not just when GET params are in the URL. If you try any URL with a path that follows, e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44065422 and then copy the protocol and domain (http://www.bbc.co.uk), the entire domain is added to the clipboard

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Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by richbradshaw on Thursday May 10, 2018 @05:15AM (#17037343)

Might be some custom JS on the page you are looking at - what exact URL was it?

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Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by carmat on Thursday May 10, 2018 @06:34AM (#17037684)

Nope. Confirmed on any website

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Re:Chrome browser will detect what URL you copied by Piskvorrr on Thursday May 10, 2018 @08:23AM (#17038183)

CNR on Chrome 66 or Chrome 68 (Ubuntu Linux)

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