URL Historian

About URL Historian

URL Historian is a Chrome extension developed by New York University’s Center for Social Media, AI, and Politics (CSMaP). This extension allows participants to share data that contributes to better understanding of how our ever-shifting online environment impacts politics and democracy.

Overview

When the URL Historian extension is installed and registered, it automatically begins collecting URLs visited. Data collected through URL Historian is anonymized and used for academic purposes only. All collected data is securely stored on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and only accessible by CSMaP researchers.

For more information about URL Historian's data collection and privacy protection measures, see our Privacy Policy. If you have any questions on using the extension, would like to revoke your data, or encounter other technical problems, please reach out to csmapsupport@nyu.edu.

How to sign up

Sign-up takes about two minutes on a laptop or desktop computer, in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera or Brave.

  1. Open your sign-up link and add URL Historian

    Open the sign-up link from your survey or email. The page shows your participant ID. Click the URL Historian button to open it in the Chrome Web Store, then click “Add to Chrome” and “Add extension”. Keep the sign-up page open.

    The sign-up page: a short introduction, the participant ID, the URL Historian button that opens the Chrome Web Store, and a status that updates by itself

  2. Read the study information

    URL Historian opens by itself and picks up your participant ID from the sign-up page. If it asks for your ID, enter the one shown on the sign-up page. Read the study information and tick the box to agree.

    The study information, with a box to tick to agree to take part

  3. Decide about your past browsing history

    Choose whether to share a one-time copy of your browsing history from the past six months. You can't change this choice later.

    The past browsing history question, with Yes and No options

  4. Choose AI chatbots and YouTube

    Tick any of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and YouTube that you are willing to share. None is ticked until you choose it, and you can change this at any time in Settings.

    Choices for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and YouTube

  5. Name any sites to keep private

    Optionally, add websites you want kept out of the study. Your list stays on your computer, and you can change it later in Settings.

    The list of sites to keep private, with example.com added

  6. Allow access

    Click “Allow access and start”. Your browser asks you to allow URL Historian to read the websites you visit, to read your browsing history (only if you chose to share it), and to show study notifications. Collection starts once you allow it.

    The allow access step

  7. You're signed up

    If you came from your survey, click Return to your survey: URL Historian closes the sign-up tabs and takes you back to finish it.

    URL Historian runs in the background. Click its icon in the toolbar any time to see Home, which shows what you share and any messages from the research team.

    The Home page after signing up, with a Return to your survey button, listing what is shared

  8. Change your choices any time

    Settings lets you turn each chatbot and YouTube on or off and edit your list of sites to keep private.

    Settings, with switches for each chatbot

Your choices

ChoiceBefore you chooseCan you change it?
Websites you visitAlways on while URL Historian is installedRemove the extension to stop
Past browsing historyNot shared unless you choose YesNo, the choice is made once at sign-up
ChatGPT, Perplexity, GeminiOff, each chosen separatelyYes, any time in Settings
YouTubeOffYes, any time in Settings
Sites to keep privateEmptyYes, any time in Settings

What is collected

DataWhat is recorded
Websites you visitThe address of each page, when you visited it and the page you came from; time on page, scrolling, and the number of clicks and key presses. Banking, email, health and similar sites are recorded only as a category, never by address; sites you keep private only as the time spent.
Past browsing history (if shared)One copy of up to six months of history from before you signed up: address, page title, time and how often you visited.
AI chatbots (if chosen)The questions you ask, the chatbot’s responses and the sources it cites, and a copy of the conversation page.
YouTube (if chosen)The videos you watch, how long you watch them, how you got to them, and the videos recommended alongside them.

URL Historian never collects what you type, your passwords, conversations with any other chatbot, YouTube advertising, private or incognito windows, or anything before you agree to take part.

Leaving the study

You can remove URL Historian at any time, in either of the ways below. Either way it stops collecting data, and a page opens to confirm it has been removed. Data you already shared is kept for the study; to have it deleted, contact csmapsupport@nyu.edu.

  1. In URL Historian

    Click the URL Historian icon in the toolbar, then Settings and Account. Under “Leave the study”, click Remove URL Historian and confirm.

    Settings, Account, with the Remove URL Historian button under Leave the study

  2. In your browser

    • Google Chrome: right-click the URL Historian icon in the toolbar and choose “Remove from Chrome”, then “Remove”. If the icon isn't shown, click the puzzle-piece Extensions icon, then the three dots next to URL Historian. You can also go to chrome://extensions and click “Remove” on URL Historian.
    • Microsoft Edge: go to edge://extensions and click “Remove” under URL Historian.
    • Opera: go to opera://extensions and click “Remove” on URL Historian.
    • Brave: go to brave://extensions and click “Remove” on URL Historian.

Privacy Disclosure

Please be aware that URL Historian collects the web browsing data of anyone using Google Chrome on the computer that URL Historian is installed on. If you share your computer with anyone, you should inform them that URL Historian is installed and collecting web browsing data.

Please see our Privacy Policy for more information on what URL Historian collects. If there is anything about the study or your participation that is unclear or that you do not understand, or if you have additional questions or wish to report a research-related problem, you may contact csmap-surveys@nyu.edu.