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Browser URL Tracking lets Chronoid go beyond “Google Chrome — 2 hours.” For supported browsers, Chronoid extracts the actual website URL and page title of the active tab, so your reports can break time down by domain and page.

What Gets Tracked

For each supported browser, Chronoid records three things in addition to the app name:

  • Browser app name (e.g., Google Chrome)
  • Website URL — domain and path of the active tab (e.g., github.com/chronoid/chronoid)
  • Page title — the title shown in the browser tab

This is what makes the Websites/Domains report possible, with activity grouped under the actual site you were on instead of the browser shell.

Supported Browsers

Chromium family

  • Google Chrome (including Beta, Dev, Canary)
  • Microsoft Edge (including Beta, Dev, Canary)
  • Brave (including Beta, Nightly)
  • Opera (including Next, Developer, GX)
  • Vivaldi
  • Arc
  • Dia
  • Mighty
  • Wavebox
  • Sidekick
  • Perplexity Comet
  • Helium

Firefox family

  • Firefox (including Developer Edition, Nightly)
  • Zen Browser
  • Waterfox

Safari family

  • Safari
  • Safari Technology Preview

Other

  • Yandex Browser
  • SigmaOS

How URL Extraction Works

Chronoid extracts the URL and page title using two mechanisms, in order:

  1. AppleScript — the primary, fastest method. Chronoid asks the browser for the URL and title of its frontmost tab.
  2. Accessibility API fallback — if AppleScript is unavailable or returns nothing, Chronoid reads the window title through the macOS Accessibility (AX) API.

The first time Chronoid tracks a given browser, macOS may prompt for Automation and/or Accessibility permission. Grant these so URL extraction works reliably across all your browsers.

Permissions

Reliable URL tracking depends on two macOS permissions:

  • Accessibility — needed to read window titles and to power the AX fallback.
  • Automation — needed for the AppleScript queries that read URLs and tab titles.

If URLs stop appearing, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and Automation, and make sure Chronoid is allowed in both. You can also re-grant a permission from Settings → Tracking if Chronoid shows a permission warning.

Private Browsing

Chronoid detects private and incognito windows across Safari, Chrome-family browsers, and Firefox.

  • By default, Chronoid still tracks the time spent in a private window but does not store the URL or page title.
  • Enable Prevent tracking from private browsing in Settings → Tracking to go further: private window titles are replaced with Private Browsing, so even the fact that tracking occurred is masked in your timeline.

This keeps your private research out of reports without losing the rest of your browsing activity.

Seeing URLs In Reports

Once URLs are tracked, your browser activity shows up in the Websites/Domains report:

  • Time is grouped by domain (e.g., github.com, figma.com).
  • Expand a domain to see the individual page titles and how long you spent on each.
  • Use this to spot where your browsing time actually goes, beyond the raw “Chrome — 6 hours” number.

Troubleshooting

If URLs are missing for a browser:

  1. Confirm Accessibility and Automation permissions are granted in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
  2. Restart the browser — some browsers reset their AppleScript state after an update.
  3. Make sure the browser is not running in a mode that hides tab info (for example, certain locked-down profiles).
  4. Re-grant the permission from Settings → Tracking if Chronoid reports that a browser is not scriptable.

If only a specific browser fails while others work, it usually means that browser’s Automation permission was denied or revoked.

For help, email support@chronoid.app

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