A small open-source script is making big waves among privacy-minded users, promising to declutter today’s AI-heavy browsers in minutes. The tool, called Just The Browser, applies managed policies to Chrome, Edge, and Firefox to shut off integrated AI assistants, sponsored content, and most telemetry—no endless flag hunting required.
What the Script Actually Does Under the Hood
Instead of poking through settings and experimental flags, the script drops policy files that browsers treat as enterprise controls. That approach is powerful: it can disable features users can’t reliably keep off through regular settings alone, and it survives normal restarts and profile changes.
- What the Script Actually Does Under the Hood
- Why this matters now for privacy and control
- How it works on each platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
- What to expect after running it across browsers
- Reversing or customizing the changes to browser policies
- Security and trust checks before running the script
- Bottom line: a faster, quieter browser with fewer pings
For Chrome, that typically means turning off AI features like Tab Organizer and generative themes, suppressing side-panel experiments, and disabling metrics collection via policies such as MetricsReportingEnabled and UrlKeyedAnonymizedDataCollectionEnabled. For Edge, it targets Copilot integrations, sidebar modules, shopping and coupon hooks, and content suggestions on the new tab page. Firefox gets a policies.json that strips Pocket recommendations, sponsored tiles, Normandy studies, and telemetry, and tightens URL suggestion behavior.
The result is a browser that behaves more like the fast, focused tools many of us remember—just tabs, search, and pages, without the nudges and nags.
Why this matters now for privacy and control
Chrome controls well over half the global market, Edge sits in the low double digits, and Firefox hovers in the low single digits, according to StatCounter. When the largest players push AI features by default, most users inherit them—along with data flows many don’t anticipate. Privacy groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have long warned that defaults drive behavior, and telemetry often remains on unless users take deliberate action.
The script flips that script: AI and data collection are off unless you choose otherwise. That aligns with best-practice guidance from security teams and enterprise IT, which prefer explicit opt-in for new data pathways.
How it works on each platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
Windows: Run the script with administrator rights. It writes policy keys to the system registry—under the Chrome and Edge policy hives—and places a policies.json for Firefox in the appropriate profile or distribution directory. Reopen the browsers and verify at chrome://policy, edge://policy, or about:policies that settings are enforced.
macOS: Double-click the installer script and approve the configuration profile in System Settings under General and Device Management. Once installed, the profile enforces the same browser policies system-wide. You can view the full list of disabled features in that profile before confirming.
Linux: There’s no one-click profile install. Advanced users can replicate the effect by placing JSON policy files in the system policy directories for Chromium-based browsers and deploying policies.json for Firefox. It’s more manual, but the underlying mechanism is the same.
What to expect after running it across browsers
Edge typically loses the Copilot button, sidebar apps, and most AI-driven prompts. Some users still see a residual AI query box or suggestions on the new tab page, which you can manually hide or replace with a blank page in settings.
Chrome sheds its AI add-ons and dials back data collection. However, a few user-facing toggles—like “Make searches and browsing better” or “Improve search suggestions”—may remain enabled if they aren’t governed by the installed policies; you can switch those off in Settings for a clean sweep.
Firefox becomes quieter fast: no sponsored tiles, Pocket stories, or background experiments, and appreciably fewer calls home. You can confirm the lock status in about:policies.
Reversing or customizing the changes to browser policies
Because this approach uses managed policies, rollback is straightforward. On macOS, remove the configuration profile in System Settings. On Windows, delete the relevant registry keys or use the script’s uninstall option if provided. For Firefox, remove policies.json from the distribution folder. Restart the browser and defaults return.
You can also tailor the setup by editing the policy files before installation—useful if you want to keep, say, Safe Browsing while disabling AI features and usage metrics. Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla publish policy catalogs detailing each key’s effect, which makes auditing simple.
Security and trust checks before running the script
As with any automation that touches system policies, review the script before running it. Check the source repository’s commit history, read the policy keys it writes, and run in a non-admin context first when possible. This is standard due diligence recommended by security teams and aligns with guidance from organizations such as NIST for managing configuration baselines.
Bottom line: a faster, quieter browser with fewer pings
If you want the browser without the baggage, Just The Browser delivers a quick, reversible way to strip AI add-ons and most telemetry from Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. It won’t catch every cosmetic nook—especially in Edge’s new tab page—but it gets you 90% of the way there in minutes, and puts you back in control of what your browser does and what it shares.
