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Join still copies clipboard to other devices in Incognito mode, despite not being allowed to run in Incognito?

I just tested this on a laptop running Windows 10 and the latest stable version of Chrome, and I was surprised at the results. Join is not allowed to run in Incognito mode, and I even disabled it from running in the background when the browser is closed. Yet somehow it can still detect when I copy a link within Incognito and transmits it to my other devices.

Is this intended behavior? It seems like a bit of a privacy risk, I'd prefer it to be opt-in behavior or better yet just respect Chrome's "run extension in Incognito" toggle.

1 reply

Are you sure you're not running another instance of Join somewhere? If you've selected that Join not run while in incognito, I don't think there's anything I can do to change that behaviour...

JM

Sorry for taking so long, but I've replicated on a few different laptops now. I verified there were no other instances of Join running on the laptop (never installed the Microsoft Store app, no other browser extensions):

Step 1) On Windows 10, verify that Settings > System > Clipboard > Sync across devices is DISABLED (to verify this isn't the culprit)

Step 2) Verify that "Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed" is DISABLED (to verify this isn't the culprit, but you should also validate with this setting checked and unchecked, along with only Incognito tabs open vs a mix of normal and Incognito tabs)

Step 3) On Chrome, within the Join > Clipboard options, check all 3 boxes including "enable automatic copying of your clipboard to other devices

Step 4) Verify that the Chrome Join Extension is NOT allowed to run in Incognito mode (the default)

Step 5) Set the same ENCRYPTION password within Join on 2 devices (in my case, my Android phone and laptop)

Step 6) Copy some text in a normal (non-Incognito) Chrome window. Verify that the clipboard text automatically syncs to your phone / other device.

Step 7) Open an Incognito window while leaving your normal Chrome window open, try copying text within Incognito. it still syncs to the phone / other device somehow.

Step 8) You can also test scenarios with only Incognito open (no normal Chrome windows) or with "Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed" enabled.