About

Overview
How to install
Privacy Disclosure

URL Historian is a Chrome extension developed by New York University’s Center for Social Media 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.

Annotated screencapture Annotated screencapture

Overview

When the URL Historian plug-in is activated 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.

  1. You can set the default language of the extension to Spanish using the “Español” option.
  2. Click the “Help” button to go to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on your browser.
  3. Use the User ID field to enter your unique User ID after completing a survey.
  4. You can pause data collection using the toggle labeled “Paused”. When you register the extension, this toggle’s default setting is Active.
  5. The Share YouTube Page Content toggle “Share YouTube Page Content” allows URL Historian to collect videos listed when visiting youtube.com. This step is optional, see our privacy policy for more information on what social media data is collected.
  6. Delete Data Collected under “Optional Settings” allows you to revoke data you shared by time or date.
  7. Add URLs to Blacklist under “Optional Settings” allows you to list domains you do not want collected.
  8. Websites Currently Blacklisted under “Optional Settings” will display any domains you have blocked from collection.

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 csmap-surveys@nyu.edu.

How to install

Step 1: Download the the URL Historian extension from the Chrome Store

  1. Go to the URL Historian Chrome Store page from your Chrome browser using a laptop or desktop computer.
  2. From the URL Historian page, click on the blue “Add to Chrome” button to start installing the extension.
  3. A pop-up window will appear to inform you of the data the extension can read, click “Add Extension” to accept.
  4. The extension will install automatically. It will need to be registered before setup is complete.

Step 2: Submit your User ID to register the extension

  1. Access the extension by clicking on the extensions (puzzle piece) icon to the right of the address bar on the Chrome browser.
  2. Select URL Historian from the dropdown menu.
  3. When the extension window appears, enter your User ID provided through the survey in the field at the top right.
  4. When you hit “Submit,” a pop-up window will appear prompting you to enter your Survey ID provided by the survey.

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. You can show them how to pause the app and/or delete their browsing history when they use your computer with URL Historian installed.

Participation

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may refuse to participate or withdraw at any time without penalty. To revoke your consent of any portion of a study, email csmap-surveys@nyu.edu, where your request will be handled by the appropriate teams.

Please see our Privacy Policy for more information on what URL Historian collects. If you have technical issues, you can find a solution with video screencaptures in Frequently Asked Questions. 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.