Documentation & Configuration Guide
1. Quick Start
PrivacyBlur Plus activates automatically once installed. It immediately scans open webpage DOM text and form controls for sensitive data patterns.
- Toggle On/Off: Click the extension icon in your Chrome toolbar or press
Alt+Shift+B(orAlt+B). - Change Visual Style: Open the popup and select between Gaussian Blur, Solid Blackout, Hidden, or Partial Mask.
- Select & Protect: Click Select & Protect in the popup or right-click any element to target custom text or containers.
2. Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Default Shortcut | Alternate Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Toggle Privacy Protection | Alt + Shift + B |
Alt + B |
| Cancel Element Picker | Escape (ESC) |
Click Outside / Close |
3. Custom Keyword & RegEx Guide
You can define custom sensitive keywords or regular expressions in the Options page (right-click extension icon > Options):
Example RegEx Patterns:
Internal Project Codenames:
\b(ProjectTitan|OmegaProtocol|StarlightV2)\bCorporate Employee / Customer IDs (e.g. EMP-94821):
\b[A-Z]{3}-\d{5}\bUUIDs / GUIDs:
\b[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}\b4. Select & Protect (Interactive Picker & Context Menu)
PrivacyBlur Plus includes a visual element, video, image, and text picker for customized on-the-fly protection:
- Select Text: Highlight text on any page and click Protect selected text or right-click to instantly create a scoped custom rule.
- Select Element & Media: Hover over any element, image, video card, or button and click to mask it.
- YouTube Videos & Shorts: Click or right-click on any YouTube video or Short to automatically isolate it by its canonical URL (`watch?v=...` or `/shorts/...`). The thumbnail card is masked on home/channel feeds, and the live player is masked when opened, leaving all other videos unmasked.
- Select Area: Drag a bounding rectangle over complex dashboard regions to mask all intersecting content at once.
- Context-Aware Right-Click Menu: Right-click any unprotected element to mask it, or right-click any already-protected element to see "Remove protection from this element" for instant 1-click unprotection.
- Temporary Pause: Right-click to pause protection on the current tab for 5, 15, or 30 minutes with an automatic countdown and resume timer.
5. Non-Destructive Masking Architecture
Unlike crude screen obscurers that rewrite the DOM tree, PrivacyBlur Plus uses a modern dual-layer engine:
- Text Nodes: Painted via the
CSS.highlightsCustom Highlight API using browser ranges. Zero layout reflow, zero lag. - Form Controls: Styled with presentation classes (
.privacyblur-field--*) that obscure glyphs while leavinginput.valueand JavaScript event bindings untouched.
6. Support & Feedback
For technical assistance, bug reports, or feature suggestions, please reach out via our support channels or leave feedback on the Chrome Web Store.