A privacy-focused Chrome extension that automatically removes tracking parameters and extracts clean URLs from affiliate redirect wrappers.
Unlike tools that require copy-pasting URLs, Link Cleaner works automatically on every click—no workflow change needed. It combines ClearURLs' comprehensive rule catalog with heuristic detection to catch unknown trackers, and unwraps affiliate redirects (not just parameter stripping).
- Tracking Parameter Removal - Strips 100+ known tracking parameters (
utm_*,fbclid,gclid,msclkid, etc.) - Redirect Unwrapping - Extracts real destination URLs from affiliate wrappers (Awin, Impact Radius, Skimlinks, etc.)
- ClearURLs Integration - Uses the community-maintained ClearURLs rule catalog for comprehensive coverage
- Auto-Updating Rules - Fetches latest rules every 24 hours
- Silent Operation - Works in the background without interrupting your browsing
- Local Processing - All URL cleaning happens in your browser; no data is sent externally
- Fallback Rules - Built-in rules work even if ClearURLs fetch fails
- Clone or download this repository
- Open Chrome and navigate to
chrome://extensions - Enable Developer mode (toggle in top-right)
- Click Load unpacked
- Select the
link-cleanerfolder - The extension will automatically fetch the latest ClearURLs rules
Once installed, Link Cleaner works automatically:
- Click any link - Tracking parameters are stripped and redirects are unwrapped before navigation
- Ctrl/Cmd + Click - Opens cleaned URL in new tab
- Middle-click - Opens cleaned URL in new tab
- Right-click → Copy Link - Copies the cleaned URL
Click the extension icon to see:
- Statistics (links cleaned, redirects extracted)
- Rules status and last update time
- Manual "Update Rules Now" button
- Reset statistics option
Before: https://example.com/product?id=123&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&fbclid=abc123
After: https://example.com/product?id=123
Before: https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?id=489797&p=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fproduct
After: https://example.com/product
Before: https://brand.pxf.io/c/123/456/789?u=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com
After: https://example.com
The extension removes parameters from major platforms including:
| Platform | Parameters |
|---|---|
| Google Analytics | utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content, _ga, _gl |
| Google Ads | gclid, gclsrc, dclid, gbraid, wbraid |
fbclid, fb_action_ids, fb_source |
|
| Microsoft/Bing | msclkid |
twclid, twsrc |
|
igshid |
|
| TikTok | ttclid |
| Mailchimp | mc_eid, mc_cid |
| HubSpot | hsa_*, __hstc, __hssc |
| And many more... | See ClearURLs for full list |
| Network | Domains |
|---|---|
| Awin | awin1.com |
| Impact Radius | *.pxf.io, *.sjv.io, *.evyy.net, *.7eer.net |
| Skimlinks | go.skimresources.com |
| VigLink/Sovrn | redirect.viglink.com |
| Commission Junction | anrdoezrs.net, jdoqocy.com, tkqlhce.com, etc. |
| Rakuten | linksynergy.com |
| ShareASale | shareasale.com |
google.com/url |
|
l.facebook.com |
|
| And more... | Full list via ClearURLs rules |
- No external data collection - All URL processing happens locally in your browser
- No browsing history sent - Rules are fetched, but your URLs are never transmitted
- Open source - Full source code available for inspection
- Manifest Version: V3 (latest Chrome extension format)
- Permissions:
activeTab,scripting,storage,alarms - Host Permissions:
<all_urls>(required to clean links on all sites) - Rules Source: ClearURLs data.minify.json
This extension uses the rule catalog from the ClearURLs project, maintained by Kevin Röbert and contributors.
- Website: https://clearurls.xyz/
- Rules Repository: https://github.com/ClearURLs/Rules
- Documentation: https://docs.clearurls.xyz/
- License: GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 (LGPL-3.0)
The ClearURLs rules are fetched at runtime from their public CDN and are not bundled with this extension. We are grateful to the ClearURLs team for maintaining such a comprehensive and well-documented rule catalog.
The source code for this extension (excluding the ClearURLs rules) is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).
Contributions are welcome! If you find tracking parameters or redirect wrappers that aren't being cleaned:
- Check if it's covered by ClearURLs rules - if not, consider contributing there
- For extension-specific issues, open an issue or PR in this repository
While this extension aims to remove tracking, some websites may rely on URL parameters for legitimate functionality (e.g., login redirects, pagination, search queries). The extension preserves non-tracking parameters, but if a site malfunctions, you can disable the extension for that specific site via Chrome's extension management.
This extension was built with the assistance of Claude (Anthropic), an AI coding assistant. The code, documentation, and architecture were generated through conversational pair programming with a human developer who provided requirements and guidance.
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.
The ClearURLs rules used by this extension are licensed under LGPL-3.0 by the ClearURLs project.