Referrer-Policy

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  1. Syntax
  2. Directives
  3. Examples
  4. Specifications
  5. Browser compatibility
  6. See also

The Referrer-Policy HTTP header governs which referrer information, sent in the Referer header, should be included with requests made.

Header type Response header
Forbidden header name no

Syntax

Note that Referer is actually a misspelling of the word "referrer". The Referrer-Policy header does not share this misspelling.

Referrer-Policy: no-referrer
Referrer-Policy: no-referrer-when-downgrade
Referrer-Policy: origin
Referrer-Policy: origin-when-cross-origin
Referrer-Policy: same-origin
Referrer-Policy: strict-origin
Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin
Referrer-Policy: unsafe-url

Directives

no-referrer
The Referer header will be omitted entirely. No referrer information is sent along with requests.
no-referrer-when-downgrade (default)
This is the user agent's default behavior if no policy is specified. The origin is sent as a referrer when the protocol security level stays the same (HTTPS->HTTPS), but isn't sent to a less secure destination (HTTPS->HTTP).
origin
Only send the origin of the document as the referrer in all cases.
The document https://example.com/page.html will send the referrer https://example.com/.
origin-when-cross-origin
Send a full URL when performing a same-origin request, but only send the origin of the document for other cases.
same-origin
A referrer will be sent for same-site origins, but cross-origin requests will contain no referrer information.
strict-origin
Only send the origin of the document as the referrer to a-priori as-much-secure destination (HTTPS->HTTPS), but don't send it to a less secure destination (HTTPS->HTTP).
strict-origin-when-cross-origin
Send a full URL when performing a same-origin request, only send the origin of the document to a-priori as-much-secure destination (HTTPS->HTTPS), and send no header to a less secure destination (HTTPS->HTTP).
unsafe-url
Send a full URL when performing a same-origin or cross-origin request.
This policy will leak origins and paths from TLS-protected resources to insecure origins. Carefully consider the impact of this setting.

Examples

Policy Document Navigation to Referrer
no-referrer https://example.com/page.html any domain or path no referrer
no-referrer-when-downgrade https://example.com/page.html https://example.com/otherpage.html https://example.com/page.html
no-referrer-when-downgrade https://example.com/page.html https://mozilla.org https://example.com/page.html
no-referrer-when-downgrade https://example.com/page.html http://example.org no referrer
origin https://example.com/page.html any domain or path https://example.com/
origin-when-cross-origin https://example.com/page.html https://example.com/otherpage.html https://example.com/page.html
origin-when-cross-origin https://example.com/page.html https://mozilla.org https://example.com/
origin-when-cross-origin https://example.com/page.html http://example.com/page.html https://example.com/
same-origin https://example.com/page.html https://example.com/otherpage.html https://example.com/page.html
same-origin https://example.com/page.html https://mozilla.org no referrer
strict-origin https://example.com/page.html https://mozilla.org https://example.com/
strict-origin https://example.com/page.html http://example.org no referrer
strict-origin http://example.com/page.html any domain or path http://example.com/
strict-origin-when-cross-origin https://example.com/page.html https://example.com/otherpage.html https://example.com/page.html
strict-origin-when-cross-origin https://example.com/page.html https://mozilla.org https://example.com/
strict-origin-when-cross-origin https://example.com/page.html http://example.org no referrer
unsafe-url https://example.com/page.html?q=123 any domain or path https://example.com/page.html?q=123

Specifications

Specification Status
Referrer Policy Editor's draft

Browser compatibility

FeatureChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafari
Basic support56 No50 No No No
same-origin61 No52 No48 No
strict-origin61 No52 No48 No
strict-origin-when-cross-origin61 No52 No48 No
FeatureAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidEdge mobileFirefox for AndroidOpera AndroidiOS SafariSamsung Internet
Basic support5656 No50 No No6.0
same-origin6161 No5248 No No
strict-origin6161 No5248 No No
strict-origin-when-cross-origin6161 No5248 No No

Note:

  • From version 53 onwards, Gecko has a pref available in about:config to allow users to set their default Referrer-Policy— network.http.referer.userControlPolicy.
  • From version 59 onwards (See #587523), this has been replaced by network.http.referer.defaultPolicy and network.http.referer.defaultPolicy.pbmode.

Possible values are:

  • 0 — no-referrer
  • 1 — same-origin
  • 2 — strict-origin-when-cross-origin
  • 3 — no-referrer-when-downgrade (the default)

See also

Document Tags and Contributors

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 Contributors to this page: chrisdavidmills, TriMoon, Ginkoid, dhausknecht, twm, ptamarit, fscholz, lfaraone, pox
 Last updated by: chrisdavidmills,