Use your browser’s Network panel to record a page’s requests, identify which go to other domains, and test candidates by blocking them one at a time. A block in DevTools is temporary diagnosis—not a change to the live site. To remove a request for visitors, change the code or integration that initiates it, then retest the page’s important flows.
What counts as a third-party request?
For this audit, a third-party request is one sent to a domain other than the site’s own. It may be for an analytics script, an embedded video, a font, a payment service, or another provider. The domain alone does not establish why the request occurs, what information it sends, or whether the page needs it. Use the request’s resource type, initiator, timing, and effect on the page to investigate.
Record a representative set of requests
Open developer tools and select the Network panel before loading or reloading the page. The panel records requests while it is monitoring: Chrome documents its Network tool at Inspect network activity; Firefox’s Network Monitor documents its request list at Network request list.
A single landing-page reload can miss requests triggered later. For a more useful site audit, use a clean browser profile without an existing sign-in or stored consent state. Visit the page and perform representative actions—such as creating an account, checking out, or opening an embedded item—then note the external domains and when their requests occur. You can export a HAR if you need a record, but a HAR does not necessarily make the meaning of every field clear; web.dev notes that data passed to third parties is often obfuscated. See Third parties.
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Filter and investigate the request list
Filtering narrows the inventory; it does not by itself tell you whether a request is safe or unnecessary.
- Chrome: Enter a domain filter such as
domain:example.comin the Network filter box. Use resource-type controls such as CSS or JS to narrow the list. Chrome explains these options in Inspect network activity. - Firefox: Filter by domain, cause, request type, URL, status, and other properties in Network Monitor. See Mozilla’s Network request list.
For each candidate, record its domain or apparent provider, resource type, initiator or cause, and the action that triggered it. Then consider whether blocking it changes a required flow and whether the provider offers a privacy configuration that meets your needs. web.dev recommends evaluating third-party providers’ privacy and security posture and notes that some providers offer more privacy-protective modes: Third parties.
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Block a request to test its effect
Test one candidate at a time so you can connect any change in behavior to the request you blocked. These browser controls are useful for diagnosis, but they do not remove a request for other visitors.
Chrome DevTools
- Open the Command Menu with
Ctrl+Shift+Pon Windows, Linux, or ChromeOS, orCmd+Shift+Pon macOS. - Choose Show Request conditions to open the Request conditions drawer.
- Add a URL pattern for the request and enable blocking. Alternatively, right-click a request in the Network panel and choose Block request.
- Reload the page and check the request and the page’s important actions. Chrome marks blocked requests in red with the status
(blocked:devtools).
Chrome documents the drawer, blocking controls, and behavior in Request conditions: Test your site by blocking or throttling network requests. Its documentation states: “Closing DevTools disables network request blocking and throttling.”
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- Open the Request Blocking sidebar in Network Monitor.
- Enter a string contained in the URL you want to block, then reload the page to test the effect.
- Use the request’s context menu to block or unblock a URL, and use the sidebar controls to turn blocking on or off or remove entries.
Mozilla describes these controls in its Network request list documentation.
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A blocked request can reveal a dependency rather than an opportunity to remove something. Chrome’s example shows that blocking a main stylesheet changes the page’s styling. After each test, check the flows your site depends on, such as navigation, account creation, checkout, and embedded content. If a required flow fails, restore the rule and investigate before changing the site.
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To stop an unwanted request for site visitors, remove or reconfigure the code, tag, embed, or integration that starts it. Then test the affected page again in a clean profile and exercise the same user actions; do not treat a DevTools block as a deployed fix. Remove or disable test rules when finished. Chrome saves patterns, but closing DevTools disables blocking; Firefox lets you turn blocking off and remove entries. Documentation: Chrome Request conditions and Firefox Network request list.
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