Use your browser’s Network panel to see which domains a page contacts, when those requests start, and what happens if you block one. Treat blocking as a test, not a permanent fix: a request to another domain may support a required feature, and DevTools rules do not change the site for other visitors.
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. The domain is a lead, not a verdict: it does not by itself establish who operates the service, why the page calls it, whether the request is necessary, or what data it carries. web.dev recommends evaluating third-party providers’ privacy and security posture and notes that some offer more privacy-protective modes. web.dev: Third parties
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How to build a representative request inventory
- Open DevTools before loading the page. In Chrome, open DevTools and select Network; reload while it is open so the panel records the page’s requests. In Firefox, open the Network Monitor before loading or reloading. Its request list shows requests made during page loading. Chrome DevTools: Inspect network activity · Firefox Source Docs: Network request list
- Use a clean profile and exercise real flows. For a site audit, start without an existing sign-in or stored consent choice, then visit the page and try representative actions. Include flows that may load outside content, such as account creation, checkout, or opening an embed. A landing-page reload can miss requests initiated only after interaction.
- Record the context, not just the hostname. Note the external domain, resource type, initiator or cause, timing, and the user action that preceded the request. Export a HAR if useful for review or sharing, but handle it carefully: HAR files contain detailed request information, and data sent to third parties may be obfuscated or not meaningfully interpretable.
How to filter requests in Chrome and Firefox
Chrome DevTools
In Network, enter a filter in the filter box. To narrow by host, use a query such as domain:example.com; use resource-type controls such as CSS or JS to focus on particular kinds of requests. Select a request to inspect its details and initiator context. Chrome DevTools: Inspect network activity
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Firefox Network Monitor
Use the Network Monitor’s filters to narrow by domain, cause, request type, URL, status, or other request properties. These filters help identify when and how a candidate is requested; they do not establish whether it is safe or dispensable. Firefox Source Docs: Network request list
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How to block a request for a controlled test
Test one candidate at a time so you can connect any change in behavior to the rule you added. Blocking may reveal a dependency, but it can also break styling or a user flow.
Block a request in Chrome
- Open DevTools’ Command Menu with Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows, Linux, or ChromeOS, or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS.
- Choose Show Request conditions to open the Request conditions drawer.
- Add a URL pattern for the candidate request and enable blocking. Alternatively, right-click a request in the Network list and choose Block request.
- Reload and repeat the relevant page action. Chrome marks blocked requests in red with the status
(blocked:devtools). Chrome DevTools: Request conditions
Block a request in Firefox
- Open the Network Monitor’s Request Blocking sidebar.
- Enter a string contained in the URL you want to block, then reload and repeat the relevant action.
- Use the request’s context menu to block or unblock a URL as needed. Firefox Source Docs: Network request list
How to decide whether a request can be removed
Compare the request’s apparent provider and domain ownership, resource type and initiator, the action that triggers it, and whether blocking changes a required flow. Consider whether the provider offers an acceptable privacy configuration before removing a service outright. A hostname or HAR row alone may not explain the purpose or payload, so do not infer more than the available context supports.
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- If blocking a request changes layout or styling, investigate whether it supplies a stylesheet or another page dependency.
- If a page feature, account step, or checkout stops working, the request may be required for that behavior.
- If no needed behavior changes, that is useful evidence for review, not proof that the request has no other consequence.
How to make a lasting change and undo the test
DevTools blocking is a local diagnostic test, not a site-wide deployment setting. If you own the site and decide a request should go, remove or reconfigure the code or integration that initiates it, then retest the affected flows in the page itself.
Clean up test rules when finished. In Chrome, saved blocking patterns are disabled when DevTools is closed; remove or disable patterns in Request conditions when you no longer need them. In Firefox, turn blocking off or remove entries from the Request Blocking sidebar. Chrome DevTools: Request conditions · Firefox Source Docs: Network request list
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