Chrome lets you connect a website to your computer’s USB, Serial, and HID devices. For example, keyboard, headset, speaker, gamepad, camera, and even microcontroller. On Android, you can connect a website to a USB device.
Important: Currently, iPhone and iPad don’t allow USB, Serial, or HID devices to connect to webpages in Chrome.
When to give access to your device
Only give device access to a trusted site. If you pair a website with your device, the site gets all the information on the device and can even reprogram it. You can choose your default permission setting for these devices on your computer.
- Open Chrome
.
- At the top right, click More
Settings.
- Click Privacy and security
- Choose your device type:
- USB devices
- Serial ports
- HID devices
- To choose a default setting, select an option.
Settings.Pair a webpage in Chrome with your device
- Connect your device with the appropriate cables.
- You can also connect HID devices to your device via Bluetooth.
- In Chrome, open a webpage that can connect to your device.
- Click or tap the page. You'll be asked to add a device.
- Choose a device from the list.
- Select Pair or Connect.
Tip: To access the connected device on the Linux system, the udev rule needs to be configured appropriately.
Remove a website's access to your device
- On the left of the web address, tap View site information
.
- Next to the USB device, Serial port, or HID device, tap Remove
.
Learn more about USB devices in Chrome
Learn more about Serial devices in Chrome
Learn more about HID devices in Chrome
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is the standard for wired extension. USB “device classes” specifies which features and which data formats the device supports.
Standard device classes include keyboard, mice, audio, video, and storage devices. Read the Chrome Enterprise Policy for USB devices.
A serial device is a device that provides serial communication interfaces, also known as serial ports. Through serial ports, information transfers in or out sequentially one bit at a time. While interfaces such as Ethernet, FireWire, and USB also send data as a serial stream, the term serial port usually means hardware compliance such as RS-232, RS-485, or RS-422.
Examples of serial devices are microcontrollers, printers, modem, and specialty mice. Read the Chrome Enterprise Policy for Serial devices.
Human Interface Device (HID) refers to the HID protocol, a standard communication with connected devices. Examples of HID devices are keyboards, mice, headsets, and game controllers.
Sites can use HID to access buttons, turn LEDs on and off, or mute and unmute microphones. Read the Chrome Enterprise policy for HID devices.