Installing & Using the Extension

contactID runs entirely in Chrome’s side panel. There is no popup: clicking the toolbar icon opens the panel, and a fullscreen button opens the same interface in a wide tab.

1. The Header

The contactID logo, the fullscreen button, and your avatar. The avatar opens the account menu on hover or click. Under the header, the credits meter shows how many websites you can still contact and your plan; every credits action opens the Plan & Billing page of the dashboard.

2. Four Tabs

• Setup. A three-step checklist that ticks itself as you go, plus short videos on how contactID works.
• Agent. Your senders. Pick who is sending, edit their details and message, start from a template or let AI write the message.
• Targets. Paste websites or drop a file, watch the check run, review the pre-flight report, and see which sites you already contacted.
• Send. Start, pause, resume or stop the run, and follow every website through Queued, Processing, Sent, Failed, No form and Trash.

3. Sheets Instead Of Popups

Settings, the AI wallet, Advanced Export, the plan picker, the Feature Guide and every other dialog open as a sheet inside the panel: slide up from the bottom in the narrow panel, centered in the fullscreen tab. Escape or the X closes them.

4. Fullscreen And Widths

The fullscreen button opens contactID in its own tab. Above 600 px wide, the tabs move into a left rail with a live run summary; from 1280 px wide the Send list uses two columns. The narrow side panel works down to 320 px.

5. Settings

Settings live in the account menu. The Execution section holds concurrency (how many websites are processed at once) and delays; other sections cover CAPTCHA solving, proxies, which fields the Send cards show, and exporting or importing your settings. Form Filling Concurrency is 5 by default. The Settings help recommends starting with 3 to 5 and adjusting to your computer: raise it for speed, lower it if your computer slows down. Required questions decides what happens when a form requires an answer your agent does not have: Skip the website (recommended) or Answer neutrally (see A Website Was Skipped: The Form Asked Something Your Agent Cannot Answer).

6. Keeping It Open

The side panel stays open until you close it or close the window. The run continues while you use other tabs; leave Chrome open in the background if you switch to another app.

Related questions:

• How To Sign In To The Extension?
• Concurrent Tabs: How Many Forms Are Filled At Once?
• How To Pause Or Stop A Campaign?
• Extension Permissions Explained

If the contactID extension icon does not respond, the side panel is blank, or you see a spinning loader forever, one of a small list of common issues is usually the cause. Try these in order.

1. Check The Extension Is Enabled

Chrome sometimes disables extensions after updates, especially on managed devices.

• Type chrome://extensions/ into your address bar.
• Find contactID in the list.
• Confirm the toggle in the bottom right of the contactID card is blue (enabled).
• If it is grey, click to enable.

2. Reload The Extension

A stuck extension state usually clears with a reload:

• On the same chrome://extensions/ page, find the contactID card.
• Click the small Reload icon (a circular arrow).
• Wait five seconds, then click the contactID icon in your toolbar again.

3. Update Chrome To The Latest Version

Very old Chrome versions do not support the side panel API. Update:

• Click the three-dot menu in the top right of Chrome.
• Click Help, then About Google Chrome.
• Chrome checks for updates and installs any automatically. Restart Chrome when prompted.

The minimum Chrome version for contactID is 116.

4. Check For Extension Updates

• Go to chrome://extensions/.
• Toggle Developer Mode on in the top right.
• Click the Update button that appears in the top left.
• Chrome updates every installed extension. Wait a minute, then retry contactID.

5. Clear The Local Queue

If the side panel opens but the Send tab is stuck on an old run, clear the local queue:

• Open the Send tab menu and choose Advanced Export to save any unsent websites first.
• In the same menu, choose Clear All.
• Import your websites again on the Targets tab.

There is no separate reset button. If the panel itself stays blank, reinstall the extension (step 6).

6. Reinstall The Extension

If none of the above works, uninstall and reinstall:

• Right-click the contactID icon in your toolbar.
• Click Remove From Chrome.
• Confirm removal.
• Go to the Chrome Web Store and reinstall contactID.
• Sign in again with the same account.

Reinstalling never deletes dashboard data. Your agents, credits, and history are preserved. The local queue on the Send tab and your extension settings are removed with the extension, so save unsent websites with Advanced Export first (and your settings with Export in Settings).

7. If The Problem Persists

Contact support at [email protected] with:

• Your Chrome version (visible under About Chrome).
• Your contactID extension version (on the chrome://extensions/ page).
• A screenshot of what you see when opening the extension.
• Any error message in the browser console (Right-click on the page, Inspect, Console tab).

Related questions:

• Updating The Extension To The Latest Version
• Session Expired Errors
• The Extension Isn’t Filling Forms
• How To Sign In To The Extension?
• Extension Permissions Explained

Chrome extensions typically update themselves in the background, but you can force an update manually if you want the newest features immediately. Here is how.

1. Automatic Updates (The Default)

Chrome checks for extension updates every few hours. If a new version of contactID is available, it downloads and installs quietly, then activates the next time you launch Chrome. Most users never have to think about this.

2. Manual Update Check

To force Chrome to check right now:

• Type chrome://extensions/ into your address bar.
• Toggle Developer Mode on in the top right corner.
• Click the Update button that appears in the top left.
• Chrome checks every installed extension for updates.

3. Confirm Which Version You Have

• On chrome://extensions/, find contactID.
• The version number is shown below the extension name.
• Compare to the current release on the contactID Web Store listing.

If you are more than one version behind, force an update.

4. What Is In The Latest Version?

The current version number is shown on the contactID Chrome Web Store listing and on chrome://extensions/.

Typical categories of updates:

• Compatibility fixes for new website builders (Squarespace tweaks, WordPress plugins, custom platforms).
• Bug fixes for edge-case failures.
• New features (better form detection, new supported field types, new agent options).
• Performance improvements (faster form detection, less memory usage).

5. Downgrading Is Not Supported

Chrome does not let you install an older version of an extension. If a new release breaks something for you, contact support and we will investigate; we do not release rollback builds.

Related questions:

• What To Do If The Extension Won’t Load?
• The Extension Isn’t Filling Forms
• Understanding The Extension Interface (Side Panel And Fullscreen)
• Extension Permissions Explained

The contactID Chrome extension asks for a specific set of permissions when installed. Here is exactly what each one is used for and why it is needed.

1. The Full Permissions List

Chrome shows this list when you install contactID:

• Read and change all your data on all websites.
• Read your browsing history. (Chrome lists this for the Tabs and Web Navigation permissions.)
• Manage your downloads.
• Display notifications.

Each of these is used for a specific contactID feature.

2. “Read And Change All Your Data On All Websites” (Host Permission)

This is the biggest and most concerning-sounding permission. It is required because contactID has to know how to fill contact forms on any website you add to your queue, and there is no way to know in advance which websites those will be.

What contactID actually does with this permission:

• Works in the tabs of your queue. The websites in your queue open in background tabs; contactID finds the contact form there, fills it and checks the confirmation. It does not read the tabs you browse yourself, with two exceptions: a tiny helper loads on every page only to note the reCAPTCHA action name (kept inside the page, sent nowhere), and the optional Automatically find “Contact Us” pages setting on the extension’s Options page (off by default) looks for a contact link on websites you open, closing pop-ups and accepting cookie banners there first.
• Reads what sending needs on those pages: the form, links that lead to a contact page, and the confirmation message after sending.
• Changes only what sending needs. It fills contact-form fields with your agent data and closes cookie banners and pop-ups that cover the form.
• Does not upload the pages. What leaves your browser is the result for each website (its address, status and the values filled per field, shown in Analytics), the website’s address when AI Personalization writes the message, and, when a captcha is solved automatically, what the solving service needs (the site key, the page address and, for picture captchas, the picture), and a form’s spam question, as text, for contactID’s AI to answer.

You can see this in action by watching your browser as contactID runs a batch: the URLs in your queue open in background tabs, get filled, submit, and close. Nothing else happens.

3. “Read Your Browsing History” (Tabs Permission)

The extension needs to open, monitor, and close tabs for each URL in your queue. Chrome bundles the Tabs permission (needed to open a tab) with browsing-history read access as a matter of API design; contactID does not use, log, or transmit your browsing history.

4. “Manage Your Downloads”

Used only when you click an export button that saves a list of websites: Export on a status list of the Send tab, or CSV and TXT on the Targets tab’s “No contact form” card. contactID saves the CSV or TXT file through Chrome’s downloads. Advanced Export and the dashboard’s exports are ordinary browser downloads. No downloads are created or triggered without your explicit action.

5. “Display Notifications”

Used only by the optional Automatically find “Contact Us” pages setting (the extension’s Options page, off by default). When it is on and you open a website, contactID can show a “Found Contact Page?” notification with Add to Queue. contactID sends no batch, payment or sign-in notifications; those messages appear inside the side panel.

You can turn these off in Chrome’s notification settings if you do not want them.

6. Windows

Chrome shows no separate warning for this. contactID uses Chrome’s windows API to open the Google sign-in in its own small window when you choose Continue with Google, and to open the side panel in the window you clicked.

7. Storage And Alarms Permissions

Not shown in the install dialog because Chrome treats them as low-risk, but contactID also uses:

• Storage. For your local session, queue state, and settings. Chrome extension storage is sandboxed to contactID; other extensions cannot read it.
• Alarms. For housekeeping timers: every minute it checks that no website is stuck in Processing, and every few minutes it resends results that could not be reported during a network problem.
• Scripting and Active Tab. To find, fill and submit the contact form in the tabs of your queue.
• Side Panel. For the main extension interface.
• Identity. For Continue with Google in the extension.
• Proxy and Web Request. For the optional proxy settings (routing a run through your proxy and answering its sign-in request). Web Request also runs a passive listener that changes no request and sends nothing.

8. What contactID Never Requests

By design, contactID does not request:

• Access to your email account or any external mail provider.
• Access to your microphone, camera, or geolocation.
• Access to your clipboard beyond what you paste in manually.
• Access to system-level features like installed programs or file paths.

9. Reviewing Or Revoking Permissions

• Go to chrome://extensions/.
• Click Details on the contactID card.
• Scroll to Site Access to see or restrict which sites contactID can run on.

If you restrict Site Access to specific sites only, contactID cannot fill forms on other sites; keep it on On All Sites for the extension to work as designed.

Related questions:

• How To Install The contactID Chrome Extension?
• What Data Does contactID Store About You?
• Is My Message Content Private?
• GDPR And Data Deletion
• How contactID Handles Bot Detection Ethically

You can install contactID on as many Chromium-based browsers and computers as you want using the same account. Here is how the multi-device experience works.

1. Sign In Once Per Device

Install the extension on each browser or computer, then sign in on each one using the same email (you confirm each device with a 6-digit code) or the same Google account. Each device gets its own session.

2. What Is Shared Across Devices

Your contactID account is the source of truth, so these are the same on every device:

• Agents. Every device sees the same list of agents. Edit on one, and the others pick up the change the next time their side panel is opened or brought back into view.
• Website credits. One shared credit pool. Sending on device A deducts from the pool; device B shows the new balance when it next loads your wallet, and every run checks the server balance before it starts.
• AI wallet balance. Same pool for all devices.
• Subscription status and plan. One subscription, applies everywhere.
• Analytics. Every send from any device appears on the same Analytics page of the dashboard.

3. What Is Not Shared

The following is local to each device:

• The current queue. If you start a batch on device A, device B does not see or affect it. This is intentional; running two batches from the same account at once would collide.
• Concurrent tab settings. Each browser tunes for its own machine.
• Signed-in state. Signing out on device A does not sign out device B.

4. Running Batches On Multiple Devices Simultaneously

Yes, you can. Just make sure the URL lists do not overlap; otherwise the same target website receives your message twice (once from each device).

Common patterns:

• Split a large list. 5,000 URLs? Import half on your work laptop and half on your home computer. The batch finishes twice as fast without paying more.
• Region-based split. Run US-focused outreach from your US-based VPN device and EU-focused outreach from an EU device.

5. No Sending Cap Per Account

contactID does not limit how many forms an account sends per minute or per day, on one device or across several. Each browser’s pace comes from its Form Filling Concurrency setting, and the extension waits 45 seconds before sending a second form to the same website.

6. Signing Out On Another Device

There is no “Sign Out Everywhere” button and no sessions page. Signing out in the extension or on the dashboard ends that browser’s session on the server and signs out both the extension and the dashboard there. If you left contactID signed in on a device you no longer have access to, contact support and we will end that session.

Related questions:

• How To Sign In To The Extension?
• Managing Your Sessions (No Sessions Page)
• Concurrent Tabs: How Many Forms Are Filled At Once?
• How Website Credits Are Consumed
• How To Pause Or Stop A Campaign?

Signing in once is enough: the extension and the dashboard share one session, and the most recent sign-in or sign-out wins.

• Sign in on the dashboard (or on the sign-in page the extension opens), and the extension signs in to that account at once, even if it was signed in to another account. The side panel tells you why.
• Sign in inside the extension, and every open dashboard tab signs in to that account at once, switching accounts if needed, with a short note such as “You switched to [email protected] in the contactID extension, so the dashboard switched too.” A dashboard you open later takes the session automatically, so every page loads without asking you to sign in again.
• Sign out on either side and the other side signs out at once. Sign out in the extension’s menu signs every dashboard tab out and shows the sign-in page with a note; Sign out on the dashboard tells the extension first (the page says “Signing you out” for up to a few seconds) and the side panel says why it signed out. The session is also ended on the server.
• If a session ends on its own (it expired or the account was deleted), the side that notices signs itself out cleanly and shows the sign-in screen with a short note, instead of failing silently. A server hiccup never signs you out; only a session the server confirms is gone counts.

Your senders follow the account: when you switch accounts, the extension puts the previous account’s senders aside and brings back the new account’s own.

This works in Chrome, in the browser profile where the extension is installed. On another computer or browser, sign in once there as well; signing out there does not sign out this browser.

Related questions:

• How To Sign In To The Extension?
• Sessions: Sliding Window Explained
• Session Expired Errors
• Can’t Sign In To Extension
• Managing Your Sessions (No Sessions Page)