Installing & Using the Extension

ContactID uses Chrome’s side panel as its main interface, with a small popup for quick controls. Knowing which one to use for which task saves you time.

1. The Side Panel Is The Main Interface

Click the ContactID icon in your Chrome toolbar to open the side panel on the right side of your browser. This is where you spend most of your time.

The side panel has three tabs at the top:

• Queue. URLs waiting to be sent, currently sending, or already sent this session.
• Import. Paste a URL list, upload a CSV, or pick from your saved lists.
• Activity. The last 50 sends from this session with status per row.

2. The Popup Is For Quick Actions

Some Chrome versions also show a popup when you click the icon. The popup has two controls:

• Start / Pause. Toggles the current batch.
• Open Full Dashboard. Launches the ContactID web dashboard in a new tab.

The popup is intentionally minimal. Complex actions (adding URLs, editing agents) all live in the side panel or dashboard.

3. Choosing Your Active Agent

At the top of the side panel is an agent switcher. This decides which profile fills forms in the current batch. Click it to switch between your saved agents.

Only one agent runs per batch. If you want to send from Agent A to some websites and Agent B to others, run them as two separate batches.

4. The Queue View Explained

When a batch is running, the Queue view shows every URL with its status:

• QUEUED. Waiting to be picked up.
• IN_PROGRESS. Currently open in a tab, being filled.
• COMPLETED. Form filled and submitted successfully.
• FAILED. Attempted but did not complete (bot detection, no form found, network error).
• SKIPPED. Duplicate URL or filtered out.

You can click any row for the detailed reason and (for successful sends) a snapshot of what was submitted.

5. Concurrent Tab Controls

The side panel has a Settings icon in the top right. Under Settings, the most useful control is Max Concurrent Tabs, which decides how many websites the extension opens simultaneously.

Higher numbers finish faster but use more RAM. Recommended:

• 1 to 2 tabs on older laptops or when doing other browser work.
• 3 to 5 tabs for typical batches.
• 5 to 8 tabs on powerful machines with fast internet.

Never set it higher than 8; Chrome starts to throttle background tabs above that, which causes false failures.

6. Keeping The Side Panel Open

The side panel stays open until you close it or close Chrome. If you switch windows, the side panel disappears with the window; open a new one and the side panel returns.

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 Extension Storage

If ContactID still shows a blank screen or errors, its local storage may be corrupted. Reset:

• Right-click the ContactID icon in your toolbar.
• Click Options (if available) or open the side panel.
• Click the Settings icon, then Reset Extension Data.
• Confirm. You will need to sign in again, but your dashboard data (agents, credits, activity) is not affected.

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.

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).

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?

Every release ships with release notes. Read them at contactid.app/changelog.

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.

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 auto-lists this with the Tabs permission.)
• Manage your downloads.
• Display notifications.
• Manage windows.

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:

• Reads only the pages in your queue. ContactID does not read any tab you open manually while browsing.
• Reads only form fields on those pages. Non-form content on the page (article text, images, other links) is ignored.
• Fills only contact-form fields with your agent data. Nothing else on the page is modified.
• Never sends the page contents anywhere. The extension processes everything locally in your browser.

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 Export Results from the side panel or dashboard. ContactID triggers a browser download for the CSV file. No downloads are created or triggered without your explicit action.

5. “Display Notifications”

Enables the following:

• Batch-finished notifications.
• Payment failure notifications for active subscribers.
• Session-expired alerts when you need to sign in again.

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

6. “Manage Windows”

Used to keep the side panel positioned correctly and to open the sign-in flow in a new window when needed.

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 background retry timers and periodic session-renewal checks.

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.

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 and password (or 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 change appears on the others within a few seconds.
• Website credits. One shared credit pool. Sending on device A deducts from the pool; device B sees the new balance immediately.
• AI wallet balance. Same pool for all devices.
• Subscription status and plan. One subscription, applies everywhere.
• Activity log. Every send from any device appears in the same Activity list.

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 you will fill the same target website twice (once from each device) and burn credits doubly.

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. Rate Limits Are Per-Account, Not Per-Device

ContactID enforces a maximum sending rate per account to protect target websites from unusual traffic patterns. This rate is:

• 60 form submissions per minute maximum, across all your devices combined.
• 10,000 form submissions per day maximum, across all your devices combined.

If you exceed these, sending pauses for a few minutes and resumes automatically. You are not penalized; the caps are pure rate-shaping.

6. Signing Out Everywhere At Once

If you want to sign out of every device at once, do it from the dashboard:

• Go to Account Settings, then Sessions.
• Click Sign Out Everywhere.
• Every device’s session is invalidated within a few minutes.

Useful if you left ContactID signed in on a device you no longer have access to.