Homepage setup and blank tab option for Safari and ChromeSolved

Participant
Discussion
1 month ago

Hi all!

We need to implement a default homepage in both Safari and Chrome and have a second tab open blank when the browsers launch. Using a configuration profile does set these options, but it also locks them up so our employees can’t change the homepage settings later if they prefer. We’d like to push these browser defaults without enforcing them permanently. We’ve tried scripting the changes, but Safari and Chrome ignore the scripts. Can you advise on how to set these preferences as defaults while still allowing users to modify them if they wish?

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Marked SolutionPending Review
Participant
1 month ago
Marked SolutionPending Review

Hey @jayceon,

Configuration profiles typically enforce settings, they don’t usually apply them as modifiable defaults unless the specific key supports that behavior, which is uncommon.

As for scripting, this approach likely won’t work. Safari stores user settings in SQLite databases, which are not easily modified externally. Configuration profiles remain the only reliable way to set preferences in Safari, but they do lock those settings.

Chrome is similar. Its preferences are stored in a JSON file at:

~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Preferences

Modifying this file directly can lead to browser instability or even data corruption.

So, in this case, setting the homepage manually on the device might be the safest option if you want users to retain control.

Note: In Safari, when using this manual method, you can only set the homepage. There’s no supported way to have Safari automatically open a second blank tab on launch.

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