Widely availableAn important policy decision for applications that handle sensitive paths, user identifiers, or third-party integrations.
Security and privacy Widely available

Referrer policy

Referrer policy controls how much referring URL information the browser sends with outgoing requests. It helps balance analytics needs with privacy and security.

SecurityPrivacyNetworking

Overview

Referrer policy controls how much referring URL information the browser sends with outgoing requests. It helps balance analytics needs with privacy and security.

Browser support

Feature Desktop Mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Safari
Chrome Android
Safari iOS
api.HTMLAnchorElement.referrerPolicy
52
79
50
14
52
14
HTML attribute
referrerpolicy
51
79
50
14
51
14
referrerpolicy
51
79
50
14
51
14
referrerpolicy
51
79
50
14
51
14
referrerpolicy
51
79
50
14
51
14
referrerpolicy
51
79
50
14
51
14
referrerpolicy
70
79
65
14
70
14
DOM API
referrerPolicy (no-referrer-when-downgrade)

no-referrer-when-downgrade
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (origin-when-cross-origin)

origin-when-cross-origin
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (unsafe-url)

unsafe-url
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy

The HTMLAreaElement.referrerPolicy property reflect the HTML referrerpolicy attribute of the area element defining which referrer is sent when fetching the resource.
52
79
50
14.1
52
14.5
referrerPolicy (no-referrer-when-downgrade)

no-referrer-when-downgrade
52
79
61
14.1
52
14.5
referrerPolicy (origin-when-cross-origin)

origin-when-cross-origin
52
79
61
14.1
52
14.5
referrerPolicy (unsafe-url)

unsafe-url
52
79
61
14.1
52
14.5
referrerPolicy

The HTMLIFrameElement.referrerPolicy property reflects the HTML referrerpolicy attribute of the iframe element defining which referrer is sent when fetching the resource.
52
79
50
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (no-referrer-when-downgrade)

no-referrer-when-downgrade
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (origin-when-cross-origin)

origin-when-cross-origin
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (unsafe-url)

unsafe-url
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy

The referrerPolicy property of the HTMLImageElement interface defining which referrer is sent when fetching the resource. It reflects the element's referrerpolicy content attribute.
52
79
50
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (no-referrer-when-downgrade)

no-referrer-when-downgrade
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (origin-when-cross-origin)

origin-when-cross-origin
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy (unsafe-url)

unsafe-url
52
79
61
14
52
14
referrerPolicy

The referrerPolicy property of the HTMLLinkElement interface reflects the HTML referrerpolicy attribute of the link element defining which referrer is sent when fetching the resource.
58
79
50
14.1
58
14.5
referrerPolicy (no-referrer-when-downgrade)

no-referrer-when-downgrade
58
79
50
14.1
58
14.5
referrerPolicy (origin-when-cross-origin)

origin-when-cross-origin
58
79
50
14.1
58
14.5
referrerPolicy (unsafe-url)

unsafe-url
58
79
50
14.1
58
14.5
referrerPolicy

The referrerPolicy property of the HTMLScriptElement interface reflects the HTML referrerpolicy of the script element, which defines how the referrer is set when fetching the script and any scripts it imports.
70
79
65
14
70
14
referrerPolicy (no-referrer-when-downgrade)

no-referrer-when-downgrade
70
79
65
14
70
14
referrerPolicy (origin-when-cross-origin)

origin-when-cross-origin
70
79
65
14
70
14
referrerPolicy (unsafe-url)

unsafe-url
70
79
65
14
70
14
Other
html.elements.a.referrerpolicy.no-referrer-when-downgrade

no-referrer-when-downgrade
51
79
50
51
html.elements.a.referrerpolicy.origin-when-cross-origin

origin-when-cross-origin
51
79
50
51
html.elements.a.referrerpolicy.unsafe-url

unsafe-url
51
79
50
51
html.elements.area.referrerpolicy.no-referrer-when-downgrade

no-referrer-when-downgrade
51
79
50
51
html.elements.area.referrerpolicy.origin-when-cross-origin

origin-when-cross-origin
51
79
50
51
html.elements.area.referrerpolicy.unsafe-url

unsafe-url
51
79
50
51
html.elements.iframe.referrerpolicy.no-referrer-when-downgrade

no-referrer-when-downgrade
51
79
50
51
html.elements.iframe.referrerpolicy.origin-when-cross-origin

origin-when-cross-origin
51
79
50
51
html.elements.iframe.referrerpolicy.unsafe-url

unsafe-url
51
79
50
51
html.elements.img.referrerpolicy.no-referrer-when-downgrade

no-referrer-when-downgrade
51
79
50
51
html.elements.img.referrerpolicy.origin-when-cross-origin

origin-when-cross-origin
51
79
50
51
html.elements.img.referrerpolicy.unsafe-url

unsafe-url
51
79
50
51
html.elements.link.referrerpolicy.no-referrer-when-downgrade

no-referrer-when-downgrade
51
79
50
51
html.elements.link.referrerpolicy.origin-when-cross-origin

origin-when-cross-origin
51
79
50
51
html.elements.link.referrerpolicy.unsafe-url

unsafe-url
51
79
50
51
html.elements.script.referrerpolicy.no-referrer-when-downgrade
70
79
65
70
html.elements.script.referrerpolicy.origin-when-cross-origin
70
79
65
70
html.elements.script.referrerpolicy.unsafe-url
70
79
65
70
http.headers.Referrer-Policy

The HTTP Referrer-Policy response header controls how much referrer information (sent with the Referer header) should be included with requests. Aside from the HTTP header, you can set this policy in HTML.
56
79
50
11.1
56
12
http.headers.Referrer-Policy.default_strict-origin-when-cross-origin

Default policy is `strict-origin-when-cross-origin`
85
85
87
15
85
15
http.headers.Referrer-Policy.no-referrer-when-downgrade

no-referrer-when-downgrade
56
79
50
11.1
56
12
http.headers.Referrer-Policy.origin-when-cross-origin

origin-when-cross-origin
56
79
50
11.1
56
12
http.headers.Referrer-Policy.same-origin

same-origin
61
79
52
11.1
61
12
http.headers.Referrer-Policy.strict-origin

strict-origin
61
79
52
11.1
61
12
http.headers.Referrer-Policy.strict-origin-when-cross-origin

strict-origin-when-cross-origin
61
79
52
11.1
61
12
http.headers.Referrer-Policy.unsafe-url

unsafe-url
56
79
50
11.1
56
12
1+Supported (version) Not supported ※Has note Sub-feature descriptions sourced from MDN Web Docs (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 2 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (52)
Implementation note
  • Previously available under a different name: referrerpolicy (51)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (13)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (13)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (13)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (13)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (92)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (13)
Notes 1 item(s)
Removed
  • This feature was removed in a later browser version (13)

Syntax

HTML 
<meta name="referrer" content="strict-origin-when-cross-origin">

<a href="https://external.com" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
  Links without a referrer
</a>

Live demo

Referrer policy matrix

Compare the amount of referrer information sent by common policies.

PreviewFullscreen

Privacy trade-off

Explain how referrer policy balances analytics detail and cross-site privacy.

PreviewFullscreen

Policy selection notes

Choose a default policy deliberately instead of relying on assumptions.

PreviewFullscreen

Use cases

  • Protecting sensitive paths

    Limit what destination sites learn about the current page URL when users follow links or load external assets.

  • Third-party integration hygiene

    Reduce unnecessary URL leakage to analytics, embeds, and remote resources.

Cautions

  • A policy that is too restrictive may affect some analytics or workflow expectations, so choose it deliberately rather than blindly.
  • Policy needs may differ between global defaults and specific high-sensitivity routes.

Accessibility

  • This feature is mostly about network behavior, but clearer privacy controls can support user trust in form and account flows.

Related links

Powered by web-features