Problem with Web Watcher on Edge browser

[s1lverkin]

• [x ] I am on the latest ActivityWatch version.
• [x ] I have searched the issues of this repo and believe that this is not a duplicate.

• OS name and version: Windows 11 24H2 + Microsoft Edge
• ActivityWatch version: 0.13.2
  ActivityWatchWeb addon version: 0.5.3

Describe the bug

Browser tab data is not getting filled unless I enable an option "allow in private" which I don't want to run daily :).

To Reproduce

1. Install AW Web Watcher extension on Brave Browser
2. Confirm that it is enabled and connected
3. Go to AW Web UI
4. And you will see no data in Top Browser Domains, Top Browser URLs
5. Turn on allow in private option
6. URL's keep getting added.

Expected behavior

URL's getting filled without private option.

[BelKed]

Hi, I can't reproduce this issue on macOS.

Could you please check the following?

• When you click on the ActivityWatch Web Watcher extension icon, does it show Browser: edge?
• If it does not, try changing the browser setting in the extension to Edge.

Let me know if this helps or if you still encounter the problem!

[s1lverkin]

Yes it does.

Worth to note that I am dumb, and even after enabling that private option, it only works temporarily for a few minutes and then suddendly stops. Is there any kind of logging that I can check for this?

[BelKed]

There are currently some known issues with the Chrome version of the extension due to Manifest V3 changes. I haven’t had a chance to look into it recently, as previous fixes haven’t fully resolved the problem.

Interestingly, if you open the extension’s developer console, the extension will run as expected. The main issue is that the worker goes to sleep after about 5 minutes of "inactivity" (staying on the same website).

For now, the best workaround is to use Firefox, or to continue using the extension in its current, partially working state if it’s not essential for your workflow. Just as a note, the extension’s main purpose is to provide data for the Browser tab (the collected data is categorized by app name and window title, not by individual URLs).

[s1lverkin]

You are right, tested this with extension console open and it works. Now just need to remember to have it opened each time I restart browser :)