Skip to main content

Find a help guide

All help guides

Setting Chrome Storage Managed Keys for Helperbird

Every managed storage key Helperbird reads, what each one does, the JSON to paste into the Google Admin console, and which browsers can read a policy at all.

On this page

You have a subscription key and a fleet of managed devices. A managed policy is how that key reaches them.

Where you paste the policy depends on the tool you manage with. Pick yours from the tool list on force install Helperbird.


Where Managed Keys Work

Which browsers read a Helperbird managed policy.
BrowserReads a managed policy
ChromeYes
EdgeYes
FirefoxYes, from the 3rdparty block of policies.json
Safari on MacYes, using forced preferences for com.helperbird.Helperbird.Extension in a supported Apple build
Safari on iPad and iPhoneYes, using managed App Configuration or supported ManagedApp/DDM delivery

For Apple devices, use the policy builder, Mac deployment guide, or iPhone/iPad setup. A Chrome policy is not directly installable in Safari.

The Google Workspace add-ons for Docs, Slides and Sheets do not read a policy either.


The Smallest Policy That Works

This is the whole policy for a school or business that wants Pro for everyone. Replace the key with your own.

{
  "subKey": { "Value": "YOUR SUBSCRIPTION KEY" },
  "isAdminControl": { "Value": true }
}

The {"Value": …} wrapper belongs to the Google Admin console's Policy for extensions field and nowhere else. Everywhere else you set the values on their own, with no wrapper around them.


What isAdminControl Does

It decides whether Helperbird reads the rest of your policy.

  • Set it to true and every other key in your policy applies.
  • Set it to false and the whole block is ignored, subKey included.
  • Leave it out and none of it takes effect.

Turning it from true back to false removes your subscription key, your disabled-feature list and your excluded sites. People fall back to their own subscription, or to Free.

For Safari, a false gate or policy removal releases the managed overlay and restores personal settings. An empty key releases managed licensing only; feature settings can remain active. Optional settings omitted from a Safari policy do not override personal values.

It is not a permission setting. subKey is the only key it takes out of people's hands. Other controls lock when your policy includes that key:

  • The Floating Toolbar is an exception: floatingButton sets a default, and the user's explicit on/off choice wins. To block it, enable disableFeatures and include FloatingButton in disabledFeatures.
  • The read-aloud word highlight toggle, when your policy names it.
  • The highlight color, when your policy names it.
  • The sites you exclude, shown read-only above the list people keep themselves.

Everything else stays theirs to change.


Every Key You Can Set

Every key a Helperbird managed policy can contain, with its type and default.
KeyTypeDefaultWhat it does
isAdminControlbooleanfalseThe switch above. Nothing else applies without it
subKeytextemptyYour organization subscription key
disableFeaturesbooleanfalseTurns on the list below
disabledFeatureslist of textemptyFeature codes to hide
excludedDomainsbooleanfalseTurns on the list below
excludedDomainsListlist of textemptySites to keep Helperbird off
floatingButtonbooleanfalseSets a user-editable default for the Floating Toolbar
floatingButtonPositionleft or rightleftWhich side that toolbar sits on
enableTtsWordHighlightbooleantrueHighlights each word as read aloud speaks it
ttsWordHighlightColorhex color#fde68aThe color of that highlight

Word highlighting works with the built-in browser voices. It does not run with the neural voices.

The toolbar appears for everyone, but five of its actions need Helperbird Pro: Dictionary, Immersive Reader, Word prediction, Voice typing and Screenshot Reader. Push subKey as well if you want those to work.


Limits to Know About

  • From Helperbird 2026.9.29, excludedDomainsList holds 20 sites in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Anything after the twentieth is dropped. Safari's native MDM list remains limited to 10 sites.
  • Your list does not replace the sites people exclude themselves. They keep a personal list of up to 20 sites from 2026.9.29, and both apply.
  • A domain matches that site and its subdomains. www. is ignored on both sides. There are no wildcards and no paths.
  • Listing sites without setting excludedDomains to true switches exclusion on the next time Helperbird loads. Set it to true yourself if you want it to take effect right away.
  • floatingButtonPosition takes left or right. Anything else becomes left.
  • A feature code Helperbird does not recognize is ignored, with no warning.
  • Setting subKey to an empty string clears it the next time Helperbird loads, and people drop back to Free. Deleting the key from your policy clears it right away.
  • A policy change takes a few minutes to reach a device. It applies the next time Helperbird loads, usually the next page someone opens. If it has not arrived, work through how to verify a managed deployment.

Validate Your Policy

Paste your JSON into the Helperbird JSON Policy Validator before you push it. It checks that your JSON is well formed. It does not check your feature codes.


Need Additional Help?

Ran into a snag while getting started? No worries at all. Reach out to our friendly Helperbird support team, and we'll help you smooth things out in no time.

Printed from the Helperbird Help Center · Updated September 29th, 2026

Questions? We are happy to help — helperbird.com/support

A few guides for your next step.

All help guides

Reviews from the Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons and G2

Join over 1,000,000 people who use Helperbird every day.

post concussion syndrome

I found this extension on a whim to help myself. Suffering with post concussion syndrome symptoms and working remotely is really hard! This extension basically saved my job. It gave me back productivity and the ability to read the screen. This extension has so many neat features I never even knew I needed. I love this and you will too! You don't need to be dyslexic or have dyslexia for this extension to benefit you. Do yourself a giant favor and get it! I highly recommend it!
Catherine ContilloHelperbird user

turned a 28-page reading assignme...

I have ADHD and yesterday Helperbird and the text-to-speech function (available in free version) turned a 28-page reading assignment from a two-day task to roughly two hours, maybe three at the absolute most. It helped tremendously! And I loved that the text-to-speech has such a fluid voice compared to a lot of others I've used! Honestly, the fact that this was created by someone who knows the struggles is something I love, because then it has neurodivergency in mind. I've tried too many things in the past that were created by neurotypical folk trying to be helpful to us and I do appreciate it, but it doesn't work as well because our brains work different. Highly recommend!
Addison BrownHelperbird user
Great app for anyone who is reading a lot on their browser.
daklyyiPhone and iPad user
Helperbird logo: a stylized owl with large round yellow eyes and a beige face.

Download Helperbird

Text to speech, dyslexia fonts, reading rulers, color overlays, and 44 more.

Free to add, and the everyday tools stay free. Works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.