Chrome 84+: A website wants to open this application: Handlers

Question

I had the following fixes, which opened the needed application in Chrome without confirmation each time. They worked well until the update of Version 84.0.4147.89 (Official Build) (64-bit).

Fix 1:

In C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Preferences
"protocol_handler":{"excluded_schemes":{"neededApp":false}}

Fix 2:

In Regedit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome
Create DWORD ExternalProtocolDialogShowAlwaysOpenCheckbox =1

Any idea what changed or how to fix that issue for the new version? It doesn't happen with all apps.

Answer 1

If you go into chrome://flags/ and search for "Insecure origins treated as secure" and then add the origin e.g. "http://example.com", you then get the tick box to allow to remember the selection.

I just tried this in Chrome 84 and MS Edge 84. You do get a warning when opening Edge that you are using an insecure option, but as it is for a specific URL this seems acceptable.

The usual caveats apply in that you do trust the site to be treated as if it was secure!