LinkedIn continuous console errors on Chrome (temp fix)

A tiny Chrome extension that stops LinkedIn’s “extension probing” from spamming your console and using lots of memory.

What’s the problem?

LinkedIn’s site runs code that tries to detect which Chrome extensions you have. It does this by trying to load a file from a large set of extension URLs. For example:

chrome-extension://some-id/some-file.png

When you don’t have that extension, the request fails. Chrome logs each failure. After a minute you get thousands of errors and the tab can use a lot of memory. Same issue discussed here:

• Reddit: LinkedIn continuous console errors on Google Chrome

LinkedIn has said they’re working on a fix. Until then, this extension is a temporary workaround.

What does this extension do?

It runs before LinkedIn’s script and changes how fetch, XMLHttpRequest, and image loading work only for URLs that start with chrome-extension://. For those URLs it immediately returns “failed” without sending a real network request. So:

• No thousands of real requests → no memory spike
• No thousands of console errors
• All other LinkedIn traffic (pages, API, images) is unchanged

Privacy: The extension does not collect, store, or send any data. It only runs on LinkedIn and only blocks those probe requests.

Quick install (no Git needed)

1. Open this repository on GitHub. You can either click Code → Download ZIP, or use the Releases page and download the extension zip for the latest version.
2. Unzip the folder.
3. In Chrome go to chrome://extensions/, turn Developer mode on (top right), click Load unpacked, and select the unzipped folder (the one that contains manifest.json).
4. Reload LinkedIn. The console errors should stop.

Detailed install (load unpacked)

1. Download or clone this repository so you have a folder with:

   • manifest.json
   • content.js
   • (optional) README.md

2. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/

3. Turn Developer mode on (top right)

4. Click Load unpacked

5. Select the folder that contains manifest.json and content.js

6. Reload LinkedIn. The console errors and memory issue should stop.

What’s in each file?

• manifest.json – Tells Chrome: “Run content.js on LinkedIn pages, as early as possible (document_start), in the page’s own context (world: MAIN) so we can override fetch before LinkedIn’s script runs.”
• content.js – The code that overrides fetch, XMLHttpRequest, and image src and blocks any request whose URL starts with chrome-extension://. Heavily commented so you can read and share it.

Troubleshooting

• Reload the LinkedIn tab after installing or updating the extension (F5 or Cmd+R on the LinkedIn page).
• Make sure the extension is enabled at chrome://extensions.
• If it only worked after you edited the manifest: the extension runs on www.linkedin.com, linkedin.com, and all *.linkedin.com subdomains. If your LinkedIn URL is different, ensure it's covered under the extension's "Site access" on the extension's details page.

Will this break my other extensions?

No. This only affects requests that the LinkedIn page makes (e.g. LinkedIn’s own script calling fetch("chrome-extension://...")). Your other extensions are loaded by Chrome, not by the page, and their content scripts run in a separate context. They keep working normally.

When LinkedIn fixes the issue

You can disable or remove this extension. It’s only a temporary fix until LinkedIn ships their fix.