[BUG] Claude in Chrome extension (v1.0.68) blocks navigation to claude.ai — breaking MCP browser automation after recent update

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Summary

After a recent extension update (approx. April 15, 2026), the Claude in Chrome extension began blocking all navigation to claude.ai when used via the Claude Code MCP bridge. This worked correctly prior to this update. The error shown is Chrome's generic "This site is blocked by your organization's policy" — even on personal, non-managed machines with no MDM or enterprise Chrome policies in place.

Environment

OS: macOS (Darwin 25.3.0)
Claude desktop app: v1.3109.0
Claude Chrome extension: v1.0.68 (extension ID: fcoeoabgfenejglbffodgkkbkcdhcgfn)
Chrome profile: personal (no enterprise MDM, no managed preferences at /Library/Managed Preferences/)
Claude Code MCP tool: mcp__Claude_in_Chrome
Steps to reproduce

Install Claude in Chrome extension (v1.0.68) in a personal Chrome profile
Connect Claude Code MCP to the browser
Use the navigate tool to go to https://claude.ai
Observe: navigation fails with "This site is blocked by your organization's policy"
What I investigated

I dug into the extension source code and found the following:

The extension has a URL categorization system in mcpPermissions-D7Rkh1yL.js that calls Anthropic's own server (/api/web/url_hash_c...) before allowing any navigation.
When the server returns org_policy: "block" for a URL, the extension renders blocked.html — which surfaces Chrome's "blocked by your organization's policy" error. This is the extension generating that error, not Chrome or any enterprise policy.
claude.ai is specifically returning org_policy: "block" from Anthropic's server. Other sites (e.g. Google) are not affected.
There is no local override or user-facing setting to whitelist a URL. The block is entirely server-side.
Confirmed: no MDM enrollment, no /Library/Managed Preferences/com.google.Chrome.plist, no Chrome enterprise policies on this machine.
Impact

Claude Code users can no longer use the Claude in Chrome MCP to interact with their own claude.ai conversations
The use case this breaks: auditing, navigating, and managing claude.ai chat history via Claude Code automation
This worked before the ~April 15 update — the extension changelog entry "launch-20260415" in local storage correlates with when the block appeared
What doesn't make sense

Anthropic's own Chrome extension is blocking navigation to Anthropic's own web product. A user trying to use Claude Code to help manage their Claude.ai chats — a completely reasonable and first-party workflow — is being blocked by a server-side policy with no user-facing explanation, no error message pointing to the real cause, and no way to opt out.

The "organization policy" error message is particularly confusing for personal users who assume their employer or Chrome is blocking something, when in reality it is Anthropic's own extension enforcing this silently.

Requested fix / suggestion

Either remove the claude.ai block from the server-side URL categorization, or
Add a user-facing option in the extension settings to whitelist specific URLs (including first-party Anthropic domains), or
At minimum, change the error message to clearly state that the block is enforced by the Claude extension itself — not the user's organization

What Should Happen?

Claude Code's MCP browser tool should be able to navigate to claude.ai like any other website, as it did prior to the ~April 15, 2026 extension update. A first-party Anthropic product should not be blocked by another first-party Anthropic product with no user-facing explanation or override.

Error Messages/Logs

This error is generated by the Claude extension itself (via blocked.html) — not by Chrome, MDM, or any enterprise policy. The extension calls Anthropic's server at /api/web/url_hash_c... which returns org_policy: "block" for claude.ai, triggering the block. Confirmed via inspection of mcpPermissions-D7Rkh1yL.js in extension v1.0.68.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Claude in Chrome extension (v1.0.68) on a personal Chrome profile
2. Connect Claude Code MCP to the browser
3. Use the navigate MCP tool targeting https://claude.ai
4. Observe: navigation fails with the "organization policy" error
5. Is this a regression?

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude desktop app v1.3109.0 / Chrome extension v1.0.68

Platform

Other

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_