Overview
Note: Our debugger also works in Microsoft Edge.
ObservePoint Debugger is a free Chrome extension that simplifies troubleshooting for marketers, analysts, and developers.
It displays in Chrome DevTools:
All tags and tracking scripts firing on the page (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe, GTM, pixels)
All cookies set in the browser (first- and third-party)
Automated WCAG accessibility issues (e.g., missing alt text, contrast problems)
Great for debugging tracking, checking privacy/compliance, and spotting accessibility barriers—all in one tool.
Install from the Chrome Web Store, open DevTools, select the ObservePoint tab, and refresh the page to start.
It allows you to:
See a list of all tags and the number of times they fire on a page.
Examine the tag itself in both encoded and unencoded formats.
View all the variable values each tag passes when it fires during and after page load.
View all cookies set by the tags.
View all the cookies and their attributes that are currently set in your browser.
Analyze a page for WCAG issues at the 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 guidelines at A, AA, AAA levels.
Record a list of tags and accessibility issues as you navigate from page to page.
Export the recorded list of tags, cookies and accessibility issues to an Excel file.
It also gives you access to a full automated ObservePoint account.
Instructions
Once the extension is installed, open the Chrome Developer Tools:
View > Developer > Developer Tools
Mac press (CMD+OPTION+I)
PC press Control-Shift-I or F12
Click the ObservePoint tab
Login
If you already have an ObservePoint account, log in with your existing credentials or simply create new login credentials that will give you access to the debugger and a free ObservePoint access that will automate your QA.
Analyze Tags
All of the tags and technologies that fire on a page show up under the column Tag Name. Underneath Tag Name is the Path, which is the actual network request where the tag was called from. Clicking on the Tag Name brings up the full URL path. In the debugger window, the URL is displayed as Actual and Decoded Request. Selecting the variables tab will display a list of all variables for that particular tag.
Refresh the page and wait for the tags to finish loading.
Click on an item from the list of tags found on the page to see its variables.
Scroll the right panel up and down to see all the values passed from the selected tag.
Click the Request tab at the top right of the panel to see the raw encoded and unencoded tag.
Click the Record button to retain all the tags as you navigate from page to page, including any link tracking that may occur.
Erase the list in the panel by clicking the Clear button.
Download the list into a Excel file by clicking the Download button.
Account, Vendor, Category, & Status Code
The Account column displays the ID number associated with the tag. One tag can have multiple accounts. The category column classifies the type of tag it is i.e. Analytics, Advertising, etc. Status codes indicates the result of the page load. A list of their meanings can be found in Mozila's W3C reference documentation.
Tag Performance: Request Size and Response Size
A request is relayed from a network to a server and the server responds. Request size shows the outgoing http size in Bytes while the response size is the server's response to the http request.
The time period from when a request is sent until the server responds is called Response Time. The Load Time is the time after the server responds and the tag loads.
Analyze Cookies
Navigate to the cookie section using the left-hand navigation. The cookies debugger displays a complete list of all cookies currently set in your browser. If no cookies appear, try refreshing the page.
You can view each cookie along with its attributes and even filter the list by specific attributes (see below).
Cookie Attribute | Definition |
Domain | Specifies the host(s) that can access the cookie. For example, .example.com makes the cookie available to all subdomains, while www.example.com restricts it to that specific host. |
Cookie Name | The identifier for the cookie. It distinguishes one cookie from another within the same domain and path. |
Value | The actual data stored in the cookie, usually a string or encoded text (e.g., session ID, user token, preferences). |
Path | Defines the URL path within the domain where the cookie is accessible. For instance, /app limits access to URLs starting with /app. |
Expires / Max Age | Determines the cookie’s lifespan. Expires sets a specific expiration date and time, while Max-Age defines duration in seconds. When omitted, the cookie is a session cookie (deleted when the browser closes). |
Size (Bytes) | Indicates the total size of the cookie (name + value + attributes). Browsers typically limit cookies to around 4KB each. |
HttpOnly | A flag that makes the cookie inaccessible to JavaScript (via document.cookie), reducing the risk of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. |
Secure | A flag that ensures the cookie is only sent over HTTPS connections, protecting it from interception over insecure channels. |
SameSite | Controls whether and how cookies are sent with cross-site requests. Options include Strict (no cross-site), Lax (limited cross-site, e.g., top-level navigation), and None (sent in all contexts, requires Secure). |
Partition Key Site | Used in newer browser privacy models (e.g., Chrome’s partitioned cookies) to isolate cookies by top-level site, reducing cross-site tracking. |
Cross Site | Indicates whether the cookie is being used in a cross-site context (e.g., third-party resource or iframe) — relevant for understanding tracking behavior and SameSite restrictions. |
You can also delete cookies from your browser. Just select the cookies you want to remove, use Shift + Click to select multiple, or check the top box to select all. Then click the menu that appears to delete them.
Accessibility Testing
WCAG - short for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - is categorized into three levels of conformance to meet the needs of different groups and situations: A (lowest), AA (mid-range), and AAA (highest).
We support all levels of conformance with current versions of WCAG: 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2. Conformance at higher levels indicates conformance at lower levels. For example, a web page that conforms to AA meets both the A and AA conformance levels. Most organizations set their standards at level AA because it is both achievable and meaningful, without being too disruptive to the design and development process of a website.
We run 71 tests that cover 28 out of 56 WCAG guidelines on every page across WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2. While WCAG has a total of 56 guidelines, and 28 are testable via automated tools like ObservePoint. Every web accessibility strategy requires a mix of manual and automated testing to be successful.
List of WCAG guidelines that ObservePoint tests:
1.1.1 | 1.2.1 | 1.2.2 |
1.3.1 | 1.3.4 | 1.3.5 |
1.4.1 | 1.4.2 | 1.4.3 |
1.4.4 | 1.4.6 | 2.1.1 |
2.1.3 | 2.2.1 | 2.2.2 |
2.2.4 | 2.4.1 | 2.4.2 |
2.4.4 | 2.4.9 | 2.5.3 |
2.5.8 | 3.1.1 | 3.1.2 |
3.2.5 | 3.3.2 | 4.1.1 |
4.1.2 |
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Within each version and conformance level we also support four levels of severity:
Critical issues are accessibility problems that significantly hinder or completely block the ability of people with disabilities to access and use web content.
Serious issues are problems that significantly impact the usability of web content for people with disabilities, causing considerable inconvenience or difficulty without completely blocking access.
Moderate issues are problems that impact the usability of web content for people with disabilities, creating noticeable challenges that can be overcome with some effort.
Minor issues are problems that have a small impact on the usability of web content for people with disabilities, causing minor inconveniences or deviations from best practices without significantly hindering access
Most customers tell us they focus on WCAG 2.1 AA Critical and Serious Issues.
In addition to automated functional testing, which verifies that content functions as expected, usability testing is recommended to determine how well people can use the content for its intended purpose. It is recommended that users with disabilities be included in test groups when performing usability testing.
Adding a dataLayer
Click the little gear icon in the bottom left hand corner of the Debugger
Input any custom dataLayers, we automatically check for: dataLayer, utag_data, digitalData, ensBootstraps, & _satellite.
Troubleshooting
Occasionally you may find that the tool does not show any tags even after refreshing the page. If this is the case, do the following:
Verify that there are actually tags on the page by searching for one of them in the Network panel (search for google-analytics or assets.adobedtm.com, for example).
If you know there are tags on the page, check to see if another instance of the Debugger Tool is open. If so, close both and use only one instance at a time.
If there are tags on the page that do not show in the debugger list, verify that the tag is listed in ObservePoint's tag database. While ObservePoint tracks thousands of tags, you may have one on your page that is not yet on our list. Just let us know and we'll be happy to add it for you.