Referer

The Referer request header contains the address of the previous web page from which a link to the currently requested page was followed. The Referer header allows servers to identify where people are visiting them from and may use that data for analytics, logging, or optimized caching, for example.

Important: Although this header has many innocent uses it can have undesirable consequences for user security and privacy. See Referer header: privacy and security concerns for more information and mitigations.

Note that referer is actually a misspelling of the word "referrer". See HTTP referer on Wikipedia for more details.

A Referer header is not sent by browsers if:

  • The referring resource is a local "file" or "data" URI.
  • An unsecured HTTP request is used and the referring page was received with a secure protocol (HTTPS).
Header type Request header
Forbidden header name yes

Syntax

Referer: <url>

Directives

<url>
An absolute or partial address of the previous web page from which a link to the currently requested page was followed. URL fragments (i.e. "#section") and userinfo (i.e. "username:password" in "https://username:password@example.com/foo/bar/") are not included.

Examples

Referer: https://developer.mozilla.org/docs/Web/JavaScript

Specifications

Specification Title
RFC 7231, section 5.5.2: Referer Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
RefererChrome Full support YesEdge Full support 12Firefox Full support YesIE Full support YesOpera Full support YesSafari Full support YesWebView Android Full support YesChrome Android Full support YesFirefox Android Full support YesOpera Android Full support YesSafari iOS Full support YesSamsung Internet Android Full support Yes
Length limited to 4096 bytesChrome Full support 77Edge Full support 79Firefox Full support 70IE No support NoOpera Full support 64Safari No support NoWebView Android Full support 77Chrome Android Full support 77Firefox Android No support NoOpera Android Full support 55Safari iOS No support NoSamsung Internet Android No support No

Legend

Full support
Full support
No support
No support

See also