How it works — AutoFilter

01
The results page

You search on autotrader.co.uk. AutoFilter only loads on car-search results pages.
In your browser
02
The reader

Checks each result card for its price label, a “You may also like” marker and a write-off badge.
In your browser
03
Your settings

The labels and switches you picked, saved in Chrome's storage on this device.
In your browser
04
The filter

Hides cards that don't match so the grid closes up, and re-checks as more cards load.
In your browser
05
The status bar

Shows what's filtered, with a one-click way to turn it off.
On the results page

Runs in your browser What you see Nothing on this map touches the network.

Stays in your browser

Your filter choices: labels, switches and On / Paused.
Your popup theme, light or dark.
Everything AutoFilter reads from the results page. It's used on the spot and never saved.

Nothing. AutoFilter makes no network requests of its own: no servers, no analytics, no tracking.
Because it never contacts AutoTrader either, it adds no extra traffic to the site.

Labels, not guesses. AutoFilter never works out a price. It reads the price-label badge AutoTrader already shows on each card; a card without one counts as “No rating”.
No gaps. AutoTrader lays results out in a grid. AutoFilter hides each filtered car's whole grid cell rather than just the card, so the cars that remain close up as if the hidden ones were never there.
Hidden, not deleted. Filtered cards are hidden with a style rule, not removed, so AutoTrader's page keeps working normally and everything comes back the moment you pause.
Keeps up as you scroll. AutoTrader loads more results as you scroll down. AutoFilter watches for new cards and filters each batch as it arrives.
Write-offs stand alone. Write-off cars aren't categorised by AutoTrader's price ratings at all: every Cat A, B, C, D, S and N car arrives with no label. Left to a price-label filter, they'd sit in “No rating” alongside every other unrated car, so hiding one would hide the other. AutoFilter gives write-offs their own switch instead: hide them while you browse by price label, or show them alongside your chosen labels, and your unrated listings stay under their own control.
Fails safe. If a card can't be read, it stays visible. If AutoTrader's layout changes, the status bar warns you instead of quietly doing nothing.

AutoFilter asks Chrome for as little as it can. Here's everything it requests, and why.

What it asks for	Why
Storage	To remember your filter choices and popup theme on this device.
Access to autotrader.co.uk/car-search Chrome describes this as reading and changing your data on www.autotrader.co.uk.	To read each result card's labels and hide the ones you've filtered out. It covers AutoTrader search results pages only: not individual car pages, and no other site.
AutoFilter icon on AutoTrader Not a permission.	Lets the status bar show the AutoFilter icon on the results page.

There's no background process, and no access to your tabs, browsing history, downloads or any other website.

AutoFilter is a filter, not an inspection. It knows nothing about:

How AutoTrader sets its labels. If you disagree with a label, AutoFilter can't correct it.
Condition and history. Damage, service records and outstanding finance aren't part of the label.
Results not loaded yet. Counts and filtering cover the cars AutoTrader has shown so far.

Want to know how each control works?

Read the guide