In some cases your customer might need to navigate to a 3rd party website or application. This could be to access a payment portal, a redirected login page, or to troubleshoot another application.
Our full device mode feature allows the agent to continue along this journey with the customer without interruption.
Video walkthrough
Enable full device mode
You must first enable full device mode within your account settings. Go to Account Settings -> General -> Session Settings and toggle the full device upgrade on. This is shown in the screenshot below.
Toggle full device mode on during a session
During a session, toggle the full device option. This is pictured in the screenshot below.
The end user is presented with a consent dialog (if enabled). If they accept the request then the full device sharing begins.
Note: when the end user is on the web then they are also asked which screen/window/application they would like to share with the agent. Once this is selected, then the full device sharing begins.
Ending full device mode
To end full device mode, simply toggle full device mode off.
Note: if full device mode is toggled off outside of the webpage or application on which the session was first initiated, then this will disrupt the agent's view of the end user's device.
Universal Cobrowse
If you only need to follow customers to specific third-party websites (rather than their entire screen), Universal Cobrowse offers a lighter-weight alternative to full device mode. By configuring URL patterns in CobrowseIO.universalLinks, external links matching those patterns will open within the co-browsing session—keeping all agent tools like the laser pointer, annotation, and data redaction available on third-party content. This approach doesn't require screen-sharing permissions and stays entirely within the browser. Universal Cobrowse is ideal when you know in advance which external domains customers might visit (e.g., specific payment providers or e-sign services). For implementation details, see: https://docs.cobrowse.io/sdk-features/universal-cobrowse
Use full device mode (described below) when you need broader flexibility—such as when customers might navigate to unknown external sites, switch between applications, or when you need visibility beyond the browser.
Technical details and code samples
For technical details and code samples, such as full device mode by default, see our full device documentation and sample code on github.
Need some assistance? Contact hello@cobrowse.io.