Custom Device Name and Email

Override the auto-detected device name and user shown in Akto for AI Endpoint Shield and the Chrome browser extension.

Overview

By default, Akto shows whatever hostname and OS username (or Chrome profile) each device reports. On an imaged fleet, that's often a generic computer name or a local login that doesn't map back to the employee's corporate email.

Both AI Endpoint Shield and the Chrome browser extension let you override this with a specific device name and email, so activity is attributed correctly. Each product reads its identity from a different place, covered separately below.

AI Endpoint Shield (macOS)

MacOS only. This capability currently applies to AI Endpoint Shield on macOS.

Staging an identity.json file on the device before install lets you assign a specific device name and email that the Endpoint Shield Agent List shows instead of the auto-detected hostname and username.

File format

{
  "email": "[e-mail]",
  "deviceName": "akto-mac-001"
}

Where and when to place it

Endpoint Shield reads identity.json from:

/Library/Application Support/Akto/identity.json

Stage it before running install.sh (via Jamf, Mosyle, or NinjaOne), not after:

sudo mkdir -p "/Library/Application Support/Akto"
sudo cp identity.json "/Library/Application Support/Akto/identity.json"

Once the file is in place, Endpoint Shield picks it up automatically on its next check-in: no service restart, reinstall, or reboot needed.

What shows up in Endpoint Shield

identity.json field	Shows up as
deviceName	Hostname, in the Agent List and Endpoint Details
email	Username

One file per device. email and deviceName are specific to each machine, and there's no Akto-provided mechanism yet to auto-populate them from Jamf/Mosyle/NinjaOne device variables (computer name, directory-bound user, and so on). You, or your imaging/staging workflow, are responsible for generating a distinct identity.json per device before rollout.

Browser Extension (Chrome)

A managed policy tells the Chrome extension who the user and device are, separate from whatever force-install policy puts the extension on the machine. This is product-level: the extension reads the same keys regardless of which tool (Intune, NinjaOne, or another MDM) delivers the policy to the device.

The keys the extension accepts are fixed by its schema. This policy only sets their values; there's no file to edit.

Managed keys

Key	Purpose	Fallback if unset
email	Primary user identity	Chrome profile email
username	Display name	Derived from email
deviceName	Device identity	Enterprise device ID → generated UUID

All three keys are optional, each with its own fallback, so the policy can be deployed with any subset of them.

Use deviceName. Do not use the older deviceId key; deviceName replaces it.

The keys land in the extension's managed-policy schema at:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\mjcadlphjmoinphffggcpineljpageie\policy

How you get values into that policy depends on your deployment tool. Below is the Microsoft Intune method.

Configure the policy (Intune), and verify

1

Create a Custom Configuration Profile

1. Open the Microsoft Intune admin center.

2. Navigate to Devices → Windows → Configuration.

3. Click Create.

4. Set:

   • Platform: Windows 10 and later

   • Profile type: Templates → Custom

5. Click Create.

2

Add the OMA-URI Setting

1. Enter a profile name, for example: akto-browser-extension-identity.

2. Under Configuration settings, click Add.

3. Set the OMA-URI to the extension's managed-policy registry path:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\mjcadlphjmoinphffggcpineljpageie\policy

1. Set Data type to String (XML), and paste the policy JSON as the value:

{
  "email":      { "Value": "{{UserPrincipalName}}" },
  "username":   { "Value": "{{UserName}}" },
  "deviceName": { "Value": "{{DeviceName}}" }
}

1. Click Save.

3

Assign the Profile

1. Assign the profile to the same device group you'll use for the force-install profile.

2. On Review + create, confirm the OMA-URI and JSON value are correct.

3. Click Create.

Verify, on an enrolled machine, either:

• Open chrome://policy, click Reload policies, and confirm email, username, and deviceName show under the Akto extension's policy, or

• Run in PowerShell:

Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\3rdparty\extensions\mjcadlphjmoinphffggcpineljpageie\policy'

Related documentation

• Jamf MDM Deployment

• Mosyle MDM Deployment

• NinjaOne Deployment (macOS)

• Endpoint Shield

• Chrome Intune Deployment (Windows)

Get support

1. In-app Intercom in the Akto dashboard

2. Discord community

3. [e-mail]

4. Contact Akto