Check out our list of the best extensions to trully amp up your Google Chrome browsing experience!
1. Pocket
Use this extension to save articles, videos, recipes and webpages and other links for later. Makes for one convenient extension, because any content saved goes to one place, which means you can view it any time, from any device. For people on the go, this is a superb extension because you can access all previously saved content offline.
2. StayFocusd
A lifesaver for those prone to wasting hours on end surfing unnecessary websites, StayFocusd works by imposing a time limit on the time spent on these websites. Once your allotted time has been used up, the sites will be inaccessible for the rest of the day. “It is highly configurable, allowing you to block or allow entire sites, specific subdomains, specific paths, specific pages, even specific in-page content”, say the creators of this genius extension.
3. ColorZilla
For most web developers, this extension comes as a gift from the heavens. If you’ve ever wanted to pinpoint a colour on a webpage for one of your own personal projects, with ColorZilla you can get a color reading straight from your browser. ColorZilla also provides color palettes for any site.
4. PanicButton
If you’re someone who tends to browse questionable websites a lot, or spend office hours on social networking sites, then you’re probably going to need the Panic Button. What this extension does is with a single click of a button (or a hotkey), you can hide all your current tabs and replace them with a custom set of tabs (blank or new tab by default). Pretty nifty if someone decides to sneak up on you.
A session manager that allows you to save open tabs and restore them later, this extension can potentially free up a great amount of memory and clear up clutter if you have a tendency to keep a million tabs open at a point of time. Session Buddy also helps restore tabs if your system or browser crashes.
6. Readability
If you feel the need to zap out clutter from webpages so you can have a better reading view, Readability is a great extension to have in your arsenal. The app promises to ‘provide a better way to read online, turning any web page into a comfortable reading view right in your web browser’. Moreover, you have a few extra features such as being able to configure font color and size, and being able to save content for reading later.
The Evernote Web Clipper sends web pages to Evernote with the app’s Web Clipper. Websites, articles and notes can be read later with the save button. You can even highlight text from any website or article, and highlight text to draw attention.
8. StumbleUpon
A great way to discover new material and diversify what you view on the web, allow StumbleUpon to recommend content to you, based on your interests and preferences. Makes for a great extension if you want to get as much juice as you can from the interwebs.
Sometimes, the easiest hacks are the ones we tend to forget the most. If you’re huge on privacy and security and want to make sure your data is encrypted before being delivered across the internet, just add “https://” before the URL. Or, let HTTPS Everywhere do that for you. And since the Tor Project is a collaborator in this, you know it’s an important extension to have.
10. TunnelBear
If you’re big on Spotify but can’t access it because your nationality gets in the way, TunnelBear provides a secure VPN to help you work around the restrictions. It’s a big boon for those worried about using public networks or being tracked online. And considering this extension has a full 5 stars on the Chrome Web Store, it’s a trusted extension that never fails to deliver.
11. Mailtrack
According to the creators of this extension, “MailTrack.io is an email tracking app that lets you know if the messages you send have been read or not.” At the moment, it works only with Gmail and Google Apps for Work. The extension allows you to see which messages have been read, how long ago, how many times and which device they were opened on.
One of the most popular adblockers on the Chrome web store, AdBlock Plus blocks ALL annoying ads, malware and tracking, and also supports websites by not blocking unobtrusive ads by default (configurable). A win-win situation.
If you’re an OCD freak and need to have clear lists maintained at all times, the Todoist extension can be the miracle you’ve been looking for. The extension allows you to create, add, delete, organize and modify lists from the comforts of your browser. You can even share your lists or tasks with others, such as family members or friends, for ‘collaborative task accomplishment’. It even doubles up as a Pocket replacement, though with lesser functionality (allows only websites to be saved as tasks at the moment).
Keepa simplifies tracking product prices listed on Amazon. The extension adds a small graphical chart directly on Amazon’s product listing page itself. This chart gives you detailed information about price history, price drops, trends etc. Don’t be put off by the not-so-great design of the graphs, they in no way compromise on the data that Keepa provides. You can also set up availability and pricing alerts for it to track and notify you of a product when its price drops below your desired price.
15. Grammarly
Get a helping hand with your writing from Grammarly, a dictionary plug in that claims to find and correct up to 10 times more mistakes than a normal word processor. The Grammarly extension vets your spellings and grammar on nearly any website which involves writing, ensuring a mistake free write up.
This article was first published in our 15 year Anniversary Special June 2016 issue of Digit magazine. To read Digit's articles first, subscribe here or download the Digit e-magazine app. You could also buy the Anniversary Special June 2016 issue here.