How to install and manage extensions in Chrome?

If you've used a browser (which I'm sure you have if you're reading this article), chances are you've heard the term 'extensions.'

An extension means 'The act of extending or the condition of being extended,' and in the context of browsers (Chrome, Edge, DuckDuckgo), they play a similar role.

Key points discussed in this article:

Extensions are software that makes using Chrome easier and more fun (depending on the type you install).
Installing them is simple and takes less than a minute, but not every extension is safe, so using the browser in safe mode is recommended.
Installed extensions can be managed by clicking the extension's icon. You can customize them individually there.

What are extensions?

Image Source: Google

Caption: The button/icon for extensions on Google Chrome can be found on the toolbar. It is the same for Edge and others that support it.

Let's understand this with an example:

You have a bike on which you'd like to go for solo rides, but riding alone to a new place is challenging since you need to learn the route. In such cases, where you go to new places, having a mobile mount on your bike is an extension.

You can keep the phone in your pocket and check the map whenever necessary, but having the phone mounted on a stand right before you is much better and more efficient! This way, even if you are getting a call, it'll be immediately visible to you.

In your computer, Chrome extensions or Edge add-ons exist to accomplish the same objective: to make the user experience better.

It's not mandatory that you add them, but it's more of a quality-of-life improvement for you.

Extensions on different browsers

Example 1:

Image Source: Microsoft Edge

Example 2:

Image Source: Mozilla Firefox

Example 3:

Image Source: Brave

In examples 1 and 2, you can see the browsers have their own stores for extensions.

Example 3 (Brave), on the other hand, doesn't have its own web store since it's based on Chromium (same as Chrome) and hence links back directly to Google Chrome's web store.

DuckDuckgo is another web browser that has two extensions built in at the moment, but the developers have assured that more extensions will soon be made available.

Image Source: Reddit

How to manage and add an extension

Managing the extensions

Here are the steps:

Step 1

Click on the icon for extensions on Google Chrome. Here, you can remove them, pin them, and basically control them. This is a quick way, but if you want in-depth control, check the next step.

Image Source: Google

Step 2

If you want more options regarding your extensions:

A. Click on the three dots on top right

B. Go to Extensions

C. Select Manage Extensions

Or you can click on the extensions icon, then select Manage Extensions from the bottom (See Step 1)

Image Source: Google

Step 3

From here, you can view all of your extensions at once.

Image Source: Google

Once you access this tab, you can:

Turn on/off: Turn the extension on or off.
Allow incognito: On the extension, select Details. Turn on Allow in incognito.
Fix corruptions: Find a corrupted extension and select Repair. Confirm by selecting Repair extension.
Allow site access: On the extension, select Details. Next, “Allow this extension to read and change all your data on websites you visit,” change the extension’s site access to On click, On specific sites, or On all sites.

Adding extensions

Here are the steps:

Note: I'm using the example of adding extensions in Google Chrome, but the steps to download or install an extension remain the same for other browsers.