How to vet a Chrome extension yourself.

1. Read the listing like a skeptic

Start with four facts on the Chrome Web Store page: the rating, the number of ratings, the user count, and the last-updated date. A 4.9 from 30 reviewers is a weaker signal than a 4.4 from 10,000. A tool that has not been updated in years can still be fine if it does one small thing—but a complex product with a stale update date deserves questions. Check that the developer links to a real website, and that the website matches the product.

2. Understand the permission prompt

When Chrome says an extension can “read and change all your data on all websites,” believe it—that is exactly what the permission grants. Some tools genuinely need it (a dark-mode tool must restyle every site). The question is whether the job justifies the access. A wallpaper extension asking for all-site access is a mismatch; a password manager asking to fill forms is not.

You can also narrow access after installing: open chrome://extensions, choose the extension’s details, and set “Site access” to “On click” or to specific sites. Several tools we review work fine with restricted access.

3. Check the privacy disclosures

Every listing has a privacy section where the developer declares what data the extension handles—categories like “personally identifiable information,” “user activity,” or “website content.” These are publisher-supplied statements, not audits, but they are still informative: a to-do list declaring it handles your web history is worth a pause. The gold standard is the explicit declaration that the developer does not collect or use your data.

4. Know what Manifest V3 changed

Chrome finished retiring its older extension platform (Manifest V2) in 2025, which is why some long-famous extensions disappeared or reappeared in “Lite” form. Manifest V3 limits how extensions intercept pages, which reshaped content blockers in particular. If a listing looks like a reborn version of an old name, check the developer’s own site to confirm it is the same team—retired names attract impersonators.

5. Watch it after you install it

Extensions change hands, and an update can change behavior without a new install prompt for every capability. A quick quarterly pass through chrome://extensions—removing what you no longer use, re-checking site access—keeps your browser boring in the good way. Fewer extensions means a smaller attack surface.

What we do on top of this

Our reviews apply this same checklist against the live listing on a stated date, add first-party documentation, and put the tradeoffs in writing. See the full methodology, or start with the review index.