Chrome Privacy Extensions: Discover Protection Levels and Choose the Best Ones

Reasons to protect your privacy on Chrome

So again, Chrome is unquestionably the most popular browser. But is it the most secure one? Unfortunately, not. In particular, we recently compared Google Chrome to Mozilla Firefox, and the latter has much more advanced online safety and privacy settings. Here, let’s just say that, similar to other Google services, Chrome has several downsides to consider:

• It collects large amounts of customer data. Google is nosy, to say the least. And most of its solutions, including Chrome, gather your personal information. What for? Most often, to spread even more targeted ads. This information recorded by Google services consists of your search history, activities, location, and browsing habits among others.
• It’s vulnerable to cyber attacks. Google Chrome offers some basic built-in security features, including a password manager, a malicious website detector, HTTPS support, and an anti-malware tool. And, well, that’s all it has to offer. Chrome is not likely to come to your rescue in case you encounter even more sophisticated cybersecurity threats.

But there is some good news. Some strong Chrome extensions will help you to have greater control over your privacy and guard against numerous possible threats. In fact, this browser has the widest selection of those – almost 200,000 add-ons are available on Chrome Web Store. 

But what is a privacy extension on Chrome, in the first place? Basically it’s a software program that you can add to your browser, in order to take advantage of some extra features that aren’t available by default. Privacy extensions are to protect your personal information, increase your cybersecurity, prevent third-party monitoring, and prevent unwanted trackers or ads on the browser level.

If you’re unfamiliar with this extra browser feature, here’s how to set up any privacy extension on Chrome hassle-free.

How to set up Google Chrome privacy extensions

All Chrome extensions are available on Google Web Store. To find the preferred solution, visit this marketplace and search for it.

Once you’ve installed the desired extension on your device, you can manage it in your browser. For that, click a puzzle icon at the top right corner of your screen and find the needed extension on the list.

Next, click Manage Extensions. This way, you can see details about them and remove the extensions you don’t need.

Now that you know how to set up and manage your extensions, let’s explore the most helpful add-ons for your online safety.

Top 10 privacy extensions for Chrome

Here are our top picks of privacy extensions on Google Chrome.

1. uBlock Origin

The most popular of all the ad-blocking browser extensions is uBlock Origin that has more than 10 million Chrome users and almost 5 million Firefox users. It is a basic and user-friendly application and one of the most efficient ad blockers. Other than undesired advertisements, it prevents all kinds of online trackers, video ads, auto-playing ads, pop-ups, and other annoying materials that you probably come across every day. 

In addition to it, uBlock lets you block advertisements and trackers on the selected sites. To that, the tool operates with configurable lists of filters – a functionality that allows you to increase the number of websites and pages, in which you would like to keep your privacy preserved.

2. Ghostery

Ghostery goes even further when it comes to detecting and blocking unwanted third-party trackers. With its help, you can not only avoid being monitored, but also see which websites and services interfere with your online privacy, striving to collect your data. Besides, Ghostery offers the Smart Blocking feature. With its help, you can manage where to block ads and trackers and where to let them run. 

However, if you need more detailed insights on who, when, and how monitors you online, you will have to go for a paid plan. It also includes a privacy-focused search engine and a dashboard providing stats regarding potential monitoring. 

3. Malwarebytes Browser Guard

One of the most popular antivirus tools, Malwarebytes, also has an extension named Browser Guard that will assist you in avoiding the possible cyber threats during your usage of Chrome. This solution has two main purposes:

• Help you avoid malicious and shady websites.
• Avoid downloading infected and dangerous files.

This tool is quite efficient in terms of threat protection (its ad-blocker and tracking prevention aren’t the best of their kind, though), but it works well alongside dedicated security software to keep you safer online. This extension also spots phishing scams (such as fake support messages), ransomware attacks, hijacking attempts, and more.

4. DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials

You may have heard of DuckDuckGo – one of the most well-known privacy-focused search engines. The extension this service provides has pretty much the same purpose – covering most aspects of users’ online privacy. Except for the built-in default search engine, it includes an anti-tracking feature, encrypted connections, and the GPC (global privacy control signal) function that lets websites know you don’t want your data tracked.It alerts the websites you’re visiting that you don’t want them to collect and sell your private information. As for online security, DuckDuckGo offers email protectionand a custom list of unprotected sites.

All in all, DuckDuckGo is a decent privacy extension on Chrome. However, as a search engine, it’s not as powerful as Google (mainly because of weaker indexing capabilities and less powerful algorithms).

5. LastPass

Remember we mentioned that Chrome has a built-in password manager tool? The problem is that it’s not as efficient as third-party extensions. Our today’s pick is LastPass – a great solution for managing and protecting your credentials. Obviously, the primary function of this extension is to enable users to create strong passwords and store them in a single secure place. This way, you can automatically enter any of your accounts without putting your data at risk. 

Besides, LastPass offers a bunch of extra features. You can create your vault and secure it with a master password. Also, it’s possible to keep some other data within this extension, including your credit card details and online shopping accounts.

6. Privacy Badger

Privacy Badger does not use filter lists, like the other ad blockers on this list. Rather, it identifies monitoring behavior and blocks tracking by websites on the basis of these aspects (not necessarily in some lists). You can create your custom filters and add pages if you want to stop them from using your data. 

Moreover, similar to DuckDuckGo, Privacy Badger adopts the GPC feature to tell websites not to track you. Although most of them would ignore this alert, the extension can then stop them from accessing your private information. Also, with the help of Privacy Badger, you can prevent link click monitoring on Google, Twitter, and Facebook, blocking every hidden track signal and even disabling link expansion page previews that expose your clicks.

7. Click&Clean

Click&Clean is a convenient extension that allows clearing your browsing data, cookies, and cache among others in a single click right from your desktop browser. You can do it by hand or you can have some auto-removal feature – in this case, your browsing history will disappear after your session is over. What is more – you can save your search information when necessary. 

Apart from that, Click&Clean offers several extra features to prevent third-party tracking and erase your digital footprint, but they are not as efficient as with other options on this list. Finally, you can use Click&Clean to free up your disk space by automatically removing unnecessary and temporary files outside Chrome (but you will need to install a full app for that).

8. Trend Micro Check

Trend Micro Check might be useful in case the main concern is malicious links and spoofed sites. It also scrutinizes every web page you open relative to potentially malevolent, scammy, or fishy information. And here, Trend Micro Check does not only identify the unwanted ads or possible phishing. It also blocks pirated material, pornography, scam websites and even fake news. Should the extension notice such a page it will instantly display a red flag and a button that will enable you to leave instantly.

9. NoScript

By applying malicious scripts, cybercriminals may infect legit websites with harmful code. This way, they often target users’ private data and compromise their online activities. And that is where NoScript is concerned. It is among the most useful Chrome security extensions that save users against such threats as clickjacking (suspicious hyperlinks concealed in normal clickable objects, i.e. buttons, CTAs, and advertisements) and malware-infested links.

10. VPN Proxy VeePN

Lastly, a virtual private network (VPN) is an extension that should be included in your Chrome privacy toolkit. It is a useful product that secures your information and conceals your online tracks. Moreover, an excellent VPN is a good way to prevent intrusion advertisements, trackers, and other Internet threats. In particular, the VeePN extension is a great option with an impressive number of security features for a free VPN extension. Here are the most notable ones: 

• Up to 10 server locations that hide your IP address to browse privately.
• Ad blocker, along with third-party tracking and malware blockers.
• WebRTC blocker allowing you to stop Web Real-Time Communication (RTC) by video, voice, or text across browsers and devices.
• Smart Location establishes specific rules for using a VPN for different websites (for instance, you can use an alternative IP address for particular sites only).
• Exclude Websites feature allows you to remove some websites from the VPN tunnel.

The VeePN extension for Chrome (also available for Firefox and Edge) is a perfect way to protect your privacy on the browser level. However, it’s only a lightweight version of a more powerful solution offered by the same service – more on that in a bit. 

Indeed, the extensions we mentioned in this list (and many others we didn’t include here) can take your Internet privacy to the next level. However, there are several downsides to using add-ons on Chrome to protect your online identity and prevent security challenges.

The pitfalls of using Chrome privacy extensions

Let’s take a closer look at the most significant issues of privacy extensions for Google Chrome. 

1. Not all extensions are worth your trust. Most ad-blockers, VPNs, and anti-malware solutions are actually worse in terms of privacy than they are good. A rogue program can be disguised as a necessity to have security program and yet its true value is a risk itself. Fake privacy extensions tend to collect users’ data and sell it to third parties – or even infect devices with viruses. 
2. Extensions have an impact on your connection speed. Although helpful, extensions can have a major impact on the performance of your browser, and they can make it slow (particularly, when you have many extensions installed). That is why you should ensure you only install the extensions that are really necessary to your privacy.
3. Free add-ons may create a false sense of security. Again, reliable extensions are useful – but they aren’t a silver bullet for your Internet privacy. They may not be as effective as you think they are, so you may not be ready to deal with more advanced security issues, from new forms of surveillance to evolving viruses and social engineering techniques.

That said, a question pops up…

How to boost your online privacy?

Fortunately, there is an escape route a complete VPN application (also called a VPN client). As compared to a VPN extension (and other more common ad blockers, malware detectors, and anti-monitoring tools), this solution encrypts your entire Internet traffic, including all the browsers and other applications you use, and it is very effective. It means that all of your Internet activities, from Google searches to messages and emails, will be nearly impossible to crack. 

Looking for such a solution? Try VeePN! It’s a credible VPN service that offers many robust privacy and security features. In particular, NetGuard will protect you from potentially malicious websites, intrusive ads, malware-infected links, and dangerous pop-ups. And thanks to Kill Switch, you can be sure that your IP, DNS, and other sensitive information won’t leak – this feature interrupts your Internet connection if your VPN suddenly stops working. 

Check out VeePN plans and try a VPN for a PC or any other device of your choice!

Written by VeePN Research Lab VeePN Research Lab is dedicated to provide you latest posts about internet security and privacy.

Knowledge is power,
VeePN is freedom

Get VeePN Now

Download VeePN Client for All Platforms

Enjoy a smooth VPN experience anywhere, anytime. No matter the device you have — phone or laptop, tablet or router — VeePN’s next-gen data protection and ultra-fast speeds will cover all of them.

IOS and Android App

Want secure browsing while reading this?

See the difference for yourself - Try VeePN PRO for 3-days for $1, no risk, no pressure.

Start My $1 Trial

Then VeePN PRO 1-year plan