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Jamie Durham
IT Correspondent
2:00 AM 6th August 2022
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10 Productivity-Boosting Chrome Extensions You Need In 2022

 
With approximately 2.65 billion internet users worldwide, plus a global market share nearing 65 percent, there’s no denying Google Chrome dominates the search engine ranks.

It’s fast, it’s simple, it’s familiar, and it’s customisable to suit the varying tastes of individuals from all walks of life. 

But more than just a pretty (inter)face, Google Chrome also boasts a huge ecosystem of add-ons that augment it with an endless range of functions and capabilities.

From password managers and document conversion tools, to website filters and shopping assistants – the chances are, if you can imagine it, it exists.

But with thousands upon thousands of extensions available, it can be difficult to know which ones are worth implementing on your own device. And of course, it would be impossible to make use of them all. 
That’s why we’ve created a shortlist of the 10 must-have additions to enhance your digital experience and boost productivity in 2022 – and beyond.

So, sit tight, and delve in…

1. LastPass
An intuitive, in-built password manager, this tool makes logging into any application headache-free. As well as creating long, randomised passwords that protect against cyber security threats, LastPass saves login credentials in a secure dashboard that you can browse as and when you require, as well as conveniently share with authorised users.

If your personal information is at risk, the extension will also alert you via a push notification so you can act quickly and secure your account.

2. Eye dropper
With this colour picking extension, you can select any element of a webpage that piques your interest and save the exact details of a screen pixel to your archive for later use.

Plus, with an integrated colour picker, you can mix or find the exact hues you need.

3. AdBlock Plus
AdBlock Plus enables users to block annoying popups, ads and banners to enjoy interruption-free browsing – with custom features such as ‘whitelisting’ allowing you to add approved organisations as exceptions.

As well as boosting display speed by blocking resources from loading, AdBlock Plus is also a great addition to help enhance privacy and security – defending from destructive malvertising that can hide in ads and turns off IP tracking.

4. Web of Trust
With the rising sophistication of cyber attacks, it can be difficult to differentiate legitimate sites from fraudulent ones. While you search, Web of Trust’s extension monitors the reputation of every site you enter to warn of potential threats to privacy and security.

To help you make informed decisions online, safety badge icons are displayed next to webpages, social media sites, and more.

5. Honey
In today’s economy, every penny counts – and with Honey providing an average annual saving of almost £150 per user, implementing this extension is a no-brainer.

At the click of a button, it scours the internet for discounts and automatically applies them to your basket – no matter which site you’re purchasing from.

6. Loom
With Loom, you can record your screen, camera, microphone, and internal audio all at once, save clips to the cloud, and share them instantly with a link.

With no limit on video length, this extension has a huge advantage over competitor tools like Screencastify, and is a great way to add a more personal touch to digital demos and presentations.

7. Scribe
Tired of switching between web pages and text documents to take notes and document research findings? Scribe helps to streamline this process by enabling you to compile highlighted text into a Google Doc, without even leaving the webpage.

8. Power Thesaurus
Rather than opening a new tab, the Power Thesaurus extension offers a more efficient way to clarify the meaning of a word or phrase, as well as suggesting antonyms and synonyms.

Users can simply double-click any part of a text to launch a small pop-up bubble, with the ability to store a history of requests so you can refer to them at a later date.

9. The Great Suspender
If you’re guilty of opening tab after tab and maxing out Chrome’s memory footprint, The Great Suspender is the holy grail of all extensions.

Built from open source code for full transparency, with configurable behaviour when browsing offline or on battery power, it automatically closes tabs that haven’t been used for a specified length of time.

Although The Great Suspender automatically detects tabs that are playing audio or contains forms with live input from others, users can ‘whitelist’ specific URLs or domains to remain open, as well as access a screen capture of a tab before it was suspended to prevent data loss.

10. Email Tracker
Compatible with a wide range of email servers – including Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo – Email Tracker adds read receipts to emails so you can monitor the status of your outbound communications.

And, if users upgrade to Email Tracker Pro, they can access a suite of statistics, link tracking, plus more.
When used effectively to extend the functionality of your web browser, these extensions can prove vital in the bid to improve focus, maximise efficiency, strengthen security, and enrich your overall experience online. 

Which ones are you the most excited about using?