How to Get Chrome Extensions on Android
Whether you’re a student or work from home or an office, Chrome has some great extensions that help with organization, productivity, learning, and entertainment. You’ve probably discovered quite a few of these handy extensions and plugins on your computer. So, how can you get these extensions on your Android device as well? Is it even possible?
The good news is that it’s possible and relatively easy to get your favorite Chrome extensions on your Android device, and we’ll show you how. In this article on Chrome extensions for your Android device, we’ll be covering the following topics:
- Why should you get Google Chrome Extensions for Android?
- Is there a difference between Chrome mobile extensions and PC extensions?
- Steps to get Chrome extensions on Android
- Steps to remove Chrome extensions from Android
Why Should You Get Google Chrome Extensions for Android?
For most of us, our Android devices are so much more than just a phone. It’s also a work tool, diary, day planner, source of inspiration, meal planner, exercise planner, and more. It just makes sense that with the wide range of extensions available to help with all these, we’d want it available on our mobile device as well.
Think about how many times you have to type emails from your device. How many of these emails are professional? If you had the Grammarly Chrome extension on your Android phone, you’d be assured that your emails are written correctly. Perhaps privacy is your main concern, and you’d like to have the Privacy Badger extension for Chrome on your Android device to also offer its protection there? These are just a few of many examples as to why you should get Chrome extensions on your Android device.
Is There a Difference Between Chrome Mobile Extensions and PC Extensions?
There is a significant difference when it comes to Chrome Android extensions and those available on PC. Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers on Android and Windows devices. It is one of the fastest, securest, and easiest to use. You also have the added benefit of having a wide range of extensions and add-ons available so that you can completely personalize your browsing experience.
These Chrome extensions are readily available on your PC Chrome browser, but for some reason, they are not yet available on the Android Chrome version. This is odd considering that Google created both Chrome and Android. One would think they would’ve made it possible to install Chrome extensions on your Android device. This is especially true when you consider that Firefox users have been able to install and use Chrome extensions for a while.
The only way that you’ll be able to use Chrome extensions on your Android device is by using another Chromium browser. Luckily for you, there are many good chromium-based browsers available for Android that also support Chrome extensions. Here are a few of our favorite chromium browsers to look at:
- Yandex (most popular option)
- Kiwi Browser
- Bromite Browser
- Dolphin Browser
Steps to Get Chrome Extensions on Android
Now that we’ve covered a bit about why you’d want to use extensions on Android, and the key difference between Chrome on PC and Chrome on Android, let’s get into the actual steps you need to take to install Chrome extensions on your Android device.
Step 1: Download New Browser
First, you’ll have to download a new chromium browser that is able to access the Chrome Webstore and install extensions. To do this, you can go into your Play Store and download one of the browsers mentioned above. Yandex seems to be one of the favorites, especially when it comes to also using Chrome extensions.
Step 2: Make the New Browser Your Default
Once the new browser has been downloaded and installed on your Android device, you need to make it the default browser. Open the phone settings on your Android device and tap on ‘Apps and Notifications’. Next, tap on ‘Advanced’ and then tap on ‘Default App’.
Step 3: Go to the Chrome Webstore
Now you can go into your new browser and type in chrome.google.com/webstore to go to the Chrome Webstore.
Step 4: Search for the Extension
In the search bar, type the name of the extension you want. You can also search for the type of extension you want if you don’t know the exact name. Once you see the extension you’d like in the search results, you can click on it to get more information and proceed with installing it should you wish to.
Step 5: Install the Extension
Click on the extension in the search results; you will be taken to a page with more information and reviews of the extension. If you want to download it, tap on ‘Install’ at the bottom of the page. Once the extension has been installed on your Android device, it will automatically be added to your browser.
Tip: Be aware that not all extensions will work on your new browser. There are still limitations to the types of Chrome extensions that will work on your mobile device. However, there are a few that generally work well. This might take some trial and error to find the right mobile Chrome extensions.
Steps to Remove Chrome Extensions on Android
Since there is a bit of trial-and-error with Chrome extensions on Android devices, you may have to remove extensions after installing them. This could be because they don’t work on your device, or perhaps they don’t do what you hoped they would. Here are the steps to disable and remove extensions and add-ons.
Step 1: Open Your Browser
Open your browser that has the extensions or add-ons you want to remove.
Step 2: Open Your Browser Settings
Now, tap on your browser settings. This is usually represented by three vertical dots.
Step 3: Navigate to Your Extension
Once in your browser’s settings, tap on ‘Add-ons and Themes’ or similar (this title may vary between different browsers) and then tap on ‘Extensions’.
Step 4: Disable Extensions
Scroll through the list of installed extensions until you find the one you want to disable or remove. If you want to disable the extension, you can tap on the toggle.
Step 5: Remove Extension
If you want to completely remove the extension, you’ll need to tap on the three vertical dots next to the extension and then select ‘Remove’.
Bottom Line
Having access to your favorite Chrome extensions on Android can make all the difference between an ok browsing experience and a great one. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do this with your Chrome browser. Luckily there are many other chromium browsers such as Yandex or Firefox that allow you to install Android Chrome add-ons.
I guess Softonic is also getting money from Google.
Wait till Shaun discovers chrome://flags/ and then the real how-to chrome article flooding will start…
I don’t think so. The real summary. If you need to use Chrome use it in Incognito Mode because it keeps track of your browsing history. Use Edge for your normal browsing. Edge keeps track of your browsing history for saving puppies:) Typical tricks, badmouthing the main competitor.
Really Shaun your writing “The Dark Web Awaits!” is the dark mode the same as the dark web?
Maybe dark mode was a better title?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_web
Or Brave shortcut with “-tor” parameter at the end.
The problem, is that I’m not sure which is less dangerous – Chrome or Tor?
Question marks after a declarative sentence is bad Grammer. See the headline. To use a question mark simply change the wording to a sentence, such as “How do you……”
@Shaun thanks for the articles!
“One of the best things about using Google Chrome is it keeps track of your browsing history.”
Considering the article topic I assume you mean browsing history in a broader sense, including things like tracking storage. Well even if that comment was restricted to browsing history only, not only it’s not Chrome specific but rather universal among browsers, but Chrome would instead be specific in making keeping history the worst possible feature among browsers. Because while most of the browsers (Chrome and Firefox for instance) misuse browsing history by exploiting it commercially for things like personalized advertising, so the more is kept the better for them, Chrome excels at it by uploading it unencrypted to Google servers often without the user even knowing.
“This mode disables local storage of site data, cookies, and browsing history.”
This is false. You are still being tracked by web sites (by local storage, cookies…) during your private browsing session, it just ends at the end of the session by a wiping of the tracking storage. Firefox has the same issue, and both by design. From:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/7440301
“Cookies and site data are remembered while you’re browsing, but deleted when you exit Incognito mode.”
In fact, if it works like in Firefox, the tracking storage is even hidden to the user in the UI during private browsing but still here, creating the illusion that it is actually disabled, and even technical users often fall for this. The ability to limit, clean, auto-clean tracking storage, for instance with extensions, may also be limited in this mode. Personally I do not use it because it’s not private enough for this reason, giving up control on cookies ; I use normal mode with privacy tweaks.
A consequence is that browsers like Tor Browser that use mandatory permanent private browsing mode suffer from the same problem. In fact some update went further and totally removed the ability to block cookies and other tracking storage in the UI, while it’s still possible in Firefox in private browsing.
In private browsing modes a bit like in Tor Browser it seems that there is an underlying philosophy that it doesn’t matter that you every tiniest action is being scrutinized, analyzed, and used back against you by evil actors as long as there isn’t your real life name attached to the process. Personally, I disagree. This “loophole” is being heavily abused by surveillance capitalists in many other ways currently.
“One misconception people have is their data is kept private when using incognito mode. You should know that you can still be tracked and attacked by third parties. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) can track your browsing history and block local websites according to your geography.”
I don’t think that the most common misconception about private browsing is that it would act like an antivirus and block attacks that target vulnerabilities.
What’s often misunderstood is rather that a lot of this mode aims at protecting from other users of the same computer, being a sort of “porn mode” for example. From the same Google reference:
“When you browse privately, other people who use the device won’t see your history.”
A typical example being the browsing history wipe, while such history is not accessible to web sites anyway, but could be to other local users. (well as discussed above it’s also accessible to browser companies while it shouldn’t be, and additionally for anti-user purposes, but that’s another issue). Or the cookies being stored in memory instead of on disk, which may address yet other privacy issues due to local attacks.
However it is also useful to partly limit web tracking (I would not call this “third party” as the author writes because this obviously also includes first party ie the browsed site) in addition to protecting from other local users, by wiping tracking storage at the end of the session. With the caveat above that during the session itself, tracking storage is not disabled. There are also typically other measures that are directed against tracking by web sites exclusively, that are enforced in private browsing mode.
And finally there is all the tracking by sites that happens without using the tracking storage itself, such as through fingerprinting or the IP address ; wiping storage at the end of the session won’t help with that, unless using Tor Browser.
Why use an incognito mode when you can use browsers with a pre-installed web proxy. The UtopiaP2P ecosystem browser is the best way for me to surf the web anonymously. If, like me, you value your anonymity and privacy, then I recommend using this browser.