“Under New Management” Alerts You When a Chrome Extension Changes Ownership
While Chrome has some excellent built-in security checks , you can never be too careful when installing extensions from the hundreds of thousands available in the Chrome Web Store. While these extensions are generally safe, they can be tiny malware in disguise that infiltrates and attacks your browser.
Changing ownership of a Chrome extension can be a particular red flag to be aware of, even if it doesn’t result in anything terrible—just because the former owner was careful with your data doesn’t mean the new owner will be. This is where a Chrome extension called Under New Management can come in handy.
How does “Under New Management” work?
The New Control section contains a simple open source extension for Chrome or Firefox . It will alert you when an installed extension changes ownership. Not only will this save you from having to check every extension yourself, but it will also protect you from extension hijacking, a real and present danger that many of us may simply ignore (or forget).
You don’t need to do anything other than install the extension, which will periodically check to see if the developer information listed in the Chrome Web Store for any of the installed extensions has changed. It will also alert you if any installed Chrome extension changes ownership in the future. If anything changes, a red icon will appear on the extension’s icon to alert you.
Why is Under New Management critical to your browser security?
As Matt Frisby, the extension’s developer, notes on his Under New Management repository page on GitHub :
Extension developers are always offered to sell their popular extensions. The new owner often uses the existing user base to make a profit. Users of these extensions typically do not know when the extension was purchased and may unknowingly be exposed to potential risks.
This is a serious potential problem given Chrome’s user base on desktop and Android devices – approximately 3.45 billion users in 2024. As Frisby told The Register :
Extensions with a large number of users receive many acquisition offers, usually from people who are not easily identifiable and who do not reveal their intentions. If the user had been notified of the change of ownership, they could potentially have avoided all of this.
So, Under New Management has one goal – to inform you when this happens and help you make an informed decision about whether to continue using the extension.
Don’t install or forget Chrome extensions
Although the problem is rare, it is real. There are many cases of malicious Chrome extensions, so it is recommended to periodically check the extensions you have installed, especially as they become older. Make it a habit to check for updates – a sparse update schedule from developers can open the door to security breaches and data leaks.
Give preference to trusted extensions—look for the “Recommended” badge in the Chrome Web Store, as they are often flagged by Google and follow Chrome best practices—and take extra steps to check if an extension is safe to use .
You can also use the Chrome Extensions Source Code Viewer , but checking the source code of each installed extension can be inconvenient, especially if you don’t understand the code. As far as I can tell, Under New Management is the only Chrome extension that automatically notifies users when the extension’s owner changes, so it’s a good addition to your browser’s security toolkit.