How to Enable the New Chrome Extensions Menu
If you read my Lifehacker posts, you will quickly realize that I am a fan of browser extensions. I have extensions to add dark mode to my browser, one to preview sites so I don’t have to open a tab, and even a browser extension that helps me manage all open tabs.
As a result, I also have a ton of extension icons on my toolbar, so many that finding the one I’m looking for at the moment can be a little tricky at times.
Google is currently working on a new extensions menu that will simplify your toolbar by hiding all of these extensions under one menu icon. It is now available as a Google experiment.
To get it, enter chrome: // flags in the address bar of your browser and press Enter. When the Experiment page opens, enter “Extensions Toolbar” to open the Toolbar option, and then select “Enabled” from the drop-down menu next to it.
I also recommend checking out some of the other experiments available, there are some good ones.
After you enable it, Chrome will prompt you to restart it for your changes to be enabled. When you do, your entire extension will now be nested under one puzzle icon. Click on it and a dropdown will appear with all your extensions nested underneath.
As a nice added bonus, the new menu will also tell you which extensions have the ability to access data on the site you’re viewing. If you don’t like that a particular extension has access, you can nip it in the bud by clicking the three dots next to that extension in the menu and limiting its capabilities.