Lifehacker Pack for Chrome: Our List of Required Extensions
The Google Chrome browser is filled with an incredible number of extensions that add all sorts of features. It’s tricky to browse the store to find what’s useful, though, so let us save you some time with this collection of our favorite Chrome extensions.
The Lifehacker Pack is an annual snapshot of our beloved must-have app for our favorite platforms. To download the entire package, visit our Collection in the Chrome Web Store !
Productivity
Instapaper , Pocket or Readability
Bookmarking services are a great way to save the articles you want to read. For Chrome, you can download an extension to instantly save any article you come across in the service of your choice, and they will sync across all your devices. Which one you choose is really up to you, as they each have their own strengths and they are all pretty good at their rights .
Feedly
Feedly is a big leader among RSS readers after Google Reader. If this happens to be your choice, then the Feedly extension is a great way to give yourself instant access to your feeds right in Chrome. This is no longer required, but it is still good to have it with you.
Any.Do or Wunderlist
If you use Any.Do or Wunderlist for your tasks, then both offer fantastic Chrome extensions that sync across all your devices. This means you will never forget what you need to do, no matter where you work. Wunderlist now also has real-time sync across devices and shared to-do lists , and Any.do now makes it easier to manage your home or team projects . When it comes to completing your tasks, you can’t go wrong with any of them .
Evernote Web Clipper or OneNote Web Clipper
If you are an Evernote user, you should definitely use the Evernote Web Clipper. It allows you to save articles, pages, or just sections of a page into notes so you don’t have to copy or write anything down. Then you can add your own notes to what you save, organize everything into specific projects, and more. However, if you’re a OneNote user, Microsoft offers its own web clipper that’s pretty comparable to Evernote.
StayFocusd
There are tons of websites out there looking to take your time. From social media to your favorite blogs, it’s easy to lose your day. StayFocusd blocks these tedious websites so you can get your work done.
Minimalist for everything
The internet is a chaotic and messy place filled with toolbars, notifications, and a lot of clutter. If you want to get rid of it all, Minimalist for Everything is an extension that reduces the size of your network and makes it easier to use. Minimalist for Everything can do anything from getting rid of the Google navigation bar to reducing the clutter of Gmail.
Lazarus
Lazarus is a lifesaver for anyone who fills out tons of online forms or writes in their browser. When you enter a form, Lazarus saves what you are doing. If your browser crashes, Lazarus keeps a backup. It’s simple, but it can seriously save your day.
Gmail Offline
Gmail is a great web app, but the problem is that it only works when you’re online. Gmail Offline allows you to keep using Gmail even if you don’t have an Internet connection. When you reconnect, the emails you created will be sent just like in the desktop app.
Noysley
Ambient sounds can help you stay productive and avoid distractions . Noisli, a web app that lets you create your own background noise, is now a Chrome extension that no longer requires additional tabs. Noisli lets you create your own sound combinations and lets you set a timer to keep track of your work.
Pushbullet
Pushbullet makes it easy to bridge the gap between desktop and mobile OS . You can transfer text, links, files, maps and more from your computer directly to your phone or tablet. You can also send data from your phone to the Chrome browser, and Pushbullet uses Chrome’s excellent notification system .
Safety
LastPass
Lastpass is still one of our favorite password managers because it’s free and easy to set up. With it, you never have to remember your password again, and all your passwords will be synced across devices. The nice thing is that with Lastpass you can do all sorts of cool things so you never get bored. It should be noted that LastPass was hacked by hackers last year , but the user’s encrypted data was not stolen and we still recommend it.
HTTPS everywhere
HTTPS is one of the simplest ways to make your web browsing more secure , and HTTPS Everywhere is an extension that lets you not even think about it. With it, you will always visit the encrypted secure version of the site whenever you enter a URL.
AdBlock Plus or uBlock Origin
AdBlock Plus is commonly seen as a tool for blocking annoying ads on websites, but there is much more to it. It will also protect your online privacy , block other sections you want to hide (like YouTube comments ), and even block malware . Of course, this is an ad blocker too, but there is much more to it . If you want a more compact alternative that doesn’t consume as much memory and potentially slows down your system, uBlock Origin can provide the same security and privacy protection as AdBlock Plus.
Disable
The main purpose of Disconnect is simple: it blocks third-party tracking cookies . This means Disconnect is blocking advertisers and social media from tracking your browsing habits. On top of that, Disconnect has all sorts of tricks up its sleeve, including the ability to block people from hacking your personal information . What’s more, the new Disconnects privacy icons make it even easier to determine if a site is legit .
SecureGmail
SecureGmail is very simple: click a button and the email you are about to send via Gmail will be encrypted. The only way to decrypt it is if the recipient has a password. It’s by no means perfect, but as a quick and easy way to protect your private messages, it does the trick.
Utilities
Flix plus
Flix Plus is Lifehacker’s own customization extension for Netflix.com. You can filter recommendations, remove movie and TV show spoilers, use keyboard shortcuts, view ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, and more. We also make sure Flix Plus stays up to date when Netflix releases its own updates, so you can always get the best in-browser movie experience.
Great Lift
Opening multiple tabs in your browser is resource intensive, and if you’re not careful, your system can slow down crawling. Great Suspender solves this problem by automatically suspending unused tabs so they don’t load the processor. It’s certainly not the only tool stopping you from using tabs , but it’s one of the most useful.
Honey
When you shop online, you can almost always get a couple of discount codes for a small percentage of a sale or free shipping. The problem is that you usually have to search for these codes and insert them at checkout. Honey removes this requirement and automatically applies discount codes for you, so you don’t even have to think about it. You can now also earn cashback and a built-in feature that finds the best prices on Amazon .
Invisible hand
With thousands of stores to choose from, finding the best deal online is no easy task. To make this process easier, we love InvisibleHand, an extension that automatically scans tons of online stores when you shop looking for the best deal for you. It is an easy and automatic way to save money while shopping.
TunnelBear
Region blocking prevents many people from watching cool videos. The TunnelBear VPN extension lets you route internet traffic from any country you like so you can stream blocked content from anywhere . You get 500MB of free data every month, but there’s an unlimited plan for $ 4.99 a month. We no longer recommend Hola Better Internet after discovering that they are selling your bandwidth to basically run a botnet for hire .
Social fixer
If you are a big Facebook user, then you should try Social Fixer for your own sake. We chose the best way to make Facebook a better place because you can do anything with it, including getting rid of nasty political posts , tracking people who are being removed from your friends , and much more . It’s not as powerful as it used to be, but it’s worth keeping it to yourself.
Magic Actions
YouTube can be quite annoying at times, but if you want to fix some of the most common problems with it, Magic Actions is the easiest way to do it. You can set up auto-HD, stop autoplay, create movie mode, and more.
Hover hound
Computer hardware is expensive, so you always need to make sure you are buying it at the best price. The Hover Hound extension compares hardware prices at Newegg, Tiger Direct and Amazon with a simple mouseover . You can also view price history and find out when prices were high and low for each seller. Hover Hound is a must for anyone who buys equipment on a regular basis.