Just search “data breach” in the news section of your google search and you will be welcomed with a surfeit of reports reining the feeds daily. Be it Instagram, Facebook, or any other popular social networking platforms, none of them is abstinent from privacy infringements of their users. One should also impinge the fact that whenever something is offered for free, the user is the actual product. Collecting users data behind the curtains and using them to push ads or even sell them to a third-party is common these days. This constrains us to dwell further and to know the point where everything starts.
Facebook, Instagram, etc. are services, using which depends solely on the user. But what if the snooping starts right from the locale where browsing starts? Google Chrome is the most popular web browser and enjoys around 60% share in the industry. With a profusion of users using it as their daily driver, it is likely that their sensitive data may fall prey to different malware. Your data is sacrosanct and having proper knowledge about the key privacy features of Chrome will help you up in making your information more private.
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How can data be protected in Google Chrome?
The first and foremost thing that penetrates in mind when it comes to privacy in Chrome, is Incognito mode. However, the case is not that lucid. Incognito mode only saves you from other users of the same device. Your browsing data, cookie, history, etc. are not stored but this doesn’t refrain itself from being accessible to the websites you visit and your ISP. The finest way to protect your sensitive information from getting breached is by installing relevant extensions on your Chrome. These extensions work like a standard application and offer you extra features. Let us have a brief overview of the best Chrome privacy extensions of 2020.
Top Chrome privacy extensions
| Extensions |
Developer |
Costing |
| Privacy Badger | Electronic Frontier Foundation | Free |
| Adblock Plus | Adblock Plus | Free |
| Ghostery | Ghostery | Free |
| LastPass | LastPass | Free/Paid |
| Blur | Abine | Free/Paid |
| Privacy Cleaner | My Permissions | Free |
| Click&Clean | Hot Cleaner | Free |
| ZenMate VPN extension | Zenmate | Free |
| HTTPS Everywhere | Electronic Frontier Foundation | Free |
| Fair AdBlocker | Standsapp | Free |
1. Privacy Badger
“Nothing can stop the Privacy Badger from eating cookies when it’s hungry!”. This extension is no less than what the developers vaunt about it. Built by Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Badger identifies and blocks all tracking tools and spying ads. It also restricts third-party trackers from collecting your browsing data after being loaded anonymously from nowhere. The best part is that it is available for free to all users.
2. Adblock Plus
Getting irked every time after visiting a website schlepping a chunk of ads? Adblock Plus is one of its kind that helps you to get rid of annoying ads that many a time also result in installing malware on your system. Adblock Plus comes with a preset filter that enables you to customise the extent/degree of freedom you want from the ads. Besides regular adblocking, it can even hide social media buttons of your choice.
3. Ghostery
Data mining is the living ghost of internet browsing. Companies describe it necessary but Ghostery disagrees. Ghostery shows you the clients tracking your data, which in turn, is used to build specific profiles to push personalised ads. It also removes page clutters that often slows down browsing by channelling internet bandwidth to load themselves. Ghostery is equipped with a robust tracking tool, using which, it keeps you informed about the different types of trackers.
4. LastPass
Shorter passwords are convenient but less secured. LastPass allows you to create strong passwords by remembering them for future use. It populates the password field automatically once you start typing the initial characters. On top of that, it also shows suggestions to create strong passwords on the go. However, you need to create an account for operation and the feature comes both in freemium and premium versions.
5. Blur
Your personal data like name, address, contact number and sensitive ones like passwords are spread all across the internet. Shopping sites, Social networking platforms, etc. all require the creation of user account before offering their services. Blur encrypts your sensitive information so that it won’t add to any hackers meal. It also saves and organises your passwords along with securing all your personal information. Worth mentioning, Blur also restricts companies from collecting your data, even the non-cookie trackers.
Conclusion
A vast platform like Google Chrome also invites a chunk of threats. Most of the unauthorised access is done right under your nose without any sign of suspicion. All these have made Google to release API for Chrome so that developers across the globe can make tools in order to hook up the existing feature-list. Privacy extensions are also one of those that brings you useful tweaks in browsing to offer a fret-free and secured environment. Install the extensions you need and let not the websites track your data without the permission.
