You know the world of Google Chrome Browser Extensions is very large, easy to use but scary to many new users. I thought about writing in regard to one that I have installed recently, really enjoy and use often for you. But first I decided to do a little research into Chrome Extensions.
First, a definition. An Extension is a, usually, very small application that will somehow produce a better browsing experience for you, the user. These improvements are not found in the browser, "out of the box." Basically, they allow you to customize your browser by adding new features.
The most up-to-date information I found was from an August 2019 report by "Extension Monitor." Here are some of the interesting details. At that time there were a total of approximately 188,620 extensions in the store. Thirteen of them have over 10 million installations. Ten percent of the total have zero installs and 13.5% of them have only one installation. There are more statistics available at the site if you are interested which you will find at dblclx.com/bfsa.
So how do you find extensions, think of what you are wanting to add to your browser? In my case, I wanted to add something that would allow me to remove the ads, extraneous graphics and junk from articles that I wanted to read. In other words, be able to read an article like a book or a printed page.
Open your Chrome Browser, click the three dots in the upper right corner. Then go down to "More tools" then "Extensions." The easy way is to type "chrome://extensions" in the address bar and press the enter key. Just like you would type, "google.com" to go there. A page will open with your installed extensions and apps (more about those another day). To find a new extension click on the three bars on the upper left (called a hamburger) then go all the way to the bottom and click, "Open Chrome web store." On the left in the search box, in my example, I typed, "read mode" and pressed enter. I then check the round (radio) button for Extensions only. I scrolled through the list to find the one that had the best rating and most users that did what I was looking for. I came up with "Just Read." If you want to use it and get there more quickly use this link, dblclx.com/ext-justread. This extension is no longer available for free. I figure they must have started thinking they were popular and now charge. Try one, or some, of the many other extensions!
You can click the name and read about it, see reviews, etc. Then click the blue, "Add to Chrome" button. You will see it installed at the top of your browser on the extension bar. Right-click on the new square button and go to Options to make a few changes. After you close that window go to a webpage, click the "Just Read" button and just read.
I really enjoy using this extension and I hope you will too. It makes for a very good reading experience without all of the buttons, bells and whistles that distract us.