1 of 6 — Extensions 1 to 5
Hey, welcome to my Chrome Extensions series! We're going category by category covering the best free extensions you need in your browser right now. This category is Privacy & Security — and we're kicking things off with the first 5.
Let's get into it.
- uBlock Origin Lite
This is the one everyone should have installed before anything else. uBlock Origin Lite blocks ads, pop-ups, and trackers across every website you visit and it does it without slowing your browser down. It's open source, completely free, and has zero interest in your data. Worth noting , the original uBlock Origin had limitations placed on it by Google's new extension framework, so the Lite version is the one currently built for Chrome. Still excellent and still the gold standard for blocking unwanted content.
2.Bitwarden
Stop reusing the same three passwords everywhere — it's going to catch up with you. Bitwarden is a free, open-source password manager that generates strong unique passwords for every site and fills them in automatically. Everything is protected with zero-knowledge encryption meaning not even Bitwarden can see what's in your vault. Secure notes, credit card details, and login credentials all in one place. The free plan covers everything most people will ever need and there's no catch.
3.DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials
This one does a lot in a single install. DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials blocks hidden trackers, switches your default search engine to DuckDuckGo which never builds an ad profile on you and gives every website a privacy grade so you can see at a glance how safe it is. It also sends Do Not Track signals automatically so sites know upfront you're not interested in being followed around the internet. Free, lightweight, and genuinely useful for everyday browsing.
4.Privacy Badger
Built by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the non-profit that fights for digital rights. Privacy Badger takes a smarter approach to blocking trackers. Instead of relying on a fixed list, it actually learns as you browse and automatically blocks trackers that ignore your privacy preferences. The interface is dead simple with a colour-coded slider showing you exactly what's being blocked on every page. No ads, no premium plan to upsell you just a non-profit doing its thing.
5.Ghostery
Ghostery has been protecting people's privacy online for years and the free version is genuinely solid. It shows you every tracker running on a page and lets you block them at whatever level you're comfortable with block everything, block nothing, or somewhere in between. You can whitelist sites you trust and blacklist ones you don't. It won a SXSW Innovation Award for Privacy & Security and the free plan gives you everything you need without pushing you toward an upgrade.
That's the first 5! Post 2 drops next with extensions 6 to 10. If any of these are already in your browser, drop a comment which ones do you use?
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