Permission · downloads

What the downloads permission means for a Chrome extension

Live Chrome Web Store extensions that declare downloads: 17 876, which is 7% of the 270 886 whose permissions we have read. Counted after our catalog pass of 2026-10-10.

What it lets an extension do

Manage your downloads downloads

Worth knowing

Worth knowing about, but limited to one kind of data or one part of the browser.

What Chrome says when you add one

When you add an extension that declares it, Chrome asks you to allow it to:

Manage your downloads

Derived from the manifest by Chrome's documented rules; the dialog's exact wording depends on your Chrome version and language. Chrome asks again if an update requests more.

How common it is in each category

How common it is in each category
Category	Share of extensions	Extensions
Productivity · Tools	10%	10 332 of 106 524
Lifestyle · Art	8%	268 of 3 521
Productivity · Developer	7%	2 065 of 28 347
Productivity · Workflow	6%	2 695 of 45 728
Lifestyle · Social	6%	409 of 7 160
Make Chrome Yours · Privacy	4%	226 of 5 449
Productivity · Education	4%	450 of 11 519
Make Chrome Yours · Accessibility	3%	265 of 8 075
Lifestyle · Household	3%	16 of 492
Lifestyle · Shopping	3%	278 of 8 710
Make Chrome Yours · Functionality	3%	334 of 11 127
Productivity · Communication	3%	210 of 7 120
Lifestyle · Entertainment	2%	149 of 6 364
Lifestyle · Travel	2%	17 of 855
Lifestyle · Fun	1%	82 of 8 489
Lifestyle · Well Being	1%	27 of 2 878
Lifestyle · Games	1%	47 of 6 897
Lifestyle · News	under 1%	6 of 1 631

Counted over the live extensions of each category after our latest full pass of the store. A share is context, not a verdict: what is normal depends on what the extension is for.

Widely installed extensions that ask for it

Adobe Acrobat: PDF edit, convert, sign tools Access to every site · 15 permissions, 1 site pattern 344.0M users ★ 4.4
迅雷下载支持 Access to every site · 9 permissions, 3 site patterns 78.0M users ★ 2.9
Chrome Remote Desktop No site access · 2 permissions 41.0M users ★ 3.1
Read&Write for Google Chrome™ Access to every site · 13 permissions, 1 site pattern 19.0M users ★ 3.4
Claude Access to every site · 16 permissions, 1 site pattern 18.0M users ★ 2.9
VPN for Chrome: NordVPN proxy protection Access to every site · 16 permissions, 1 site pattern 15.0M users ★ 4.2
Malwarebytes Browser Guard Access to every site · 12 permissions, 1 site pattern 12.0M users ★ 3.8
Online Security Access to every site · 18 permissions, 1 site pattern 11.0M users ★ 3.6
1Password – Password Manager Access to every site · 15 permissions, 1 site pattern 7.0M users ★ 3.1
ChatGPT Access to every site · 18 permissions, 1 site pattern 6.0M users ★ 2.8

Each links to what that extension can access and how its permissions have changed.

How to check your own extensions

Type chrome://extensions in the address bar and find the extension in the list.
Open its details. The Permissions section lists what Chrome granted it, in Chrome's own words.
Open its details. The site access setting shows where it can run; set it to run only on click and it reaches a page only after you press its icon.
To uninstall it, choose Remove on the same page.

Figures come from our own daily pass over the public Chrome Web Store. We do not install or audit extensions and publish no contact details for their developers. Catalog pass of 2026-10-10.

Browse the catalog

Where the data comes from: how the catalog is built