privacyWhat the privacy permission means for a Chrome extension
Live Chrome Web Store extensions that declare privacy: 514, which is under 1% of the 270 859 whose permissions we have read. Counted after our catalog pass of 2026-10-10.
What it lets an extension do
Change your browser's privacy settings privacy
Reaches your browsing data or every site
Permissions in this group reach your browsing data or every site. Plenty of honest extensions need one; check that what the extension is for explains it.
What Chrome says when you add one
When you add an extension that declares it, Chrome asks you to allow it to:
- Change your privacy-related settings
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
| Category | Share of extensions | Extensions |
|---|---|---|
| Make Chrome Yours · Privacy | 4% | 216 of 5 449 |
| Lifestyle · Household | under 1% | 1 of 493 |
| Productivity · Workflow | under 1% | 82 of 45 721 |
| Make Chrome Yours · Accessibility | under 1% | 14 of 8 075 |
| Productivity · Developer | under 1% | 41 of 28 348 |
| Productivity · Tools | under 1% | 134 of 106 510 |
| Lifestyle · Travel | under 1% | 1 of 855 |
| Lifestyle · Social | under 1% | 7 of 7 160 |
| Productivity · Communication | under 1% | 4 of 7 120 |
| Lifestyle · Shopping | under 1% | 4 of 8 708 |
| Make Chrome Yours · Functionality | under 1% | 5 of 11 127 |
| Lifestyle · Well Being | under 1% | 1 of 2 878 |
| Lifestyle · Entertainment | under 1% | 2 of 6 363 |
| Lifestyle · Fun | under 1% | 1 of 8 489 |
| Productivity · Education | under 1% | 1 of 11 516 |
| Lifestyle · Art | 0% | 0 of 3 519 |
| Lifestyle · Games | 0% | 0 of 6 897 |
| Lifestyle · News | 0% | 0 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
-
VPN for Chrome: NordVPN proxy protection 15.0M users
-
Free VPN for Chrome - VPN Proxy VeePN 15.0M users
-
NordPass® Password Manager & Digital Vault 9.0M users
-
1Password – Password Manager 7.0M users
-
iCloud Passwords 7.0M users
-
Touch VPN - Secure and unlimited VPN proxy 3.0M users
-
Free VPN Proxy - 1VPN 2.0M users
-
Keeper® Password Manager & Digital Vault 2.0M users
-
Free VPN For Chrome - VPN Extension - Windscribe 2.0M users
-
Proton VPN: Fast & Secure 2.0M users
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.
Other permissions
Every sitetabshistorybookmarksdownloadsdownloads.openmanagementnativeMessagingproxydebuggerpageCapturetabCapturedesktopCapturegeolocationclipboardReadclipboardWritecontentSettingsdeclarativeNetRequestfaviconidentity.emailnotificationstabGroupstopSiteswebNavigationstorageactiveTabscriptingcontextMenusalarmscookieswebRequestwebRequestBlockingunlimitedStorageoffscreensidePanelidentitydeclarativeNetRequestWithHostAccessbrowsingDatabackground
Figures come from the public Chrome Web Store, which our own crawler reads up to 2 times a day. We do not install or audit extensions and publish no contact details for their developers. Catalog pass of .
Where the data comes from: how the catalog is built