Best Chrome extensions for privacy
The best Chrome extensions for privacy are uBlock Origin Lite or Privacy Badger to block trackers, Proton Pass or Bitwarden to lock down your passwords, and Proton VPN as a browser VPN. All five have a free way to use them, and all but Proton VPN have public code, per our pages.
Privacy is where extensions cut both ways. A good one blocks trackers and protects your logins. A bad one can read everything you do. So this list leans on things you can check: open-source code, stated data practices and publishers with a track record. Every fact comes from the extension's Xplorekit page.
Blocking ads and trackers
uBlock Origin Lite
A separate, lighter Manifest V3 extension by the developer of uBlock Origin. It blocks ads and trackers with uBlock Origin's default lists. It is free and open source, and its rules run through Chrome's own blocking API rather than a background process.
Privacy Badger
Published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit. It learns which third parties track you as you browse and blocks them, and it sends Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track signals. It is free and open source. It is not a full ad blocker.
DuckDuckGo Search & Tracker Protection
DuckDuckGo says it blocks most hidden third-party trackers and upgrades connections to HTTPS where a site offers it. It also makes DuckDuckGo your default search engine, and it does not hide your IP address. A simple pick if you already like DuckDuckGo search.
Ghostery
An open-source blocker for ads and trackers that also removes cookie pop-ups and shows tracker information for each site. Ghostery says all its features are free, and its policy says the extension needs no name, email or account.
Protecting your passwords
Proton Pass
Proton says Proton Pass is open source and end-to-end encrypted, with no ads and no trackers. It comes from the team behind Proton Mail. The free plan lists unlimited logins and devices, with limits on aliases and 2FA items.
Bitwarden
Bitwarden’s client code is public on GitHub, and it publishes third-party audit reports. Bitwarden says vault data is encrypted before it leaves your device. The free plan covers unlimited passwords and devices; TOTP codes, emergency access and file attachments need Premium.
KeePassXC-Browser
Your passwords stay in a KeePassXC database on your own computer, and this extension fills them into Chrome. It is free and open source (GPL v3), and it talks to the local app, not a cloud service. It does nothing alone: KeePassXC must be installed and running. Its README says settings are stored locally and never synced. We could not read the developer's privacy policy when we checked.
Using a browser VPN
Proton VPN
A browser VPN extension that covers browser traffic only, not the whole device. Proton says it has a strict no-logs policy and that its free plan has no data limit and covers one device at a time. Other apps and other browsers keep your normal connection.
Getting rid of cookie banners
I Still Don't Care About Cookies
Removes cookie banners on most sites. It is open source, and its privacy policy says no personal information is collected in normal use, with no analytics, tracking scripts or ads. One catch: it hides or accepts banners, it does not reject cookies. Use it for less clutter, not for saying no to tracking.
Limiting browser fingerprinting
JShelter
It goes after fingerprinting, which most blockers do not cover, by controlling the browser APIs that sites use and restricting the data they gather. It is open source and not a VPN, so it does not hide your IP address. It asks for access to every page, and its Chrome build lacks two features of the Firefox build.
Checking what a photo gives away
Photo EXIF Util
A photo can carry camera details, the date and a GPS location inside the file. This open-source extension shows that data for JPEG, PNG and WebP images and strips it by category, so you can share a clean copy. Its README says the work is all client-side, which is the developer’s own statement, not an audit. It asks for access to all sites, and it is a young 0.x project.
EXIF Metadata Viewer
If you only want to check, this one shows a photo’s metadata from a right-click, including GPS location if the photo has it. It asks for activeTab, contextMenus and scripting, and lists no site access. It cannot remove anything, so pair it with a tool that strips data, such as Photo EXIF Util.
Reading files without uploading them
Enhanced PDF Viewer
Some PDF tools work by uploading your file. Enhanced PDF Viewer is a reader built on PDF.js, and its maker says it does no uploading and no cloud sync. We could not verify that independently, so check the listing before you open sensitive files.
How to choose
Start with one tracker blocker. Pick uBlock Origin Lite if you also want ads gone, Privacy Badger if you want a nonprofit tool that learns on its own, or DuckDuckGo if you want private search in the same extension. Then move your passwords into Proton Pass or Bitwarden. Both have free plans and public code. If you would rather keep passwords in a local database, KeePassXC-Browser fills them in from the KeePassXC desktop app. Add Proton VPN only if you also want a browser VPN. Tracker blockers don't do that, and the extension covers the browser only. Everything else on this list is optional.
Which Chrome extension is best for privacy?
For most people, uBlock Origin Lite. It is free, open source and blocks ads and trackers using uBlock Origin's default lists. If you mainly want trackers stopped and prefer a nonprofit publisher, pick Privacy Badger from the EFF. It learns which third parties follow you and sends Global Privacy Control signals.
Do I need a VPN if I use a tracker blocker?
They do different jobs. A tracker blocker like Privacy Badger stops sites from following you across the web, but it does not hide your IP address. A VPN extension like Proton VPN routes your browser traffic through Proton's servers, for the browser only. Privacy Badger complements a VPN but does not replace one. Many people only need the blocker.
Are privacy extensions themselves safe?
We can't promise any extension is safe, and a privacy tool needs wide access to do its job. That is why open source matters here: uBlock Origin Lite, Privacy Badger, Proton Pass, Bitwarden, KeePassXC-Browser, JShelter, Photo EXIF Util and I Still Don't Care About Cookies all have public code. Check the permissions and publisher before you install.
Good to know
More privacy extensions do not mean more privacy. Each one you add can see your browsing, so three tracker blockers means three tools with that access, not three times the protection. Pick one per job, install from the official listing, and remove what you stop using. Watch for copycats with similar names. Our how we choose page explains the checks we run on every pick.
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All picks are third-party extensions, not built by Xplorekit. We link to the official Chrome Web Store listings. We don't show ratings or user counts because we can't verify them.