They ’re not what any of us would call “ intimate , ” but you may really tell a lot about a person from a quick glimpse at the browser app extensions they expend . Is your boyfriend ’s internet browser adorn with favicons from Evernote , Trello , and literally nothing else ? He ’s either a character - A perfectionist or window pane to a faulting . Is your aunt ’s web browser buck under extensions forcoupons , promo computer code , andcashback deal ? Safe to say she ’s obsessively thrifty .
I wish well I could tell you the picture my own menagerie give off , but everyone that ’s seen them has been too busywordlessly screamingto give me an response . Earlier this week , I inadvertently put my extensions on full video display when I jokinglytweeted outa screenshot of the rough 80 tab I had open at the clip ( it was fora fib , I avow ) . But a lot of folks were more concerned with the two XII extensions that they see operate in my web web browser window .
- 24 * active extensions ? ? ? ?

Image: Gizmodo/Shoshana Wodinsky
— Chaim Gartenberg ( @cgartenberg)April 12 , 2021
I ’ll in full own up to being a bit of atab hoarder , but this was the first time anyone came after my niggling gubbins . Reporting on the tech concealment space for this long instruct me that , sure as shooting , it was smart tobe selectivewith the extension I used , since they ’ve historically done ashitty jobat protect thedatathey gorge from our range habits . But 24 ( okay , actually 28 ) was n’t that many . Right ?
Of course , it was .

I asked a few Gizmodo staffers how many extensions they ’d downloaded , the answer could always be round to “ a handful”—somewhere between two and 10 , not 30 .
The good word is that code does n’t lie down , and computer code is also what powers the sentimental intrigue that underlie this industry . The forged news is that — wait for it — I ca n’t code . You caught me . Or more accurately , I ca n’t write code . I can read itjust very well , if I have some sort of putz that can reach into the gut of an ad or website and institute it up to the surface . perhaps that dick could plug into my internet browser for safekeeping , and maybe different tools could sniffle out specific pieces of datum that are being turned to profit at any given time .
You sickos want to see the full inclination of what ’s frequent my web web browser , so here it is — along with links to download each propagation in myproblematic faveof a web browser , Google Chrome . While the name on this list have passed my own personal sniff examination , your standardsmight be ( and probably are ) higher . Do your enquiry before download . And if you end up with a browser app so cluttered that your coworkers get pump palpitations by looking at it , just know the digital economic system is endlessly atrocious .

1.Ad Library Pro
Gives a piece more insight into the ads you see across Facebook ’s sprawlingad librarylike the landing Thomas Nelson Page those ad terminate up on , the land and speech they incline to target the most , and whether their ads link to any apps outside of Facebook .
2.Big Tech Detective
A merriment university extension that lets you see when a site is sharing data with Amazon , Facebook , Google , or Microsoft , and then see how frustrating and broken those sites become if you attempt to monkey with them . Full transparence : Gizmodo newsman Dhruv Mehrotra is one of thekey peoplewho built this tool , and he ’s also the technologist that worked out the tech for ourGoodbye Big Fiveproject , which inspired the extension .
3.Beeline Reader
If you ’re fight to concenter on … literally anything due to a bad lawsuit of pandemic - inducedsmooth genius , I ca n’t urge this enough . The tool ’s had acult followingin pedagogy circles for years , specifically for students clamber with attention issues or dyslexia . Yes , every story you read will of a sudden be plaster with day - glo red ink and blueish , and yes , it ’s only free for two weeks . But right on now , it ’s the only affair that ’s keeping my brainsemi - wrinkly .
4 and 5.BidFilter/Bidscape
Bidscape , for instance , adds a green ticker to the top right turning point of any internet site you might be range so you may watch the dollars pour in as you surf across a site — but as an FYI , that clam note value is your Thomas Nelson Page valuemultiplied by 1,000 % . Realistically , advertizer are give a fraction of a fraction of a penny to reach you while you ’re reading these Word properly now . While typing this out , I paid a sojourn to the Gizmodo homepage that was deserving a banging $ 0.00805 . If staring into the moth-eaten , black nub of digital monetization does n’t ick you out , have playfulness surfing !
6.BuiltWith
It shows you what technical school site are … built with .
7.Chaff
A good cock for people that want to add random data on top of their own data so the companiestrying to profitfrom that datum wo n’t be able to micro - aim you ( because of all the data ) .
8.Chrome Extension Source Viewer
A Chrome elongation that need apart Chrome extension . I know you ’re thinking it .
9.ClearURLs
slew out those super - crying - looking pieces of universal resource locator computer code that some companies use to track you from pageboy to page , leaving your address squeaky fresh .
10.Click&Clean
A supremely simple putz that lets you nuke any sort of trace you might have on your web web browser .
11.Distill
monitoring gadget web Thomas Nelson Page for any changes . Also useful for catch companiessneaking updateson their site while they think nobody ’s observation .
12.Earth View
LikeEarther , but with less bad news show .
13.Finitimus
Tells you when a site had its first natal day .
14, 15, 16.Google Dictionary/Google Translate/Power Thesaurus
For writing quarrel good .
17.Keywords Everywhere
18.LocalStorage Manager
Lets you see what information you might have tarry in theLocal and Session Storagepockets in your browser app .
19.My Ad Finder
Ever wonder what your Facebook provender would take care like if it was only ads ? Do you hate the last scrap of anything good on that site ? require to feel a straight shot of capitalist economy to your brain every time you hear logging onto Facebook dot com ? You ’re in luck — what was make to be a jolly efficient marketing tool also pass to be a waking fever dream for literally anyone else .
20.OneTab
A great tool that turns tab roll up into tab hoarding , butin a unmarried booklet .
21.PixelBlock
A very handy puppet that killsemail tracking pixelsbefore you open them .
22.Robots Exclusion Checker
A “ Robots.txt ” Thomas Nelson Page is a creature that companies often apply to bury function of their land site from Google hunt , without actually taking those pages down . It ’s an easy fashion for hospitals tohide their pricing datafrom people that desperately need it , for on-line revenue enhancement service tohide accessto their free services , and for skincare mark to keep news program of aproduct recallfrom the public . In other words , they ’re not bully ! At least you’re able to expend this extension to find those pages pretty easy .
23.RocketReach
For notice email address from multitude who wo n’t answer your school text .
24.Pocket
Put that longread in your sac and pretend you ’ll read it later .
25.SEO Search Simulator
If you ever wondered what kind of advertizement masses in Algeria or Belarus were seeing while they were appear for Crocs on Google Search , respectable news !
26.Google Tag Assistant
Quickly drag up a site ’s Google analytics tag or identifier ( if they have one ) . Also ready to hand fortracking whomight be head for the hills that site !
27.Tineye
Like Google hunting , but only pictures .
28.Wayback Machine
When you want to bewitch a snapshot of a website at a sure point in time in meter , or see how a page might have changed . Also useful if you ’re nostalgic forLuigi instrument panel .
29.One Click Extensions Manager
For whenever you ’re of necessity heckle for downloading all this nerdy shit onto your browser app .
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