5 Must-have Browser Extensions
#5 These are the extensions that I use which make my life easier.
Browser extensions are integral to any browser to extend its functionality beyond the developer’s specifications. One of such extensions has saved countless hours for me that otherwise would have been wasted watching ads or closing those annoying ad pop-ups. According to the below article from Opera, an average person spends about 4 hours a week, roughly 9 days a year or 1 and half years of one’s lifetime on ads! 1.5 years which otherwise could have been spent with loved ones or doing the things you love.
“In 2012, research based on eye-tracking indicated that an average internet user views ads for about 6.58% of the time they spend online (miratech.com). To think of it another way: that’s about four minutes out of every hour. Considering that the average person spends about 59 hours a week online (audacy.com), they spend up to four hours watching ads during that time – whether they want to or not.”
Without further ado, let's dive into the 5 extensions to boost your productivity.
1. Grammarly
Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant which checks for spelling mistakes, punctuation etc., in your online writing. If you are a casual writer and don’t want to be embarrassed by the spelling mistakes in your emails or social media posts. This extension is a must. Even if you are an English god, I’d still recommend this extension as we sometimes easily tend to overlook typos.
You can find this extension in all of the major browser extension stores. There is a paid version which I don’t recommend unless you write professionally. For most of us, the free version is plenty.
2. Bitwarden
Bitwarden, an open-source password manager, is a boon to anyone who wants to take their online security seriously. This is my favourite extension on this list. You don’t have to memorise all of your online passwords or set “Password123” as a password to all of your online accounts 🤦🏼♂️. Seriously, please don’t do this! With just one click you can save the passwords of any site or app you visit and auto-fill them as per the requirement. It also has a password generator which can generate random secure passwords based on the parameters you specify, such as length and complexity. Bitwarden also has mobile apps for iOS and Android devices and browser extensions for all the major browsers. This way all your data and passwords are available with one click whenever you need them.
I have tried other password managers however, settled for this for two reasons. One, this is open-source, which means all of the source code is available to the public and anyone can go check it out or audit it. This wouldn’t be possible with the close-sourced software of large corporations who can easily either hide the information about the data they are collecting about you or sweep a data breach under the rug. Two, it’s free and has several features that are only available on the paid versions of their counterparts. There are paid tiers in Bitwarden, however, the free version is all you need for personal use.
3. uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin is an ad-blocker which blocks all types of ads on websites so that you can enjoy reading your favourite article without any distractions or those annoying intrusive ads. If my articles are your favourite, then you don’t need to use any ad-blocker as they will always be ad-free 😉. The best part about this extension is that you can watch YouTube ad-free without having to pay a premium. This seriously has saved me countless hours which would otherwise be spent on those ads every few minutes in between the videos which can’t be skipped.
Unfortunately, you can’t use it on your mobile or TV. One of the reasons why I watch youtube only on my PC. At the time of writing, it even blocks the ads from the ad-supported Hotstar plan. If a certain site doesn’t work properly, you can whitelist it and disable the extension just for this site.
uBlock Origin on Chrome Web Store
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4. Writer
If you are writing professionally, this extension is essential. I found this tool more accurate than Grammarly. Grammarly has an accuracy of 99% which is enough for most casual writers. However, if you are a professional writer you want your writing to be flawless. That’s where Writer comes in and picks up that 1% left by Grammarly. These two extensions complement each other nicely and are crucial for any aspiring writer.
The free version is more than enough, in my opinion. There are paid plans though which you can check and decide if they suit you.
5. Return YouTube Dislike
In a controversial decision, YouTube decided to remove the dislike button last year despite community backlash. Their reasons behind this can be found in the article below.
“So we experimented with removing the dislike count across millions of videos over many months. Every way we looked at it, we did not see a meaningful difference in viewership, regardless of whether or not there was a public dislike count. And importantly, it reduced dislike attacks”
For many, including myself, the dislike counter was a way of knowing if the video content was good or just clickbait. It helped me countless times when I was looking for ways to repair my laptop’s DC jack or clean it. One wrong video guidance and you can kiss your laptop or car goodbye! Thankfully the awesome folks at Return YouTube Dislike found a way around this to crowd-source and estimate the dislikes of each video. I recommend trying it out to avoid potential headaches or hazards in the future.
Return YouTube Dislike on Chrome Web Store
Are you using any of these extensions already? Or which extension on this list surprised you the most? Please let me know in the comments below.
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I already use most of these, except for uBlock Origin which I found to be needlessly complicated. I'm using Adblock Plus instead.
Another extension that can save you hours of time watching ads is "SponsorBlock". It will seemlessly skip over any advertisements or sponsor blabla that is actually embedded withing the video by the creator. If you happen to come across a video that doesn't skip the sponsorship yet, you can submit the time markers yourself so it will be added to the database and skip the sponsorship bullcrap for everybody watching the video after you.