10 Google Chrome extensions to help your work and productivity | Mint

A few days back, I stumbled upon an interesting extension for Google Chrome. Mobi Reader made my life easier by letting me read Mobi (a file extension used to store e-books) documents directly in Chrome or in a separate popup window. Citing books and going back to different pages for reference is now less of a hassle.

Chrome Extensions are not new. They were introduced to Chrome in 2009 and today there are over 200,000 extensions available on the Chrome Web Store, covering a wide range of use cases, from productivity tools to just-for-fun games. Extensions are small software programs that extend the browser’s usability further by adding new features. But they are an interesting way to find the innovative work that many web developers do behind the scenes. More importantly, they are perfect for users who don’t want to rely on multiple devices – an ebook reader, a smartphone or another tablet – to finish their tasks.

For instance, one of my all-time favourite extensions is Save to Pocket, which I’ve been using for years to save articles and web pages that I want to revisit later. Like Pocket, many of these extensions that follow also work on the likes of Apple Safari and can be synced with your mobile device.

Here’s a look at 10 interesting extensions that can help you manage your work and tasks better.

Dark Reader: Many of us prefer reading web pages in dark mode, especially when browsing in low-light situations. Once installed, Dark Reader lets you toggle between dark mode and light mode for every website, by inverting bright colors, making them high contrast and easy to read at night. The toggle button works instantly without any delay. You can also adjust the contrast, brightness, sepia filter, dark mode, and font settings with Dark Reader. Another fun alternative to Dark Reader is an extension called Dark Mode.

Noisli: Remember when the pandemic lockdowns meant many of us were working from home? The one thing many users missed was the familiar noise of a working environment. On the other hand, there were some who wanted calm or focused sounds to get those tasks done. Noisli gives the user customizable background sounds to help focus while they work or study. You can choose from a variety of curated playlists – be it for productivity, relaxing, a noise blocker or random noises. The extension also has a timer to help you finish work in sessions. Some features on Noisli require paid add-ons. Another alternative to Noisli is Noiseplayer.

MightyText: Simple and easy to use, MightyText lets you send and receive SMS text messages on your PC and Mac with your phone number. MightyText works on Android. All you need to do is install the app on your phone, link your Google account and complete the setup. Once done, you need to sign in to MightyText on your desktop browser with the same Google account and the extension is good to go. This is a great tool for people who still believe in the usefulness of traditional text messaging.

OneTab: I’m guilty of having one too many tabs open at any given time. It’s a minimalist worker’s nightmare. Not only can too many open tabs feel cluttered but sometimes you might end up closing an important tab mistakenly. OneTab helps you organize and manage your tabs more effectively. Click on the OneTab icon and it compiles all your open tabs under a single tab with all the links. This also helps your browser work more smoothly. You can also export your tab lists as a web page or a file and import them. This is handy for transferring tab sessions between multiple devices or browsers.

Epub Reader: Like the Mobi Reader, EPub Reader lets you access epub (e-book file format for viewing online or offline documents) files on Chrome. You can right click on any ePub link and then choose the ‘view ePub’ item from the context menu. Alternatively, you can open the popup window and then add the epub link in the top section of the window to view the document. For offline files, you can simply drag and drop the file to the designated area in the popup window to load the ePub document. You can also change the font style and size of the epub file with this extension to fit your reading preference.

Toggl Track: Toggl Track adds a timer into any web tool you’re using and allows you to track how much time you spend on a particular task. Think of it as a productivity time tracker. Toggl Track works with more than 120 web tools – be it Notion, Gmail, Google Drive, Trello, and Evernote, among others. A similar extension is RescueTime.

Ghostery: This privacy-focused extension lets you block trackers and unwanted ads. It also removes those niggling cookie pop-ups that, as many of us will agree, hamper your user experience on a web page. Apart from its blocking capabilities, Ghostery also gives you detailed information on any website you visit, including the number of trackers, type and the company running them.

HTTPS Everywhere: This extension automatically redirects you to the HTTPS version of a website, ensuring that your browsing is safe and encrypted. According to the American company Cloudflare, websites using HTTPS are more trustworthy for users. Another interesting alternative to HTTPS Everywhere is Smart HTTPS.

GoFullPage: How many times have you struggled to get a complete screenshot of a webpage? GoFullPage is a cool extension that lets you capture a composite screenshot of the page you are on with a single click. Once you install the extension and tap the icon, GoFullPage screenshots every part of the page you are currently on and gives you a composite image at the end. It also lets you download the screenshot in PDF or PNG formats.

Screenity: A privacy-focused screen recorder, Screenity lets you record any tab you are on and annotate with text, shapes, arrows etc. You can also edit the videos. Screenity can also record your microphone or internal audio. Once done, you can download the file in mp4, gif, and webm formats. A useful tool for creating tutorials, presentations, or recording web-based content.