Life

You Need These Chrome Extensions In Your Life

by Megan Grant

I only recently discovered the unbelievable magic of Chrome extensions, and now I like to go on little scavenger hunts to see what other mysteries I can uncover with all those neat-o add-ons. It's convenient, therefore, that a recent AskReddit thread has its own list of Google Chrome extensions that will make your life easier — and I have to say, I agree with them on all counts. Reddit users are certainly fans as well, with one commenting about a particular extension, "It'll... destroy Chrome with the power of a thousand suns, and more." Sounds promising.

I have found myself knee-deep in Reddit threads more often than I care to admit, but this one was pretty darn informative. There really is an extension for everything, and the learning curve is usually pretty small. Google Chrome extensions are helping us save money, shop smarter, organize our daily tasks, protect our web browsing, stay inspired, and so much more. Keep reading for Reddit's best suggestions for Chrome extensions you should download immediately — and of course head on over to the original thread for much, much more.

(P.S. Although it didn't make the list, one of my personal favorites is Honey. If you're buying something online, Honey will automatically sweep the Interwebs looking for any coupons or discount codes you can apply to your purchase. Never miss out on a deal again!)

1. The Camelizer

Attention, online shoppers! This bad boy from CamelCamelCamel shows you an Amazon product's pricing history and lets you know when it goes on sale. "Sale" happens to be my favorite word.

2. Magic Actions For YouTube

This extension lets you watch any YouTube vid in HD; it offers ad blocking; there's a day/night toggle switch so you can browse in black and white; it'll auto-hide the controls once your video is playing; and so much more. Plus, you can view and delete your watch history in case (*ahem) there's stuff you don't want people to see in there.

3. Google Dictionary

If you're both lazy and can't understand people when they use big words, this extension allows you to double click on a word and get the meaning instantly, along with hearing how it's pronounced.

4. Session Buddy

This extension is a friend to anyone juggling 20 tasks at once. See all of your open tabs in one place, save them for later use, and recover anything you had opened after a browser crash.

5. PanicButton

If you're like me and have approximately 498 tabs opened at once all the time, PanicButton is for you. This will hide all your tabs with one click and restore them later!

6. Spreed

Spreed is excellent for people who do a ton of reading (are you listening, college students?). This one teaches you how to double or triple your reading speed without sacrificing comprehension.

7. Checker Plus For Gmail

Better manage your messages and get desktop notifications of new emails containing the subject line and a preview.

8. Momentum

Momentum helps you stay on track with your to-do list, and provides daily inspiration with a photo and quote.

9. McAfee SECURE Safe Browsing

This extension helps you browse safer in a number of ways, including checking if a site has malware or phishing attacks.

10. Web Timer

Web Timer will tell you how much time you're spending on each site. I almost don't want to know how much time I spend on Facebook.

Images: Fotolia; Giphy (10)