Free, must-have Google Chrome extensions

Google Chrome is more than just a web browser. It's a platform for getting things done on the internet, and by downloading and installing some choice extensions, you can customize your browser to work the way you want it to work.

Here are over two dozen extensions that focus on privacy and productivity. With these you can take screenshots, secure your browser, keep your passwords safe, take control of your tabs, secure your connection, do more with Gmail, grab text out of images, and much more.

All these extensions are free and are available to download from the Chrome Web Store.

Automatically create website citations in the APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard referencing styles at the click of a button.

Download.

A screen capture extension for all or part of any web webpage. Add annotations, comments, blur sensitive info, and share with one-click uploads.

Download.

Automatically closes inactive tabs and makes it easy to get them back

- Automatically closes idle tabs after designated time

- Saves closed tabs, easy to re-open

- Chrome sync saves settings between computers

- Doesn't close pinned tabs

- Lock tabs from closing

Download.

Disconnect Search is a service that uses a specialized VPN to allow you to search privately using your favorite search engine. The reason to use this is that they claim they don't log searches, IP addresses, or any other personal info.

Disconnected Search is available as an extension and a web service.

Download.

TabCloud allows you to save any window session and restore it at a later date or on another computer. This allows you to sync open tabs between multiple computers.

Download.

HTTPS Everywhere is an extension that encrypts your communications with many major websites, making your browsing more secure.

HTTPS Everywhere is produced as a collaboration between The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Download.

LastPass is an award-winning password manager that saves your passwords and gives you secure access from every computer and mobile device. Very secure, and very easy to sue

Download.

Ghostery is an extension that reveals "invisible" web, which consists of trackers, web bugs, pixels, and beacons placed on web pages by Facebook, Google, and over 500 other ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers - all companies interested in your activity.

Find out - and more importantly, control - who is tracking your browsing.

Download.

Get quick and easy access to definitions of words on web pages you visit without having to open a new tab or copy/paste the term into a search box.

Download.

A one-click solution to clean your browser and protect your privacy. With Click&Clean you can:

• Scan your PC for Malware
• Delete your browsing history,
• Remove download history,
• Erase temporary files,
• Clear cookies and Empty cache,
• Delete client-side Web SQL Databases
• Remove Flash Cookies (LSOs)

And much more.

Download.

This extension allows you to enforce a 25 minute period of distraction-free work by blocking a whole host of time wasting websites (the list is customisable). As a reward, you get 5 minutes to blow on the websites of your choice before going back to work.

Download.

Boomerang allows you to schedule messages to be sent or returned at a later date. Write a message now, send it whenever, even if you're not online.

Download.

Like Ghostery, Privacy Badger is a browser add-on that stops advertisers and other third-party trackers from secretly tracking what pages you look at on the web. If it detects that an advertiser seems to be tracking you across multiple websites without your permission, Privacy Badger will automatically block that advertiser from loading any more content in your browser.

Download.

Need a VPN to secure your browser connection? AnchorFree has a tool called Hotspot Shield that's not only free to use, but is ad-free and totally unlimited. I've been using it here for some time now and it does what is says it does, and has been totally reliable.

Download.

A sleek to-do app keeps you organized, focused, and more productive. The perfect to-do productivity app is there wherever you need it: on Google Chrome, mobile device, desktop, browser, Gmail, and more.

Download.

Project Naptha automatically applies state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms to every image your browser loads while browsing the web. The result is a seamless and intuitive experience, where you can highlight as well as copy and paste and even edit and translate the text formerly trapped within an image.

A very handy extension indeed.

Download.

The web is an infinite source of distraction. StayFocusd does what is says on the tin - helps you to stay focused on the task in hand by blocking your favorite internet time-suck websites and services.

Download.

This extension allows your browser to monitor web pages for changes automatically. It can inform you whenever a particular page changes without you having to go and check every time, and it can even show you what the differences are.

I have a long list of websites that I keep an eye on using this tool, and so far it has worked flawlessly.

Download.

Quickly and easily switch between Google accounts and services.

Simple, yet solid and very useful.

Download.

Browse web pages without distraction. No images, no videos, no animation. It also desaturates colors for a more relaxed experience.

Not only does this extension make page loads faster, it makes information a lot easier to scan.

Very simple, but very effective.

Download.

Not exclusively a Google Chrome extension, but it works in Google Chrome just fine.

Pocket is a place for you to put articles, videos or pretty much anything you want to later refer back to. Pocket an article or tweet on one device and it's instantly available across all your devices.

Download.

Make Google services such as Gmail a lot easier to use by removing much of the toolbar and navigation clutter. Be warned though that for the advanced features you need to be good with CSS.

Download.

Password protect your Gmail emails with this simple extension. Is it a 100% guaranteed bulletproof solution? I doubt it, but for stuff you just want to keep away from prying eyes, it's ideal.

Download.

When your tabs are in the OneTab list, you will save up to 95 percent of memory because you will have reduced the number of tabs open in Google Chrome.

Download.

Get desktop notifications, read, listen or delete emails without opening Gmail or Inbox by Gmail and easily manage multiple accounts.

Download.

The free spell checker and grammar checker by Grammarly helps you write clearly and confidently on Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, and nearly anywhere else on the Web.

With Grammarly, you can always be sure that your words are mistake-free and say what you mean.

Download.

If you're anything like me than you constantly have dozens of browser tabs open at any one time. And mostly you keep them open to remind you of something, not because you're using them at that time.

The Great Suspender will automagically unload each tab while retaining its favicon and title text. A tab can be restored by clicking anywhere on the page when it is needed.

Download.

Replace new tab page with a personal dashboard featuring your to-do list, weather, and inspiration.

Download.

Social Fixer enhances your Facebook experience and makes the site easier to use by adding a ton of great functionality. One of its most useful features is allowing you to filter out junk (might be just what you need to get rid of all those political posts swamping your feed right now).

Download.

Goodbye, bookmarks. Hello, Web Clipper! Clip the web pages you want to keep. Save them in Evernote. Easily find them on any device.

Download.

Everyone likes emojis, right? Well, OK, maybe not, but if you do here's a quick and simple way to corral them and get 1-click copy and paste, or auto-input emoji anywhere in Chrome.

Download.