Whether you’re using Firefox, Safari, or Chrome, you can add all kinds of programs to your browser to personalize it. Browser extensions (also called add-ons) are small programs or apps that can be installed in your web browser to do all kinds of things, from preventing ads, to taking notes, to adding things to your Amazon wishlist.
Installation is simple, and typically involves going to your browser’s extension store or gallery, finding one you like, and clicking “install.” If you’d like to read more specific instructions on how to install extensions on your specific browser, check out this detailed article from Guiding Tech.
While there are literally thousands of extensions out there, I’m just going to start with one. That’s right, just one. Perhaps I’ll make a regular feature to let you know about more, but to avoid overwhelming you, I’m going to start with something that everyone can use.
A Cleaner Internet has created an add-on that turns busy YouTube pages (with their potential for inappropriate video recommendations and offensive comments) into clean, simple pages showing only the video you want. Once you’ve installed the extension, visiting YouTube will stop looking like this:
and start looking like this:
This is so useful when you’re trying to show an educational video to a classroom of students! Often, when I’ve shown YouTube videos to students, they get distracted by all of the recommended videos on the side of the page, and beg to watch them. Sometimes, there are inappropriate words or images included in the ads, comments, or other videos on the page. This extension solves all of that.
To install the Cleaner Internet extension, just head over to their website and click “Install.” The site will figure out what browser you’re using and download it. This particular extension can also be set up to clean Amazon pages, too, if you’re interested!
Once you get comfortable installing and using extensions, you can find so many more by using Google to search “top 10 best extensions for…” and add on your browser of choice. You’re sure to come up with all kinds of great stuff. And stay tuned for more suggestions!
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