The Chrome Web Store is a website, not an app, so there is nothing to download or install. Open it in Chrome on your computer at chromewebstore.google.com. It is where you get extensions and themes for Chrome.
You can also reach it from inside Chrome: open chrome://extensions (or the three-dot menu, then Extensions, then Manage Extensions) and click the Chrome Web Store link in the page’s side menu. If you do not have Chrome yet, get it first for Windows, Mac or Linux.
Install an extension from the store
These steps follow Google’s help page Install and manage extensions:
- Open the Chrome Web Store.
- Find and select the extension you want.
- Select Add to Chrome.
- If the extension asks for permissions or data, Chrome lists them. To approve, select Add extension. Google’s advice: only approve extensions you trust.
To use the extension, select its icon to the right of the address bar. Google notes two limits: you cannot add extensions in Incognito mode or as a guest, and a work or school computer may block some extensions. If the install fails, see Chrome extensions not installing.
Themes work the same way: find one in the store’s Themes section and add it to Chrome.
On a phone or tablet
Chrome on phones does not run store extensions. Google’s help explains what the store does instead: if you are signed in to Chrome, open the extension’s page on your phone and tap Add to Desktop, then confirm. The next time you open Chrome on your computer, it tells you the extension was installed. If it needs permissions, select Enable extension.
Check a listing before you install
Each listing shows who made the extension and what it does with your data. Before you click Add to Chrome, look at:
- Developer. Under Details, the listing names the developer and may give contact details. A copycat can borrow a famous name, so check that the developer is the company you expect.
- Badges. Google’s guide Discovery on the Chrome Web Store says the Established Publisher badge goes to developers who have verified their identity and have a consistent positive track record with Google services and its developer policies. The Featured badge marks extensions that, in the store’s words, follow “recommended practices for Chrome extensions”. Developers cannot pay for either badge.
- Privacy. The Privacy section lists the kinds of data the developer says the extension handles.
- Version and Updated. These show when the extension last changed.
- Ratings and users. Useful, but not proof of safety on their own.
To check that an extension is the official one from a company, compare its ID with the one the company publishes. Our guide to finding and checking an extension ID shows how. To report a listing, use Flag concern in its Details section.
For extra protection, Google’s help says that with Safe Browsing’s Enhanced protection turned on, Chrome warns you when an extension you are about to install “isn’t trusted”, with the message “This extension is not trusted by Enhanced Safe Browsing.” Trusted means built by a developer who follows the Chrome Web Store Developer Program Policies, and Google says new developers usually take a few months to reach that status.
Manage what you installed
Everything you added is listed on chrome://extensions, where you can turn each extension on or off, open Details to change its site access or allow it in Incognito, or select Remove. To remove one quickly, right-click its icon next to the address bar and select Remove from Chrome. Google’s help adds that signing in to Chrome lets you use your extensions on any computer.
The store’s own My extensions & themes menu entry lists what you have added from it.
Older extensions that are gone from the store
Some extensions you may remember are no longer in the store. Google’s Manifest V2 support timeline records what happened to extensions built on the old Manifest V2 format: in July 2025 Chrome disabled them for all users, with no way to turn them back on, and on August 31, 2026 the store removed all remaining Manifest V2 extensions. Copies already installed can no longer receive updates or be reinstalled once removed. If one of yours was disabled, our extension problems guide shows how to find an alternative.