This information can be relatively harmless, but we know how hard Big Data mines any bit of information available.įor example, with the Chrome Web Store, you can only download extensions if you have and are signed into a Google account. Naturally, when you install apps and extensions from any kind of web store directly, you're trading some of your information. Installing extensions by hand or simply bypassing the Chrome Web Store, can improve your privacy. This is probably the biggest reason for most users choosing to install extensions manually. Why would you ever choose to install an extension by hand?Įxact individual reasons vary, but in general you can boil it down to a couple of things: