XDA’s Adam Conway wrote that a fresh PC isn’t really ready until a specific short list of open-source browser extensions is installed. That framing is right. The 15 minutes it takes to add these seven turn a stock browser into something that respects the network, the eyes, and the passwords. Each of these is open source, each has a live GitHub repo, and each runs on any Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Arc) and on Firefox. Here’s the list, tested on a new install this month.
What to look for in a browser extension
An extension has more access to a browsing session than almost any other piece of software on a machine. That’s a lot of trust to hand to a random developer. Five checks matter before installing anything:
- Open-source repository with recent commits. Closed extensions can silently sell data. Verified this year.
- Manifest V3 compatibility. Google’s extension format transition broke a lot of legacy extensions in 2024 and 2025.
- Cross-browser support. Chrome-only extensions age poorly.
- No account required. Anything that asks for a login before working is doing more than the extension surface suggests.
- Permission scope that matches the pitch. An ad blocker doesn’t need access to identity providers.
Every pick below clears all five.
Quick comparison
| Extension | Best for | Browsers | Free | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uBlock Origin | Ad and tracker blocking | Firefox (MV2), Chromium (uBO Lite) | Free | Zero acceptable-ads deals, community filter lists |
| Bitwarden | Password manager | All major | Free | Full-featured free tier, no seat limit |
| Dark Reader | Dark mode on every page | All major | Free | Auto-detects styling, hotkey per site |
| SponsorBlock | Skip YouTube sponsor segments | All major | Free | Community-labeled skip points |
| LibRedirect | Route to privacy front-ends | All major | Free | Sends YouTube to Piped, Reddit to Redlib, Twitter to Nitter |
| Privacy Badger | Learning tracker blocker | All major | Free | EFF-maintained, complements uBlock |
| Vimium | Keyboard-only browsing | All major | Free | Vim-style link hints on any page |
The extensions
1. uBlock Origin, best ad and tracker blocker
uBlock Origin is Raymond Hill’s ad and tracker blocker, and it’s been the top pick for a decade because it does exactly one thing at production quality. On Firefox it still runs as a Manifest V2 extension with the full feature set. On Chromium browsers the story is more complicated: Chrome disabled MV2 in June 2024, so the Chromium version is uBO Lite (a rewrite for MV3). uBO Lite still covers the everyday cases and is what Raymond Hill actively maintains for MV3.
Where it falls short: uBO Lite (Chromium) lacks some advanced element-picker features from the classic Firefox build. Power users notice.
Pricing:
- Free: Yes, open source
- Paid: N/A
Browsers: Firefox, Chromium (Chrome, Edge, Brave via uBO Lite), Safari (community port)
Download: ublockorigin.com
Bottom line: Install first, before opening any real website.
2. Bitwarden, best password manager
Bitwarden is the reason the LastPass migration went as cleanly as it did in 2023. It’s fully open source (server and clients), it has a real free tier (unlimited passwords across unlimited devices), and it publishes third-party security audits regularly. The browser extension autofills, generates, and syncs with the same vault a mobile app or a desktop client reads.
Where it falls short: The self-hosted server is heavy for a home lab. Most households will want Vaultwarden (the lightweight Rust rewrite) if they want to self-host.
Pricing:
- Free: Full-featured free tier
- Paid: Premium at around $10/year for TOTP-in-app, file attachments, priority support
- Note: Vaultwarden replaces the server side entirely for self-hosters
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Safari, Vivaldi, Opera
Download: bitwarden.com/download
Bottom line: The default password manager. No reason to pay for anything else.
3. Dark Reader, best universal dark mode
Dark Reader applies dark mode to any website in real time. Unlike browser-native theming, it inverts and recolors on the fly, keeps colors legible, and lets a user tweak brightness, contrast, sepia, and font per site. It’s open source, MV3-compatible, and works cleanly on both Firefox and Chromium.
Where it falls short: Highly designed sites (New York Times, Notion, Figma) look off. Add them to Dark Reader’s per-site ignore list.
Pricing:
- Free: Yes, open source
- Paid: N/A
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Brave
Download: darkreader.org
Bottom line: Install this before anyone complains about screen brightness.
4. SponsorBlock, best YouTube time-saver
SponsorBlock is a community-maintained crowdsourced database of skip points for YouTube’s sponsored segments, intros, outros, self-promo, and “please subscribe” moments. Install the extension, and the player quietly skips past segments other users have already flagged. On heavy viewers’ watch minutes, it saves real hours per week.
Where it falls short: Categories occasionally misfire. Adjust the “auto-skip vs manual skip” settings per category.
Pricing:
- Free: Yes, open source
- Paid: N/A
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Safari (native port)
Download: sponsor.ajay.app
Bottom line: The single extension YouTube-heavy users notice most.
5. LibRedirect, best privacy front-end router
LibRedirect intercepts URLs from tracker-heavy sites and rewrites them to community-maintained privacy front-ends. YouTube goes to Piped or Invidious. Reddit goes to Redlib. Twitter/X goes to Nitter. Instagram goes to ProxiTok or Bibliogram. The extension turns “read a random tweet a friend sent” into an event that doesn’t hand identity to the source platform.
Where it falls short: The front-ends are volunteer-run and go down. Redirect settings need occasional refreshes to point at working instances.
Pricing:
- Free: Yes, open source
- Paid: N/A
Browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Brave
Download: libredirect.github.io
Bottom line: The most useful privacy extension for anyone who follows tech Twitter but hates opening it.
6. Privacy Badger, best learning tracker blocker
Privacy Badger is the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s tracker blocker. Instead of shipping with a blocklist, Privacy Badger watches how trackers behave across sites and learns which ones to block. It complements uBlock Origin rather than replacing it. Where uBO uses static rules, Privacy Badger catches the trackers those rules haven’t captured yet.
Where it falls short: The learning takes days of normal browsing to reach full effectiveness. Fresh installs are underpowered at first.
Pricing:
- Free: Yes, open source (EFF-maintained)
- Paid: N/A
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera
Download: privacybadger.org
Bottom line: Run alongside uBlock Origin, not instead of.
7. Vimium, best keyboard navigation
Vimium brings Vim-style navigation to any web page. Press f to highlight every link with a two-letter hint, j/k to scroll, gg/G to jump to the top or bottom. For developers and heavy readers, it cuts mouse work by a wide margin.
Where it falls short: The learning curve is real. First week feels slower before muscle memory kicks in.
Pricing:
- Free: Yes, open source
- Paid: N/A
Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave (Firefox users may prefer the Vimium-FF fork)
Download: GitHub (philc/vimium)
Bottom line: Optional. Install this only if leaving the mouse alone is a real preference.
How to pick the right ones
The five that go on every browser: uBlock Origin, Bitwarden, Dark Reader, SponsorBlock, and one of LibRedirect or Privacy Badger depending on what “privacy” means for the user (redirect vs learn).
For a heavy YouTube user: SponsorBlock is not optional.
For a developer: Vimium pays back its learning curve inside a month.
For anyone with a Twitter or Reddit habit they’d rather not feed: LibRedirect matters most.
Skip installing more than seven extensions total. Browser performance and battery life degrade sharply after ~10 active extensions, and the trust surface grows with every one.
FAQ
Is uBlock Origin still working on Chrome?
The classic Manifest V2 uBlock Origin was disabled on Chrome in mid-2024. The MV3 rewrite is called uBO Lite and is what Raymond Hill maintains for Chromium browsers. On Firefox, the classic MV2 version still runs.
Is Bitwarden really free?
Yes. Unlimited passwords, unlimited devices, unlimited synced entries. The paid plan adds TOTP-in-app, file attachments, and priority support, but the free tier is a complete password manager.
Do these extensions slow down the browser?
Not meaningfully. uBlock Origin actively speeds up page loads by blocking heavy ads and trackers before they load. Dark Reader adds a small render cost on complex pages. The rest are near-zero overhead.
Are open-source browser extensions safer than closed ones?
Safer in one specific sense: the code is public and auditable, so bad behavior is provable. That doesn’t eliminate all risk, but every extension on this list has had multiple independent reviews.
Can I use uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger together?
Yes, and it’s a common setup. uBlock handles known ad and tracker rules. Privacy Badger catches trackers that haven’t been added to those rules yet.
