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Chrome Web Store is Google's online store for its Chrome web browser. As of 2024, Chrome Web Store hosts about 138,000 extensions and 33,000 themes.cite-ref-1[1]

• History

• Malware

• References

• External links

Chrome Web Store was publicly unveiled in December 2010,cite-ref-2[2] and was opened on February 11, 2011, with the release of Google Chrome 9.0.cite-ref-3[3] A year later it was redesigned to "catalyze a big increase in traffic, across downloads, users, and total number of apps".cite-ref-4[4] As of June 2012, there were 750 million total installs of content hosted on Chrome Web Store.cite-ref-5[5]

Some extension developers have sold their extensions to third-parties who then incorporated adware.cite-ref-ars-adwareacquire-6-0[6]cite-ref-7[7] In 2014, Google removed two such extensions from Chrome Web Store after many users complained about unwanted pop-up ads.cite-ref-google-removes-two-chrome-extenions-8-0[8] The following year, Google acknowledged that about five percent of visits to its own websites had been altered by extensions with adware.cite-ref-9[9]cite-ref-10[10]cite-ref-11[11]

Malware remains a problem on Chrome Web Store.cite-ref-icebrg-12-0[12]cite-ref-13[13]cite-ref-14[14]cite-ref-15[15] In January 2018, researchers from security firm ICEBRG found four malicious extensions with more than 500,000 combined downloads.cite-ref-icebrg-12-1[12]cite-ref-16[16] In February 2021, Google blocked "The Great Suspender", a popular extension with 2,000,000 users after it was reported that malicious code was added to it.cite-ref-17[17]cite-ref-18[18]cite-ref-19[19]

Chrome used to allow extensions hosted on Chrome Web Store to also be installed at the developer's website for the sake of convenience.cite-ref-20[20] However, this became a malware vector, so it was removed in 2018.cite-ref-21[21]

cite-note-11. ↑ "Breaking Down The Chrome Web Store". ChromeStats. Retrieved 28 December 2022.

cite-note-22. ↑ citerefkincaidKincaid, Jason. "Sales Are At A Trickle On Google's The Chrome Web Store". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 5 March 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2011.

cite-note-33. ↑ citerefkayboodman2011Kay, Erik; Boodman, Aaron (February 3, 2011). "A dash of speed, 3D and apps". Chrome Blog. Google. Archived from the original on April 7, 2025. Retrieved March 9, 2017.

cite-note-44. ↑ citerefempson2011Empson, Rip (5 December 2011). "New The Chrome Web Store Proves To Be A Boon For Developers Above (And Below) The Fold". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.

cite-note-55. ↑ citerefvikas-sn2012Vikas SN (2012-06-29). "The Lowdown: Google I/O 2012 Day 2 – 310M Chrome Users, 425M Gmail & More". MediaNama. Archived from the original on 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2013-06-14.

cite-note-ars-adwareacquire-66. ↑ "Adware vendors buy Chrome Extensions to send ad- and malware-filled updates". Ars Technica. 17 January 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2014.

cite-note-77. ↑ citerefbruce-schneier2014Bruce Schneier (21 Jan 2014). "Adware Vendors Buy and Abuse Chrome Extensions". Archived from the original on 12 February 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.

cite-note-google-removes-two-chrome-extenions-88. ↑ citerefwinkler2014Winkler, Rolfe (19 January 2014). "Google Removes Two Chrome Extensions Amid Ad Uproar". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 March 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2014.

cite-note-99. ↑ "Ad Injection at Scale: Assessing Deceptive Advertisement Modifications" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2025-04-15.

cite-note-1010. ↑ "Superfish injects ads into 5 percent of all Google page views". PC World. IDG. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2025.

cite-note-1111. ↑ "Superfish injects ads in one in 25 Google page views". CIO. IDG. Archived from the original on 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2015-06-03.

cite-note-icebrg-1212. ↑ "Security firm ICEBRG uncovers 4 malicious Chrome extensions - gHacks Tech News". ghacks.net. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2025-03-05. Retrieved 2018-12-15.

cite-note-1313. ↑ "Google's bad track record of malicious Chrome extensions continues - gHacks Tech News". ghacks.net. 11 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2018-12-15.

cite-note-1414. ↑ "Chrome Extension Devs Use Sneaky Landing Pages after Google Bans Inline Installs". BleepingComputer. Archived from the original on 2025-04-05. Retrieved 2018-12-15.

cite-note-1515. ↑ "Chrome's inline extension install ban already bypassed - gHacks Tech News". ghacks.net. 11 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2018-12-15.

cite-note-1616. ↑ "Google Chrome extensions with 500,000 downloads found to be malicious". Ars Technica. 17 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2025-03-30. Retrieved 2018-12-30.

cite-note-1717. ↑ "Google kills The Great Suspender". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 2025-03-08. Retrieved 2021-05-29.

cite-note-1818. ↑ "The Great Suspender Chrome extension's fall from grace". BleepingComputer. Archived from the original on 2025-03-05. Retrieved 2021-05-30.

cite-note-1919. ↑ "What happens when a Chrome extension with 2m+ users changes hands, raises red flags, doesn't document updates? Let's find out". www.theregister.com. Archived from the original on 2025-03-11. Retrieved 2021-05-29.

cite-note-2020. ↑ "Using Inline Installation - Google Chrome". developer.chrome.com. Archived from the original on 2025-04-09. Retrieved 2018-12-14.

cite-note-2121. ↑ "Improving extension transparency for users". Chromium Blog. Archived from the original on 2025-04-08. Retrieved 2018-12-15.

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