Google Blocks Installation of 3rd Party Chrome Extensions

This is no new thing when we come across websites that let us install browser extensions without even going to the official Chrome web store. As part of a strategy to get a greater audience, websites find it useful to keep existing users engaged. But now, Google has decided to take off the option for websites to offer "inline installation" of Chrome extensions on all platforms.

Recently, the California based search giant has announced that by the end of 2018, Chrome browsers will no longer support the installation of extensions from outside its Web Store. The reason behind this is to protect Chrome users from shady and untrusted browser extensions.

According to Google's extensions platform product manager, James Wagner, the company has received large volumes of complaints from its users regarding unwanted extensions that have caused their Chrome experience to change unexpectedly. Also, most of the complaints are about confusing or deceptive uses of inline installation on websites.

The inline installation of newly published extensions has already been disabled and all existing extensions will be disabled from September 12. And by December 2018, Google is going to completely stop the inline install API method in Chrome 71.

Google has informed web developers using one-click install buttons on their sites update their links and point it to the Web Store to avoid getting banned.