Best VPN Extensions for Chrome

Before you start using a VPN on Chrome, you need to decide whether or not you’re going to sign up to a paid VPN subscription or use a free alternative.

Free Chrome extensions are almost always proxies that don’t encrypt your browser traffic, but simply spoof your IP address to allow you to access blocked content. 

They’re also (in most cases) subject to very stingy data caps that won’t allow you to do much more than stream a single half-hour show on Netflix, which isn’t very useful.

If you sign up to a paid subscription you’ll get access to custom apps for other devices as well as the Chrome extension, meaning you can protect all of the internet-connected devices in your home.

Once you’ve made this decision, installing the Chrome extension onto your browser is simple and takes just minutes to set up – you can check out our VPN setup guide for Chrome here.

After that, using a VPN on Chrome is much the same as using it on any other device. 

Simply choose a location and you’ll appear to be connecting out from that location, so potential snoopers and hackers won’t be able to see where you really are. 

For the best possible performance you should choose a server as close as you can to your true physical location.

Once you’re connected to your chosen VPN server, you can continue to use your Chrome browser as normal. 

Be aware that if you’re just using the Chrome extension and no other form of VPN app you’re only masking the IP of your browser, so anything you do outside of this (apps such as Spotify or Steam) will be visible to your ISP and other third parties.

In most cases, we advise using the extension as well as the custom app offered by your chosen provider for the highest level of privacy.

Windscribe – #5 on our list – also has a free version of its VPN app. It happens to be our #1 recommendation for free VPNs. 

Windscribe is our top pick when it comes to a free VPN for Chrome, too.

Windscribe Free requires no payment information to download and install and it does a good job of keeping you safe. 

You might also consider the free versions of TunnelBear and Hide.me, which come with Chrome extensions. For a more detailed breakdown of these VPNs, it’s worth consulting our list of the best free VPNs.

Chrome comes with some pre-enabled settings that, if left unchanged, can send detailed information about your browsing activity directly to Google, which is at the mercy of any and all government requests for information. 

And, as you can see in Google’s transparency report, it surrenders information to government requests the majority of times. For example: in a period of six months, governments from around the world requested information on 135,302 Google accounts. 

Using a VPN won’t keep this information from Google, and Google knows what you’re doing as long as you’re signed into your account. 

Only when signing out of your account and using a VPN is your browsing made private.

We say that ExpressVPN has the best browser extension for Chrome.

More than just a proxy, it’s a full-on mini-VPN. It protects and encrypts all your data and applications.

And it’s super easy to use. It’s hard to imagine a friendlier option for newcomers.

Once you decide which VPN on this list is right for you and subscribed to the service, you can add its extension to Chrome in no time at all.  

This usually consists of going to your account page on the VPN service’s website.

Take ExpressVPN (the one we think you should get). First, head to its website and select ‘Account’ in the main menu. 

You’ll be sent to your basic login screen. Type in the details you used to sign up and enter. 

From here, you will see the option to ‘Set Up on More Devices’.

Select this option and you’ll be presented with a series of device options.

Select the ‘Google Chrome’ option and then ‘Get Extension’.

This will automatically take you to the Google Play store where you can add the browser extension to your browser with a click of the button, ‘Add to Chrome’.

Alternatively, perhaps more simply, you can head straight to the Google Play store via Google and add the extension to Chrome this way. 

You’ll be asked to sign in once its added to your browser via the indicator at the top and you can start using it from there. 

No, Google Chrome incognito mode is not private. 

Incognito mode is a way to browse the web without it storing browsing data. 

That means it doesn’t remember logins or searches or store cookies. It’s useful at stopping people tracking your online activities.  

Sounds great, right? 

The problem is: it does not keep your activity private from your ISP, or the government, or any network admin you are a part of (say, an employer or university).

Google even say as much: “Your activity isn’t hidden from websites you visit, your employer or school, or your internet service provider.”

If you’ve ever taken the time to read the text when you go incognito, it reiterates the point there too.

 

More than that, it’s important to remember that if you are logged into an account (Google, Amazon and so on), incognito mode will make no difference. 

To actually be private and safe while browsing on Chrome, it’s best to go in incognito mode and have a VPN browser extension running simultaneously. 

The problem is: Chrome blocks extensions while in incognito mode. This is because it doesn’t know whether the extension can be trusted and aren’t tracking your information. 

However, if you have a VPN that you can trust, you can still add the extension to incognito Chrome. 

To do this, go to the Chrome menu (the three dots in the top right) > More Tools > Extensions.

In a list you’ll find the option to ‘Allow in incognito’. Click the swipe and you can now use a VPN extension while in private mode. With this, you’ll be extra safe.

The real question is: just how safe is Google Chrome without a VPN?

We say: not very. Google collects a lot of data on its users, and you store lots of personal information on your Google account. 

When it comes to deciding which VPN on Chrome is safest, it’s true that some are more secure than others. 

Some browser extensions for Chrome will simply spoof your IP address while others will go a step further and provide fully-fledged VPN extensions with encryption for your browsing and all your applications on your device.

ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Windscribe all provide this service in our list. Take a look at them when it comes to safest VPNs for Chrome.

While Private Internet Access and Surfshark still provide good protection, they are just proxies. 

But these are the better VPNs on the market—premium services. 

So, are free VPNs on Chrome safe? 

Usually not. 

We suggest you take a look at the list below to get savvy to VPNs for Chrome that you should most definitely avoid.

Much to our dismay, Hola Free VPN is a very popular VPN service for Chrome users.

It’s free and very easily added to your Chrome browser through the Chrome Web Store, but you should avoid this “VPN” at all costs.

Hola is actually an extremely insecure peer-to-peer proxy network that’s being incorrectly marketed as a VPN.

Hola doesn’t actually provide any encryption whatsoever.

Hola Free VPN also monitors everything you do online, including the websites you visit, and has been known to sell user bandwidth without consent. 

If you come across Hola, simply say adiós.

We suggest that you stay clear of free VPNs in general. Many present security risks and they just don’t cut it when it comes to issues of security and privacy — defeating the whole point of owning a VPN.

Outside of that, you’ll need to avoid VPNs that don’t come with Chrome extensions. Make sure you check which platforms and devices the VPN services apps are compatible with (we make sure to cover that in all our reviews).

We often take access to websites for granted, but there are plenty seeking to overcome censorship and unblock websites in places like Russia, China, Iran and more.

A VPN is designed to do this for you—to give you power over your internet choices again.

Our #1 pick for the best VPN for Chrome, ExpressVPN, is known to be a highly effective VPN for unblocking websites. 

It’s fully-featured browser extension for Chrome means you can even unblock and access Chrome without even downloading the main app. 

To do this, simply subscribe to the service, install the extension and connect to a country that does not block websites.

Then the internet will open up

If you want to read more about this, we wrote a guide on how to unblock Google.

Chromecast enables the user to stream content online. 

Like with Netflix and BBC iPlayer, content accessible on Chromecast is determined by geographical region. 

The problem is: Chromecast does not support VPN, and it’s not configurable. 

But people still want a secure experience.

There’s good news: you can still use a VPN with Chromecast by installing your VPN on your router.

If you want a VPN for Chromecast, we recommend ExpressVPN — our #1 VPN with the ability to set up on a router.

The ExpressVPN website even has a helpful guide for Chromecast setup. 

Chromebooks are designed for fast, lightweight browsing of the internet. 

With its speed and efficiency, however, come security risks, including hacking, malware and even spying. 

With that in mind: yes you need a VPN for Chromebook. 

You can add a VPN browser extension to a Chromebook in an identical manner to your standard desktop computer. 

Google offers a guide on how to set up a VPN on Chromebook, which we think is helpful.

On our list, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, Surfshark, and Windscribe are all effective and reliable at bypassing geo restrictions for streaming. 

We can recommend any of these as a Chrome VPN for streaming. 

However, Windscribe a bit less so, with it failing in our tests to unblock BBC iPlayer. 

We are most impressed by ExpressVPN, though. Whether it’s Netlifx, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Sky TV or anything else, ExpressVPN has you covered. 

You probably already know this, especially if you’ve been reading up until now, but Google isn’t the most private browser around.

So people wonder: is there more private browser?

There are a handful of web browsers designed with privacy in mind – these two Google Chrome alternatives offer the highest levels of privacy.

• Tenta
• Epic Browser
• Vivaldi

These web browsers default to private browsing – unlike Chrome which requires you to open up an Incognito tab – and they come with features that block trackers and ads, too.

Both Tenta and Epic Browser provide VPN browser extensions to encrypt browser traffic, but be sure to use a true VPN service to protect the rest of your connections.

We call these VPN browsers. You can read more about the best VPN browsers here.

You should also consider using a privacy-friendly search engine like DuckDuckGo.com to further protect your personal data.