Ungoogled Chromium is quite different from Google Chrome. Chromium is related to “safe browsing” as per its name and functionalities. It also works based on Google Location Service. Ungoogled Chromium helps in the improvement of your online privacy as this browsing system eliminates the “phoning home” for Google servers. In the window that opens, find Chrome. Drag Chrome to the Applications folder. You might be asked to enter the admin password. If you don't know the admin password, drag Chrome to a place on your. Again, I'm using Ungoogled Chromium here. In the address bar, type chrome://flags/#extension-mime-request-handling; Change Handling of extension MIME type requests to Always prompt for ins. (This makes it more user friendly to install.crx files, which are the packed version of chromium extensions) Now, in the address bar, type chrome://extensions like so.

For those who don't wish to download Chromium extensions from the Chrome Web Store, there is (fortunately) an alternative: you can install Chromium extensions manually. No Google account required.

While this guide is primarily for people using Ungoogled Chromium, it can apply to other Chromium based browsers such as Brave.

(And if you're using regular Chromium or Google Chrome, here's why you shouldn't.)

Let's learn how to install some extensions by hand.

Why install extensions manually?

Why would you ever choose to install an extension by hand?

Exact individual reasons vary, but in general you can boil it down to a couple of things:

Privacy

This is probably the biggest reason for most users choosing to install extensions manually.

Installing extensions by hand or simply bypassing the Chrome Web Store, can improve your privacy.

Naturally, when you install apps and extensions from any kind of web store directly, you're trading some of your information. This information can be relatively harmless, but we know how hard Big Data mines any bit of information available.

For example, with the Chrome Web Store, you can only download extensions if you have and are signed into a Google account.

This means that if you download a privacy related extension straight from the web store, 1) this gets directly linked your google account, which is subject to Google's privacy policy and 2) feeds some information straight to Google.

What I mean by that 2nd point in the above sentence, is that you might start seeing more extensions related to 'privacy' once you download a privacy related extension. This is Google's hyper personalized recommendation system at work.

This may not be a big deal to you, because perhaps your Google account is a 'throwaway' account that you use when interacting with any other Google service.

So, in general, this may very well not be an issue to everyone, but it is still a viable issue for some.

Greater control

Installing extensions by hand does give you greater control over the exact versions of extensions you're running.

For example, you can more easily rollback an update that keeps crashing your browser when you install extensions manually.

However, this is a double-edged sword; you also have to stay on top of these updates in the first place. This often means reading patch notes; you wouldn't want to miss a critical security update.

Method 1

Ungoogled Chrome Android

This method is the best approach, especially if you're using something like Ungoogled Chromium.

1. Download 'Chromium Web Store'

I know it sounds crazy, but we are going to download an extension that allows us to download extensions from the official Chrome Web Store without creating or signing into a Google account.

It's kind of like… extension-ception.

This extension, called 'Chromium Web Store,' is not found on the Chrome Web Store. We are going to install it directly from its GitHub repo.

1. Open any browser of your choice (doesn't have to be Chromium based)
2. Click here to go straight to Chromium Web Store's latest releases page.
3. Download the file Chromium.Web.Store.crx

Double check that you are downloading the correct file. It ends in .crx; you don't need to download any of the source code.

4. Save Chromium.Web.Store.crx to a safe place. Your desktop, Documents, or Downloads folders are all good places.

2. Install Chromium Web Store

1. Open your Chromium browser. Again, I'm using Ungoogled Chromium here.
2. In the address bar, type chrome://flags/#extension-mime-request-handling
3. Change Handling of extension MIME type requests to Always prompt for ins. (This makes it more user friendly to install .crx files, which are the packed version of chromium extensions)
4. Now, in the address bar, type chrome://extensions like so:

5. In the top right, enable Developer mode(hint: it's enabled when you can see buttons for 'Load unpacked' and 'Pack extension.')

6. Open an explorer window on your PC. Navigate to the folder where you saved Chromium.Web.Store.crx
7. Drag Chromium.Web.Store.crx to your Chromium browser, like so:

8. You should get a dialog box warning like this:

Go ahead and click Add extension

9. The extension should install. You should now see something like this:

3. Installing other extensions (with CWS)

Chromium Web Store is installed, so now it's time for us to download some extensions.

We'll be downloading these extensions straight from the Chrome Web Store... with no Google account.

I'll be installing the wide-spectrum tracker blocker, uBlock Origin in this step.

1. Go to the Chrome Web Store. Search for the extension you would like to download.
2. Go to the extension's page. In the top right you should see a button Add to Chromium, as if you were logged into a Google account. (hint: you shouldn't be logged into a Google account!)

3. Seeing Add to Chromium without being logged into a Google account is a good thing. It means our Chromium Web Store extension is working!
4. Click Add to Chromium. You should get this dialog box:

5. Click Add extension. The extension should install.

If you go back to chrome://extensions you should see your new extension, alongside the Chromium Web Store extension:

Chromium Ungoogled Download

Method 2

This method is a true 'manual' method. It doesn't require any extensions to be installed.

This method works by accessing and downloading the .crx file directly.

We do this by using a template URL that takes us right to the .crx file. The template URL is:

https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx?response=redirect&acceptformat=crx2,crx3&prodversion=[VERSION]&x=id%3D[EXTENSION_ID]%26installsource%3Dondemand%26uc

Note the VERSION and EXTENSION_ID in brackets in the URL...

• VERSION = the Chromium browser version
• EXTENSION_ID = is the unique ID of the extension. This comes from an extension's Chrome Web Store page URL.

Let's run through an example. This time, I will be installing the LocalCDN extension.

1. Get Chromium browser version

We need to get the version of Chromium we have installed on our system. This is pretty simple.

1. Open your Chromium browser
2. Access the browser's menu. It should be in the top right.
3. Click About Chromium
4. A new tab should open. This tab should have the version number right there for you, like so:

5. Copy this version number exactly as you see it, periods and all. Be sure not to copy and extra spaces before or after the number.
6. Paste this version number somewhere safe and easily accessed because we will be using it later. For example, I'm pasting mine into Notepad. No need to save.

2. Get the extension ID

Now, we need to get the extension ID from the Chrome Web Store.

1. Open any browser of choice. It doesn't have to be a Chromium based browser.
2. Go to the Chrome Web Store.
3. Search for the extension you want to download.
4. Go to the extension's Chrome Web Store page. Again, I'm on the page for LocalCDN:

5. Simply look at your browser's address bar. The extension ID is the series of seemingly random letters at the end of the URL:

As you can see, LocalCDN's extension ID is njdfdhgcmkocbgbhcioffdbicglldapd

6. Copy this extension ID. Be sure not to accidentally copy any extra spaces after the ID.
7. Paste this ID somewhere safe. We'll need it later.

3. Installing via the CRX URL

We have both the Chromium browser version number and the ID number of the extension we are installing.

Now it's time to actually pull the .crx file by using the template URL found earlier in this guide.

1. Paste the Chromium browser version number in place of VERSION. Keep the periods, delete any extra spaces you may have accidentally copied. Be sure to delete the brackets as well!
2. Paste the extension ID in place of EXTENSION_ID. Delete any accidental spaces and the brackets as well!
3. Your final URL should look something like this:

https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx?response=redirect&acceptformat=crx2,crx3&prodversion=86.0.4240.183&x=id%3Dnjdfdhgcmkocbgbhcioffdbicglldapd%26installsource%3Dondemand%26uc

4. Press Enter on your keyboard.
5. In a couple of seconds, you should get a dialog box, like so:

6. Click Add extension. Your extension should install.

Updating manually installed extensions

When you manually install an extension, you'll typically have to manually update it too.

This is especially true for users of Ungoogled Chromium; since there are zero callbacks made to Google servers, this means that automatic updates to extensions don't happen.

Fortunately, updating your installed extensions is not hard. It's pretty much repeating the steps of whatever method you chose to install your extensions.

If you used the Chromium Web Store extension, it can check for updates for you, but like anything it isn't foolproof. But it works reliably enough, I would say.

With the second method, you'll have to stay on top of updates yourself. This can work in your favor if you're more cautious about automatic updates in general.

Final thoughts

Installing extensions manually on Chromium browsers is certainly more work than just downloading them from the Chrome Web Store.

However, that's where you're trading convenience for privacy. To some people, it's not a big deal. To others, it is.

Fortunately, there are options for both parties and for most threat models out there.

Installing extensions by hand can help further preserve your privacy. It also gives you more control over what is installed/used in your Chromium browser.

Hopefully this guide taught you something valuable, whether you choose to use what you found here or not.

Are you interested in using Ungoogled Chromium? We have a guide on how to install and set up Ungoogled Chromium.

As always, stay safe out there!

When it comes to the security of your device, you purchase antivirus and other security apps. But, when it comes to internet-related privacy…what do you do? The answer is nothing, every day we use Chrome without even thinking about privacy, security, and other potential malicious threats. Talking about the solution, Ungoogled Chromium is a browsing platform that provides safe and secure browsing. Let’s begin with understanding the basics related to Ungoogled Chromium.

What is Ungoogled Chromium?

To keep it simple, let’s understand what Chromium is. Chromium is the open-source framework and engine from which Google Chrome was derived. Furthermore, Google Chrome and Chromium are two different browsing systems. Also, Chromium cannot be used as a substitute or alternative to Google Chrome. Ungoogled Chromium is quite different from Google Chrome.

Chromium is related to “safe browsing” as per its name and functionalities. It also works based on Google Location Service. Ungoogled Chromium helps in the improvement of your online privacy as this browsing system eliminates the “phoning home” for Google servers.

Chromium Ungoogled

To make you understand, let me take the help of an example, “Safe Browsing” regularly sends data related to the sites that you browse to Google. Google ensures that the browsed sites are safe. This feature ensures safety and security but somewhere it is not compatible with following standard internet safety checklists. This leads to browsing and clicking on “unsafe sites” as well.

This issue is related to “Safe Browsing.” Ungoogled Chromium is introduced after removing all defaults by Google. Ungoogled Chromium keeps an eye on your safety and it shows “No Search” whenever it catches something “unsafe.” In the next section, let’s see how we can download, install and configure Ungoogled Chromium in Windows.

While Ungoogled Chromium is known for its robust and safe working…here are some of the faults observed in Ungoogled Chromium:

• It is generally maintained and created by a small team of developers.
• It works slowly sometimes (developers are already working on this issue).
• Volunteers have created binaries.

How to download Ungoogled Chromium browser?

Downloading procedure of Ungoogled Chromium is not that difficult or complicated, but it still requires more steps. It is also because Ungoogled Chromium does not own its website. The downloaded files are hosted by the GitHub repository.

Download: Ungoogled Chromium

This link shows you the repository’s download page. You can download it according to the volunteer’s package for installation.

Once you have accepted the warning related to the risk, you will now have to select the appropriate operating system you’re currently working on. While selecting the operating system, make sure you’re choosing the right one. If you’ll download the wrong file, it might not work on your system.

Additionally, you don’t have to look at updating the version as the page tends to be updated with all versions.

Once the zipped file has been downloaded, try to verify the file you’ve downloaded.

Launching the file in Windows

I have taken the help of a freeware tool named Checksum Calculator.

Follow these below steps now:

Ungoogled Chromium Woolys

1. Open checksum calculator.

2. Click on Browse

3. Now select the downloaded Zip file.

4. Select MD5

5. Now, click on Calculate

6. Now, click on the Copy button once a random string of letters and numbers has appeared on the screen.

7. Now, copy the numbers and letters and paste them into the compare field.

8. Click on Verify.

9. If you get the following message, “Correct, two checksums are the same” you’re almost there.

In the next section, let’s see how to install and configure Ungoogled Chromium in Windows.

Installing and Configuring Ungoogled Chromium in Windows

Now, we are working on installing the correct binary file for our Windows PC. Follow the below steps to install and configure:

1. Once, you have downloaded the .exe file. If you have downloaded Zip File, please extract all the files first.

2. Approve the security warning and click on Run.

3. Once, the dialogue box has appeared on the screen, click on Install.

4. After installing, a new window named Chromium will appear on your screen.

Updating to the latest version

Once you have downloaded the updated version, later all the updates have to be installed manually. This means Ungoogled Chromium does not notify or check for updated versions automatically. You might have to check continuously for the latest versions. Deleting the older version and downloading the newer version is convenient for all users.

Additionally, always remember that the services of Ungoogled Chromium are not related to the servers of Google. Therefore, there won’t be any automatic updates.

Ungoogled Chromium is a robust platform for privacy and security. However, some users do not feel ‘user-friendly” while for some professional workers, it seems great. Below is the link to download Ungoogled Chromium.

Download Link: Ungoogled Chromium

I hope this blog helps you to install and configure Ungoogled Chromium in Windows. Comment down your views and experiences on Ungoogled Chromium. For more such tech-related content, follow Tweak Library on all social media platforms.

Thanks for reading!

Ungoogled Chromium Linux

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