Not all extensions are made equal. Some extensions, like Grammarly, work quietly in the background and don't need an icon in the Chrome toolbar. Here's how to pin and unpin extensions for a cleaner Chrome toolbar.
How to Pin and Unpin Extensions in Chrome
The Extensions Toolbar menu feature was first introduced in Chrome 76. Before the update, all extensions showed up directly in Chrome's toolbar. Now, you can choose which extensions to show in the Chrome toolbar, and which ones to hide away in the extensions menu.
Before we start, make sure that you're running the latest version of Chrome.
Next, click the "Extensions" button next to your Profile avatar.
This dropdown will show you all of the extensions that are installed and enabled in Chrome. You'll notice that they are divided into two categories: "Full Access" and "No Access Needed."
Next to each extension, you'll see a Pushpin icon. If the icon is blue, it means the extension is pinned to the Chrome toolbar. If it's white, it means the extension is hidden.
Click the "Pushpin" icon to pin or unpin a Chrome extension in the toolbar.
Once an extension is pinned, you can then click and drag the icons to rearrange the order.
Just because an extension is unpinned, it doesn't mean it's not active. You can click the "Extensions" button and select an extension to activate it. The extension icon will temporarily appear in the Chrome toolbar, and you'll be able to interact with all the extension elements (from the drop-down menu).
How to Disable Extensions Toolbar Menu
While the new Extensions menu does provide more organization features, it makes things more complex. If you want all new extensions to just end up in the Chrome toolbar, you can disable the extensions toolbar feature altogether using Chrome flags.
Note: Enabling and disabling Chrome flags can cause Chrome to stop working properly. Additionally, Google might remove the option to disable the Extensions Toolbar Menu sometime in the future.
Enter the following command in Chrome's Omnibox (the URL bar) and press "Enter":
chrome://flags/#extensions-toolbar-menu
You can also enter "chrome://flags" into the URL bar and then search for "Extensions Toolbar" to get to here.
Now, click the drop-down arrow next to the "Extensions Toolbar Menu" listing.
Here, choose the "Disabled" option.
Now, you'll need to restart Chrome. From the bottom of the page, click the "Relaunch" button.
And just like that, the extensions toolbar is gone, and the old way is back. All of your extensions will now be visible next to the URL bar.
You can customize many aspects of the Chrome browser using flags. Here are the best Chrome flags to enable for better browsing.