How to Add Plugins in Google Chrome

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: May 4, 2023 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to enable Google Chrome's only plugin, Adobe Flash Player, as well as how to install extensions in Google Chrome for desktop computers. Since most plugin-based services are now integrated into Chrome, Google no longer allows for user-installed plugins. Extensions for Chrome are not available on the mobile version of Chrome.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Enabling Flash Player

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Its app icon resembles a green, yellow, red, and blue sphere icon.
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This icon is in the top-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.

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It's at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
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You'll find this at the very bottom of the page. More options will appear below the Advanced button.
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It's near the bottom of the "Privacy & security" group of options.
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It's a puzzle piece-shaped icon in the middle of the page.
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7
Enable Flash Player. Click the white "Allow sites to run Flash" switch

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. It will turn blue

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. This signifies that Flash Player is enabled in your browser.
- You can also click the "Ask first" switch to disable or enable automatic Flash on all websites. If "Ask first" is enabled, you'll need to click Allow or the Flash icon on websites that request to use Flash before it will load.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Adding Extensions

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It's the red, yellow, green, and blue sphere icon.
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You'll find this icon in the top-right corner of the window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
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It's near the bottom of the drop-down menu. A pop-out menu will appear.
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This option is in the middle of the pop-out menu. Clicking it opens the Extensions page.
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It's in the lower-left corner of the page. This will take you to the Chrome Web Store.
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Click the "Search the store" text box in the upper-left side of the page, type in a word or phrase, and press ↵ Enter . This will search the store for extensions matching your query.
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Scroll through any items listed in the "Extensions" section at the top of the page until you find the one you want, or change your search word or phrase to look for different items.
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It's a blue button on the far-right side of the extension's name.
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This will add the extension to Chrome after a few seconds, though you may be prompted to refresh your current page before you can use the extension.

Community Q&A

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Question

Why don't I have the plugins section in my Content Settings?

Dennis De bruijn

Community Answer

Go to settings --> Extensions.

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Question

I don't have Flash in plugins, what do I do?

Kenny

Community Answer

You might not have finished the download, or the plugin is incompatible. Try again, as this can be a problem for some users of not just Chrome, but several other browsers.

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Question

What if it says a plug in is out of date?

Community Answer

Search for the plug in to download the latest version.

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Tips

Extensions aren't the same thing as plugins, but some extensions allow for webpage functionality that wouldn't be possible without the extension itself.

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The reason that plugins are no longer installable is because most available plugins come preinstalled in Google Chrome.

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Warnings

Having too many extensions enabled for your browser will cause it to slow down.

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How to Add Plugins in Google Chrome

Steps

Enabling Flash Player

Adding Extensions

Community Q&A

Tips

Warnings

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