Google Introduces New Badges for Chrome Browser Extensions
Google is introducing a couple of new badges for Chrome browser extensions that should help users find extensions that are both useful and safe to install.
The first new badge is called Featured, and is assigned to extensions that follow Google 's best practices, which covers technical, user experience, and design features. The Chrome team will manually evaluate each extension against the best practices list before deciding to award it the Featured badge.
The second new badge is called Established Publisher, and is only awarded to extension publishers who have "verified their identity and demonstrated compliance with the developer program policies." A publisher will only qualify for this badge if they have achieved "verified publisher" status and have a consistent track record. In other words, Google has decided they are trustworthy and there's no risk of a malicious extension being released by them.
An extension listing can display one or both badges, which appear just below the extension name. If a user mouses over either badge, a pop-up will appear explaining what the badge is for.
Chrome users will quickly search out extensions with these badges knowing they can be trusted, which is a good thing. Publishers who don't have either badge, but feel they qualify, can submit a request to have an extension reviewed by the Chrome team.
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