Google has launched two new badges on the Chrome Web Store to help people identify the best extensions from trusted developers. The two new badges are the Featured badge and Established Publisher badge and can both be seen on the Chrome Web Store beginning today. With malicious extensions slipping through and being published on the Chrome Web Store, these badges will help users stay safe.
According to Google, the Featured badge is awarded to publishers who follow technical best practices and deliver a great user experience and include a pleasant extension design. Google will manually evaluate extensions before dishing out a badge and will check that they are using the latest platform APIs, respect users’ privacy, and include a helpful store description and quality images.
With the Established Publisher badge, users will be able to see that certain publishers have had their identities verified. Those awarded with the badge will also need a consistently positive track record with Google services and compliance with the Developer Program Policy.
Google confirmed that neither of the badges can be purchased by publishers. To receive them, publishers must apply through this support page and select ‘My item’ on the first page before then nominating their extension. Hopefully, it won’t take too long for many extensions to begin getting these badges so they become effective in keeping users safe.