By Kavita Mistry 
Using extensions is the easiest way to expand your browser’s capabilities, whether you want to block ads, speed up your browsing experience, enhance security, or add features to apps like WhatsApp web.
However, not just with extensions and flags, you can also use custom user scripts to add additional functionality to the browsers. For instance, I have been using a custom script for the Medium paywall remover on my Chrome browser, which automatically detects paywalled Medium articles and redirects me to the free version.
Likewise, you can add these 10 scripts to help block unwanted elements on the site, save highlights on any webpage, auto-skip YouTube ads, add a timer to social media sites, and more. If you are ready, let’s get started.
10 Best Chrome Scripts to Unlock New Features
Add and Export Highlights From Any Webpage
Adding highlights to webpages is one of the most useful features, especially when reading blogs or research papers and wanting to remember key information.
With this user script, you can simply highlight any content on the website and store it, and later export all the highlights into the Notes app or to your knowledge base to keep them forever. The way it works is that you can select any text on the web page, then select the text and add a highlight to it.
Currently, I have added support for up to four colors, including the most common yellow, to highlight text. Once highlighted, you can export all the text into a text file.
Each text file can contain multiple highlighted texts, the URL, and the time and date the text was saved, helping you keep track of all your highlights in one place. Plus, you can disable and enable based on your preference.
How to use Highlighter on any website:
- You can press Command+H on a Mac or Alt+H on Windows to activate the highlighter.
- Once activated, select the text and tap on any color to highlight.
- You can select multiple texts. Once done, to export, click on the Export Notes to save all your highlights in text format.
- To disable the highlight for the website, click the settings gear icon and select “Disable on this website.”
Download Script: Highlight Saver
Automatically Expand Hidden “Read More” Content
If you read news or blogs regularly, you might have seen the Read more button on the majority of websites.
Websites add this feature to offer clutter-free elements or to improve their website’s load speed. Some websites even use it to guide users to quickly display specific elements without requiring them to scroll the full page.
However, this becomes extremely frustrating, especially when you need to expand the content on every website. To avoid this, I have created a useful script that automatically expands the read more content on all supported sites. You can simply add this script, and it will automatically expand every time you visit the website.
How to use Read More Script:
- Simply add the script to Tampermonkey, and it will automatically remove the ‘Read more’ element from all websites.
Download Script: Remove Read More
Lock Any Browser Tab With a Password
Recently, I published a guide on the best extensions for WhatsApp Web, and one of my favorite extensions in that guide is the WhatsApp lock, which automatically locks at a certain time.
However, now, using this script, you can lock a tab with a password. The best part is that, unlike extensions, which can be easily removed, the script requires the user to disable it to remove the lock, a feature that many users are unaware of.
How to lock and unlock Tabs:
- Use Command or Control + L to lock the website
- Use Command or Control + Shift + L to view the settings panel. Here, you can remove the site lock and change the password.
Quickly Print or Save Any Webpage as a PDF
I frequently use the print function to save it as a PDF. However, to print a website, you need to go through multiple steps and save it as a PDF on your device.
To help you make it easy to access the print function, now you can instantly save web pages using this simple print button available on any website. It also features a Print Simple View option that removes all unnecessary elements from the page, making it easier to read.
How to Print Webpages:
- Click on the Printer icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.
- Select the format; you can print the entire page or the simple view, which strips all unwanted content from the webpage.
- That’s it; tap on the option, and the print function triggers. Now, you can save the webpage as a PDF or print it.
Download Script: Print Option for Webpages
Read Medium Articles for Free Instantly
If you use Freedium to read Medium articles for free, you may have already noticed that the original Freedium website is not functioning, and the developer has built mirror sites that work exactly the same.
However, many people are not aware of the new website. To avoid this, you can use the extension I have built, which automatically detects premium articles on Medium and redirects you to the free version.
I have shared a detailed guide on how to use this feature. You can also visit our guide on the best Freedium alternatives to find other top options. I have provided a script in the description. You can follow the guide exactly as you did for the other script to access Medium articles for free.
How to read a Medium article for free:
- Open Medium and open any premium article.
- The script will detect the paywall and display a pop-up asking you to open it in Freedium.
- Tap in it to redirect to the Medium website, and from there, you can read the article for free.
Download Script: Find Friend Link Medium Script
Read Hands-Free With Auto-Scroll on Webpages
If you want to read webpages hands-free, you can add this auto-scroll script and activate it when you are reading an article. It automatically detects the site and scrolls the content automatically. You can start reading the content hands-free.
How to autoscroll on any website:
- Once you have added the script, click on the scroll down icon.
- From the panel, you can select the speed and tap Start Scrolling.
- That’s it. To pause, you can press the space bar.
Download Script: Auto Scroll Website
Hide Sensitive Information on Any Webpage
Most websites contain sensitive information, and many display it on their pages. If you are sharing a screenshot and viewing this information in public, it is the best way to prevent others from accessing your sensitive information.
To help you out, I have built a useful Chrome script that auto-hides sensitive information on web pages. Additionally, you can highlight and blur specific information from the website. Here is how it works;
How to hide or unhide elements on a webpage:
- To hide elements, tap on the Hide button and select the element to hide. You can select multiple elements.
- To unhide, tap the Unhide button and select the elements you want to unhide.
Download Script: Hide sensitive information
Set Time Limits for Any Website With a Timer
Timers are the easiest way to set limits on how much you spend on specific tasks. This comes especially handy if you are using social media; instead of doom-scrolling, you can set a specific timer and get notified when the time is up.
You can also permanently lock the website after a certain time; however, since we are not using an extension, it’s hard to manage time for specific sites, so I made it easy to use. You can simply open any webpage and set a timer, and it will notify you once the limit is reached.
How to set a timer for any website:
- Open any webpage and tap on the timer icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Enter the time and tap on start.
- Once the timer reaches its end, it will notify you.
Watch Videos or Listen to Audio While You Work (PIP Mode)
If you are like me, who watches video podcasts while working, then this can be a useful option. While many video players now support PIP modes, this script allows you to place it anywhere as an element inside the webpage and start watching the video.
You can browse any local video player and start playing music. It also comes with useful controls to quickly adjust video playback and more. You can select any local media file.
How to watch video or play music in PIP mode on your browser:
- Open any website and tap on the Play Local Media button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Now select the media and start playing.
Download Script: Play Media in PIP Mode
Automatically Convert Prices to Your Local Currency
Websites often display currency based on the location of the site. To view in a different currency, you must manually translate using external tools, such as Google. To help you easily, this script automatically translates the site currency into your required currency.
Although the currency rates are not real-time due to limitations, they still provide a brief idea of the cost in your currency. It currently supports up to seven currencies, including INR, EUR, and more.
How to automatically convert the site currency:
- Open any website and use the currency converter located in the bottom right corner of the screen. Before that, ensure it is turned on.
- Once done, select the currency, and it will automatically convert in real-time. You can view it directly on the webpage.
Download Script: Currency converter script
How to Install Scripts on Google Chrome
- Install the Tampermonkey Google Chrome extension. Download it using this link – Download
- For other browsers, you can use:
- Once installed, open Google Chrome and click the three-dot menu or tap the Extensions icon, then select Manage Extensions.
- Enable Developer mode located in the top right corner of the screen.
- Once Developer options are enabled, locate the Tampermonkey extension and tap on its details.
- Scroll down and enable the option labeled ‘Allow to run user scripts.‘ Also, enable the ‘Pin to toolbar‘ option.
- Now, go back to the home page and click on the extension, then tap on the Dashboard.
- In the dashboard, click on the Plus to add a new Script
- Download any script file from the above, and copy the code and paste it here.
- That s it, to save, click on the file > Save.
How to Enable or Disable Google Chrome Scripts
If you want to run multiple scripts, you can disable or enable them based on your preference. To this,
- Click on the extension, then tap on the Dashboard.
- Here you can see all the scripts added to your Google Chrome. Use the toggle to disable or enable the scripts.
So, those are the best browser scripts you can use to unlock additional features. Depending on your browser, you can use any script manager extension to install and use these scripts.
You can also enable and use multiple scripts. For instance, in addition to the print option, you can also lock your tabs using another script. All these scripts have been thoroughly tested and are completely safe to use. You can also enable and use these scripts on mobile using the Quetta browser. I hope you find this guide helpful.
FAQs on Browser Scripts
1. Do these user scripts work on browsers other than Chrome, like Edge, Brave, or Firefox?
Yes, these scripts work perfectly on other Chromium-based browsers, such as Google Chrome, Edge, Brave, and more, as well as on Firefox.
2. Are these scripts safe to use? Can they access my personal data or passwords?
These scripts are safe to use, as they run locally on your browser and don’t transfer your data or passwords.
3. What should I do if a script stops working on certain websites after a browser update?
If the script stops working after a browser update, let us know in the comments below.
4. Do these scripts affect browser performance?
In our testing, we haven’t noticed any browser performance issues. Most scripts are lightweight, and once loaded, they won’t affect your browser performance.
5. Do websites detect or block user scripts that modify their layout or behavior?
Some websites can detect and block these scripts. However, since they run on your client side, most of them work without any issues.