To make the extension more secure, Google informed developers that the Chrome Web Store will enable a new badge. Third-party extension developers will soon be able to earn the “Featured” and “Established” badges, which will mark well-known extensions that users can trust.
The “Featured” badge is awarded to extensions that follow best standards and practices in terms of security, privacy, design, and user experience. Google will handle this process manually, but developers can nominate their projects to earn the badge starting April 20, 2022.
The Established badge will automatically flag developers with a record of violating developer program policies. Verified developers can display their status by adding a verified account to the “Offered by” field of their Chrome Web Store list without an official link.
In addition to providing users with a clear logo of a trustworthy developer and their project, the new badge will benefit the developers themselves. Google said developers with badges “may get higher rankings in search and filtering” and get promotions on the Chrome Web Store and elsewhere. Mozilla has a similar project called “Recommended Extensions.” Both companies emphasize that they don’t allow developers to pay for badges.