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Save to Google Chrome extensions

Save to Google is a new browser extension for Google Chrome by Google that let's you save content that you find on the Internet to your Google account.

Facebook launched an update of its save feature yesterday, and today it is Google with a new Chrome extension that brings a similar feature -- once again -- to Google accounts.

Google's new version of save feels like a new attempt to bring Google Chrome's failed bookmarks manager redesign back from the dead.

Let's take a look at how it works.

Save to Google

save to google

The extension requires quite a few permissions, among them the ability to read your browsing history, communicate with cooperating websites, read and change bookmarks, and known your email address.

Save to Google adds a new icon to Chrome's main toolbar that powers the saving functionality. When you encounter content that you want to save, and this is always all that is displayed in the active tab, you click on the icon to have it saved to your Google account.

The interface that opens displays a preview image, and options to add one or multiple tags to it as well.

There is also a link to the online part of the save feature which leads directly to https://www.google.com/save where all saved items are listed.

google save

Each saved page is listed similarly to how content was displayed on Google's failed Chrome bookmarks manager redesign.

Each item is listed with a thumbnail image (or the starting letter of the domain name) that takes up 60% of the card it is displayed in. Below that are the name of the item, which often is cut, and the url, which also may be cut due to space constraints.

A click on an item on the page opens a larger preview of it. This includes the full title and url, a description, all tags that you have added to it previously, and an option to add or remove tags from it.

You may switch to a tags view instead on Google Save which displays all tags that you have added to content that you have saved on the starting page.

Tags are represented either by their starting letter or an image.

google save tags

A click on a tag finally opens all items the tag has been added to.

Basically, what it allows you to do, is save content to your Google account to access it from any device you have access to your Google account.

Issues

The service has quite a few issues in my opinion. First, it can only be used if you install the Chrome extension.

Second, the interface may appeal to the Pinterest and touch crowd, but it is far from usable once your saves reach a certain level. Since you cannot change the layout at all, for instance to a one item per line style, it is highly impracticable for medium to large sized collections.

Third, even if you use the Chrome extension, you can only save content that is loaded in the active tab, but not individual elements such as videos or links.

Closing Words

Save to Google is a very basic service at this point in time that is limited to Chrome and limiting when it comes to how the data that you saved is displayed online.

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

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