In short: a VPN extension is a small program inside the browser that reroutes the traffic of its tabs only. Everything else on the device - apps, messengers, another browser, the TV - carries on past it, exactly as before. For reading a couple of sites that is enough; for video, for apps and for the whole device it is not. Below is an honest breakdown: how to install a VPN extension for the browser in Yandex, Chrome and Opera, what the built-in VPN is, what “free” costs, and at what point a full solution is simply easier.
At Tainet we make the full kind - a VPN subscription with Russian servers for the whole device - so it is in our interest that you understand the difference rather than get lost in it.
What an extension actually does
The question worth asking before you install one - and the one almost nobody asks: what exactly does the extension cover? The answer is shorter than you would think:
| VPN extension | VPN app | |
|---|---|---|
| Tabs of this browser | ✅ | ✅ |
| Another browser | ❌ | ✅ |
| Apps and messengers | ❌ | ✅ |
| Games, mail, system traffic | ❌ | ✅ |
| The whole phone | ❌ | ✅ |
| A TV on the same subscription | ❌ | ✅ |
Technically most extensions are a proxy for the browser rather than a full VPN tunnel for the device: the tab is encrypted and rerouted, and the rest of the traffic goes straight out. That is not “bad” - it is simply a different tool with a different reach. The trouble starts when people expect the tool to do what it does not do.
If you are installing an extension for video
The most common scenario in the search figures is that extensions are looked for in order to watch video. And this is exactly where they fall short most visibly:
- the clip in the tab goes through the extension, while the app on your phone or TV runs past it - there are simply no extensions there;
- video is sensitive to the route: free extensions have overloaded servers, and buffering on them is the norm rather than a fault;
- if video drags even with the extension, the causes are covered in the article on why video drags and how to cure it, and tuning the stream quality is covered in the breakdown of streaming quality.
For video on the big screen and inside apps, only a full device-level connection works - we come back to that in the fork below.
A VPN in Yandex Browser
The branch people ask about most: a VPN extension for Yandex Browser is installed from the catalogue - step by step:
- Open the browser menu → Add-ons (or the Yandex Browser add-ons catalogue page).
- Find the security and tools section, or use the catalogue search; Yandex Browser also installs extensions from the Opera catalogue.
- Press “Install” on the extension you chose and confirm the permissions - the extension will ask for access to site data, which is standard for how it works.
- The icon appears to the right of the address bar: switching it on and choosing a location happen by clicking it.
How to turn a VPN on in Yandex Browser. The honest answer: there is no separate “turn on VPN” button in the browser itself - what you turn on is always a specific installed extension, through its icon. If there is no icon, the extension is not installed - start with the steps above. And the rumours about a built-in VPN in Yandex Browser are a misconception: there is none built in, there is a catalogue from which you install a third-party one yourself.
Turning the VPN off in Yandex Browser is the same click on the icon (the off switch is inside), and removing it entirely: menu → Add-ons → the switch next to the extension, or “Delete”.
What to do in your browser: a table
| Browser | How to install | The wrinkle |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Chrome Web Store → search for “VPN” → Install | A VPN for Chrome installs only from the official store: a third-party site handing out a Chrome extension directly is a classic source of fakes |
| Opera | Menu → Extensions → catalogue | Opera also has a built-in mode of its own - there is a section on it below |
| Opera GX | The same Opera catalogue | The gaming build; extensions are shared with ordinary Opera |
| Edge | The Microsoft Edge add-ons store; extensions from the Chrome store install too | When installing from the Chrome store, Edge asks for permission - that is normal |
The general rule for every browser: an extension installs from the official catalogue, asks for permission to read site data (normal for how it works), and lives as an icon by the address bar.
The built-in VPN in a browser: what it really is
Which browser has a VPN built in - the list is short: the genuinely well-known built-in mode is Opera’s (and Opera GX’s). How to turn on the built-in VPN in Opera: Settings → Advanced → Security → the VPN entry → switch it on; the icon appears on the left inside the address bar.
It is only called a VPN, though - it is built as a browser proxy: it works on Opera’s tabs, locations are chosen coarsely (“Europe”, “America”), the speed wanders, and it does not act on the rest of the device - every limitation in the table of the first section applies to it in full. For “reading a site while travelling” it will do; building anything larger on it is not worth it. Other browsers have no built-in VPN - they have extension catalogues.
What a “free” extension costs
Calmly and to the point, without scare stories: a free extension has a price, it is simply not in money. All the traffic of your tabs passes through the server of whoever owns the extension - and someone pays for keeping that server running. Most often the payment is in data: browsing history, advertising, the sale of anonymised statistics; in the worst cases, by injecting things into your traffic. Hence two practical rules: install extensions only from official catalogues and only ones with a long history of reviews, and do nothing sensitive through a free extension - no banking, no mail, no purchases.
If the extension does not work
When a VPN does not work in the browser (including in Yandex Browser), start with three quick checks: switch the extension off and on by its icon, restart the browser completely, and try it in another tab and in private mode (in private mode extensions need separate permission - Settings → Extensions → “Allow in incognito”). If a site will not open at all, regardless of the extension, that is a different diagnosis: the full diagnosis of why a VPN is not working goes through it by symptom.
When an extension is enough - and when you need an app
An honest fork instead of a sales pitch.
An extension is enough if the task is to open the odd site in one browser on one computer, and nothing sensitive goes through it.
You need a full connection if you watch video (all the more on a phone or a TV), use apps rather than only sites, work with your bank and your mail, or simply do not want to think about which part of your traffic is covered and which is not.
And here is the thought you may have been looking for an extension because of: simplicity. Well then - a full connection is no harder today: at Tainet it is a free app plus one button. You take out a subscription in the Telegram bot or in your account, install the app, press the button - and the whole device is covered: both browsers, the apps, the video, and on the same subscription the phone and the TV as well. The first 7 days are free: the same number of clicks as an extension, the reach of a whole device.
How to connect each one is covered step by step: the guide to VPN clients for computer and phone, setting up a VPN on a TV, and for the “set it and forget it” way, setting up a VPN on a router: the whole home network gets the connection at once, and no extensions are needed at all any more.
Frequently asked questions
Is a VPN extension safe?
From an official catalogue, with a history and a clear developer, it is acceptable for non-serious tasks. Remember what free costs (the section above) and do not let your bank or your mail through an extension.
How does an extension differ from an app?
In reach: an extension works on the tabs of one browser, an app works on the whole device. The table at the start of the article shows the difference row by row.
Which browser has a VPN built in?
Of the well-known ones, only Opera (including GX), and it is a browser proxy with limitations of its own. Yandex Browser, Chrome and Edge have nothing built in - only extension catalogues.
Does an extension slow the internet down?
In itself, not noticeably - but your traffic goes through the extension’s server, and if that is overloaded (with free ones it almost always is), the speed drops right there.
In summary
To work out what a VPN does in general and why you would want one beyond the browser, see the basic breakdown of what a VPN is. And if you decide to try a full connection, the first 7 days of Tainet are free: test it on your own tasks before paying.
