Using the Pocket Must Reads Extension in Chrome

Introduction

Pocket Must Reads (formerly called Pocket New Tab) is a great way to keep up with Trending Stories from Pocket whenever you open a new tab in Chrome. These stories are updated throughout the day so there’s always something interesting to read now, or save to Pocket for later.

Just like the default new tab experience in Chrome, you’ll be able to search the web, get quick access to your bookmarks bar, and see a list of your most visited sites so you can always jump back to them with minimal effort.

You might already be familiar with Trending Stories on your default New Tab page in Chrome. We’ve moved them to this new extension to make sure that you can continue to enjoy them after some upcoming changes to Chrome.

Note: Pocket has another Chrome Extension, called Save to Pocket, which adds the Pocket button to your Chrome toolbar for one-click saving. We recommend installing both for the best Pocket experience in your browser.  Click here to learn more about the Save to Pocket Extension for Chrome

Customizing Your New Tab

Pocket Must Reads is customizable to meet your needs whenever you open a new tab. With the exception of Trending Stories (which are always shown), there are a few other elements which can be enabled or disabled. 
  • Dark Theme: Invert the colors of your new tab with light text on a dark background.
  • Bookmarks Bar: See your Bookmarks Bar at the top of every new tab for quick access.
  • Search Bar: Perform a Google search or navigate to a URL directly.
  • Most Visited Sites: Quick links to your most frequently visited sites in Chrome
  • Trending Stories from Pocket: Trending Stories are curated by over 25 million people who use Pocket to save and discover stories that are meaningful and worth their time.

To customize your New Tab, simply move your mouse to the gear button at the top right corner and make your selection.

A note about privacy with Bookmarks Bar, Most Visited Sites, and Search

We understand that allowing Pocket New Tab to access your browser information may sound concerning. Therefore, we'd like to take a moment to explain how we use, and don't use, this information. 
  • When you enable the Bookmarks Bar, Pocket New Tab will request permission to "Read and change your bookmarks." We use this permission to display your Bookmarks Bar across the top of your New Tab page. We 
  • When you enable Most Visited Sites, Pocket New Tab will request permission to access your frequently visited sites in your browser. It does this in order to display the Most Visited Sites section in your New Tab. 
  • Performing Searches in Pocket New tab will either perform a Google search, or visit a site directly if you enter a URL. 

Information about your bookmarks, frequently visited websites, or searches you perform is not tracked by this extension, and not sent to Pocket or shared with anyone.

Common Questions

I installed Pocket Must Reads but it doesn’t appear when I open a new browser tab. What’s wrong? 
If you see something else when opening a new tab, it’s possible that you have more than one “new tab override” extension. You can only have one active override extension, so if you have more than one, please disable the others by unchecking them in your Chrome Extensions page (Window > Extensions).
Why am I seeing two Pocket buttons in my Chrome Toolbar? 
Every Chrome extension gets their own toolbar button, even if it’s not utilized. If you’d like to keep your Chrome Toolbar clean and not include the Pocket New Tab button, simply click it and select “Hide in Chrome Menu”. 

When managing your Chrome toolbar buttons, be sure to keep your Save to Pocket extension installed so you can continue to save pages to Pocket in one click!

Still need help? Contact Pocket Support Contact Pocket Support