I’m working on a Chrome extension that pulls information from various free APIs and services. Since I don’t have my own backend server, I’m looking for a way to store user data.
I want users to be able to access their saved data across multiple devices and computers. Would it be feasible to integrate Google Drive API into my extension so that user data gets stored in their personal Google Drive account? This would allow the same user to sync their extension data between their home computer, work laptop, and other devices.
Has anyone implemented something similar? I’m particularly interested in whether this approach works well for extensions (not Chrome Apps) and if there are any limitations I should be aware of.
Built this exact setup two years ago for a productivity extension. Google Drive API works great with Chrome extensions, but watch out for a few things. OAuth2 flow is the biggest pain - you’ll need chrome.identity API with the Drive API, and getting auth right takes some trial and error. Also, Google’s daily request limits will bite you if your extension takes off. Here’s what I wish I’d known: implement conflict resolution from day one. When users run the extension on multiple devices, data gets overwritten constantly. I use timestamps now to handle this cleanly. Users love having their data sync across all their Chrome instances though. Since it’s their own Drive storage, no privacy worries about third-party servers. Just tell users upfront that you’ll be creating files in their Drive.
Google Drive integration works great for Chrome extensions. I built one last year and it’s been solid once you get through the setup pain. You’ll need to register in Google Cloud Console and set up OAuth2 credentials properly. What surprised me was the file structure - just dump your data as JSON files in a hidden folder and you’re good. Performance is fine for small to medium data, but big files crawl during sync. Best part? No server costs and users own their data. Definitely add local caching though - the API calls are slow. Watch your request rates too or you’ll slam into Google’s limits when traffic spikes. Users love not signing up for yet another service.
Yeah, totally doable! Just helped a friend with the same setup. One thing others missed - the file picker gets weird when users have tons of files in their drive. Handle offline scenarios too because sync fails silently and confuses people. Pro tip: use chrome.storage.sync as backup when the drive API craps out.