I spent 6 months on a Chrome extension and got 264 installs. Here's every channel I tried.
Hi IH — Emil here.
I've been building ContextBlur for 6 months. It's a browser extension that blurs sensitive elements on any webpage so you can share
your screen without leaking customer data. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
Here's what I shipped over those 6 months:
- A working extension with manual click-to-blur + local PII auto-detection
- Three browser-store listings (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
- Landing page at contextblur.app with schema + proper SEO setup
- 11 blog posts — 4 persona pages (lawyers, recruiters, sales engineers, therapists), 3 competitor comparisons (vs Blur It, vs
DataBlur, vs Teams), 4 integration guides (GitHub, Power BI, Tableau, Zendesk) - Chrome Web Store listing with 5 screenshots + promo tiles
- Product Hunt launch
- Pricing: free tier + $1.50/mo or $15 lifetime via ExtPay
Numbers after 6 months:
- 264 lifetime installs on Chrome
- 70 uninstalls (26% lifetime churn)
- Product Hunt launch: 5 upvotes, 0 reviews
- Paid conversions: [REPLACE WITH REAL NUMBER]
My working diagnosis is that my distribution plan was "ship content and hope." I wrote content for 5 personas without knowing if
any of them were actually installing. I launched on Product Hunt as if it were a finish line instead of one channel in a
coordinated push. I assumed SEO would carry the rest.
So this week I'm doing the opposite: multi-channel push in one go. Show HN, IH (this post), 5 subreddits, AlternativeTo +
chrome-stats + Mozilla Add-ons submissions. I also just shipped a version where every uninstall opens a short "why" survey on my
site — first real feedback loop I've had.
Three things I'd love input on from this community:
-
If you shipped a dev/prosumer extension, what unlocked your first 1,000 installs? Was it a single channel or a stack?
-
My Chrome Web Store data shows Windows users uninstall at 2x the rate of Mac users. I just fixed one likely cause (a keyboard
shortcut that conflicted with Chrome's bookmarks bar shortcut on Windows) but I'd love to know what else tends to burn Windows
users on a first install. -
The persona blog posts exist but I have no attribution data showing any of them convert. Before I write more content, how do you
usually validate that a content page actually drives installs vs. noise?
Honest answers welcome. Roast welcome. The product page: contextblur.app
Thanks for reading.
Six months of consistent building is impressive — most people quit way before that. ContextBlur solves a really specific pain point which is always a good sign.
I'm two weeks into building IronCaption — AI captions for gym creators — so I'm at the very start of the journey you're describing. Would love to know what the first six months actually felt like from the inside — was there a specific moment where it started feeling real or did it build gradually?
Six months of building for 264 installs is a tough ratio, but "security through blurring" is a massive latent need for anyone recording demos or sharing screens. The jump from a tool you use to one that 264 others have installed is the hardest part of the growth curve.
I’m currently running a project in Tokyo (Tokyo Lore) that highlights high-utility tools and the persistence of solo builders. Since you're focused on solving privacy leaks—a critical pain point for founders and support teams—entering your extension could be the perfect way to get more eyes on your growth journey while the prize pool odds are at their absolute peak.
Hey! so what do you suggest i do ?
Hey Emil — this is a solid build, especially for demos and support workflows where privacy slips easily.
I’m running a small project called Tokyo Lore where we showcase high-utility tools from solo builders and get them in front of an early, focused audience.
Since you’re solving a real privacy pain point, this could be a good fit — especially while the round is still early.
It’s a $19 entry, and you get a structured analysis + entry into a live round (winner gets a Tokyo trip — flights + hotel).
Tokyolore.com
264 installs after 6 months is the real signal here.
Not a distribution problem — it’s a positioning + recall problem.
“ContextBlur” sounds like a utility, not something people actively search for or remember. That alone makes growth 10x harder.
Tools like this usually win when the name instantly communicates:
→ what it protects
→ who it’s for
→ why it matters
Right now, you’re relying on explanation instead of instant clarity.
If you’re serious about pushing installs, fixing the naming layer will move the needle faster than trying more channels.
I work with brandable .coms in this exact space — happy to share a few directions if you want.
Hey, alright. i will check it out
Got it — makes sense.
Out of curiosity, if you were to rename this today, what direction would you lean toward?
More descriptive (clear function) or something brandable but still tied to privacy/AI?
Trying to understand how you’d approach it before I look at options.