SidePin

The sidebar Chrome should have had from the start. Pin any website, browse it alongside your work, and never lose your place.

Add to Chrome — Free

What is SidePin?

SidePin is a free Chrome extension that adds a sidebar panel to your browser — similar to Microsoft Edge's sidebar feature, but available on Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Arc. It lets you pin your favorite websites to a vertical icon rail on the right side of the screen, then click any icon to instantly load that site in a narrow panel alongside your main browsing tab.

Think of it as a second browser window that's always there when you need it. Check your email while reading an article. Browse Reddit while waiting for code to compile. Listen to music while doing research. All without switching tabs or resizing windows.

Everything stays local — your pinned sites, their order, and your preferences are stored in your browser. SidePin has no accounts, no servers, and collects zero data.

How It Works

1

Install and open

Install SidePin from the Chrome Web Store. Click the yellow pin icon in your toolbar to open the sidebar. You'll see a clean home screen with a search bar and your pinned sites on a vertical rail to the right.

2

Pin your sites

Click the + button at the bottom of the rail to add a website by URL. Or right-click on any webpage and select "Pin this site to SidePin" to add it instantly. SidePin auto-detects the site's favicon and name.

3

Browse in the sidebar

Click any pinned icon to load that site in the sidebar panel. The site renders at a narrow width, so most will show their mobile or responsive layout automatically. Navigate within the site just like you would in a normal browser tab.

4

Organize your way

Drag and drop icons on the rail to reorder them. Right-click any pin to edit its name or URL, open it in a popup window, open it in a new tab, or remove it entirely. Your layout persists across sessions.

Key Features

📌 Pin Any Website

Add any URL to your sidebar. Works with social media, news sites, music services, AI tools, forums, email — anything that loads in a browser. Right-click any page to pin it in one click.

🔍 Built-in Search

The home screen includes a search bar with Google and Amazon as search engines. Search the web or shop for products directly from the sidebar without opening a new tab.

🎵 Music, Video, and Social Media

Stream music from web-based music players, watch videos, scroll social media feeds, or check forums — all running in the sidebar while your main tab stays focused on work. SidePin uses smart header modification to make sites load smoothly inside the panel.

🔀 Drag and Drop Reordering

Your sidebar, your layout. Drag icons up or down to reorder them. Neighboring icons smoothly glide out of the way as you drag, and everything settles into place when you drop.

🌙 Dark Mode Toggle

Click the sun/moon icon in the toolbar to invert the colors of any embedded site. Great for reading bright websites at night without blinding yourself.

🚀 Smart Fallbacks

Some websites refuse to load in iframes due to security headers. When SidePin detects this, it automatically opens the site in a slim popup window instead — so nothing ever breaks. You can also manually choose to open any site in a popup or a new tab via the right-click menu.

🏠 Remembers Your Place

SidePin remembers the last URL you visited within each pinned site. If you're deep into a thread on a forum and switch to another pin, clicking back will return you exactly where you left off.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of SidePin

Use it for reference material

Pin documentation, API references, or style guides to your sidebar while coding in your main tab.

Keep chat tools handy

Pin AI chat tools or messaging apps to the sidebar for quick access without context-switching.

Monitor while you work

Keep a dashboard, portfolio tracker, or live feed open in the sidebar while working in your main browser.

Background music

Pin a music streaming service and listen while browsing. Audio keeps playing when you switch between pins.

Quick social media checks

Pin your social feeds for quick scrolls without getting sucked into a full tab.

Right-click to pin

The fastest way to add a site is to right-click on the page itself and select "Pin this site to SidePin."

Who Is SidePin For?

SidePin is built for anyone who multitasks in their browser. Whether you're a developer who needs documentation alongside your code editor, a student researching across multiple sources, a trader watching markets while reading news, or someone who just wants to listen to music without sacrificing a tab — SidePin gives you a persistent, organized sidebar that's always one click away.

It's also a great alternative for Chrome users who miss the sidebar feature that Microsoft Edge offers natively. SidePin brings that same concept to any Chromium-based browser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does SidePin work on browsers other than Chrome?
Yes. SidePin works on any Chromium-based browser including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Arc, Vivaldi, and Opera. The Chrome Web Store listing is accessible from all of these browsers.
Does SidePin collect my data?
No. SidePin stores all your data (pinned sites, preferences) locally in your browser using Chrome's storage API. Nothing is sent to any server. There are no accounts, no analytics, and no tracking.
Why can't some sites load in the sidebar?
Some websites set security headers (like X-Frame-Options or Content-Security-Policy) that prevent them from being embedded in iframes. SidePin does its best to work around these, but a few sites — particularly banking sites and some login pages — will still refuse. When this happens, SidePin offers to open the site in a popup window or a new tab instead.
Can I rearrange my pinned sites?
Yes. Just click and drag any icon on the rail to move it to a new position. The other icons will smoothly slide out of the way, and your new order is saved automatically.
How do I remove a pinned site?
Right-click on the icon in the sidebar rail, then select "Remove" from the context menu. You can also click "Edit" to change the site's name or URL.
Does the sidebar stay open when I switch tabs?
The sidebar panel is tied to the Chrome side panel API, which means it persists as you navigate between tabs. However, the iframe content reloads when you close and reopen the sidebar. SidePin remembers the last URL you were on for each pinned site.
Is SidePin free?
Yes, completely free. There are no premium tiers, no subscriptions, and no paywalls. If you enjoy SidePin and want to support future development, there's an optional donation link in the sidebar.
Why does SidePin need "access to all websites" permission?
Since users can pin any website to the sidebar, SidePin needs broad host permissions to modify the response headers that would otherwise prevent sites from loading in the sidebar panel. Without this permission, most websites would refuse to display. SidePin only uses this permission for header modification on sites you choose to pin — it never reads, collects, or transmits any page content.
How is SidePin different from Edge's sidebar?
Microsoft Edge has a built-in sidebar feature, but it's limited to Edge users and only supports a curated list of Microsoft-approved sites. SidePin works on any Chromium browser and lets you pin any website — not just ones from a preset list. You also get features like built-in search, dark mode toggle, and drag-and-drop reordering.

Changelog

Version 4.0.0 — March 2026

Initial public release on the Chrome Web Store. Features include pinning any website, built-in Google and Amazon search, drag-and-drop reordering, dark mode toggle, smart popup fallbacks for sites that block embedding, right-click context menu for adding sites, and seven default starter pins.