I’ve found manually prefixing links with http:// (http://go/test) is a better alternative to auto-linkification via chrome extension (works in slack app, mobile apps, etc.)

I think the question is why the extension needs that particular permission.

Specifically, it's to resolve any go links that exist in your browser, but we plan to explore the partial permissions options to have the user choose if they want this feature enabled or not. This way you could install the extension and have the golink redirection option without the "reading all data" permission.