You can make that an optional permission and only request it when you actually need it:
https://github.com/sindresorhus/github-notifier-chrome/blob/81c4b251a7ecc5cec4233293327bc6f61d7a5828/extension/manifest.json#L17

https://github.com/sindresorhus/github-notifier-chrome/blob/81c4b251a7ecc5cec4233293327bc6f61d7a5828/extension/options.js#L27-L38