diff --git a/packages/extension-chrome/e2e/mvp.spec.ts b/packages/extension-chrome/e2e/mvp.spec.ts
index 5b09cf8..21dd438 100644
--- a/packages/extension-chrome/e2e/mvp.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/extension-chrome/e2e/mvp.spec.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,14 @@ test.describe("MVP smoke", () => {
     await expect(page.getByRole("button", { name: "Set up gitmarks" })).toBeVisible();
   });
 
-  test("options page saves settings and popup switches to save view", async ({ context, extensionId }) => {
+  // SKIPPED: requires the popup's getActiveTab fallback that scanned all tabs
+  // (which needed the broader 'tabs' manifest permission). Permission was dropped
+  // (issue #3) — production code now relies on the activeTab permission granted
+  // on toolbar-icon click. Playwright opens popup.html as a normal tab, which
+  // doesn't qualify as the action gesture, so chrome.tabs.query({active,currentWindow})
+  // returns the popup tab itself. Same family as the Playwright SW-dispatch gap
+  // (issue #5). The popup save flow is covered by unit tests in test/save-flow.test.ts.
+  test.skip("options page saves settings and popup switches to save view", async ({ context, extensionId }) => {
     await installGitHubMock(context);
 
     const options = await context.newPage();
@@ -44,7 +51,12 @@ test.describe("MVP smoke", () => {
     await expect(options.locator("#status")).toContainText("valid PAT");
   });
 
-  test("save flow writes to mocked GitHub", async ({ context, extensionId }) => {
+  // SKIPPED: same Playwright/activeTab gap as the "popup switches to save view"
+  // test above (issue #3, #5). Save-flow unit coverage lives in
+  // test/save-flow.test.ts and test/bookmarks-file.test.ts; the GitHub-write
+  // round-trip is verified by sync.spec.ts which exercises the algorithm
+  // inline in the service-worker context.
+  test.skip("save flow writes to mocked GitHub", async ({ context, extensionId }) => {
     // The popup calls the GitHub API directly (page context), so context.route()
     // interception is sufficient — no service worker fetch patching needed.
     const mock = await installGitHubMock(context);
diff --git a/packages/extension-chrome/manifest.config.ts b/packages/extension-chrome/manifest.config.ts
index 36df5df..583c8b0 100644
--- a/packages/extension-chrome/manifest.config.ts
+++ b/packages/extension-chrome/manifest.config.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ export default defineManifest({
   name: "gitmarks",
   version: "0.0.1",
   description: "Save bookmarks to your own GitHub repo.",
-  permissions: ["storage", "activeTab", "tabs", "bookmarks", "alarms"],
+  permissions: ["storage", "activeTab", "bookmarks", "alarms"],
   host_permissions: ["https://api.github.com/*"],
   action: {
     default_popup: "src/popup.html",
diff --git a/packages/extension-chrome/src/popup.ts b/packages/extension-chrome/src/popup.ts
index 759e77c..26594d2 100644
--- a/packages/extension-chrome/src/popup.ts
+++ b/packages/extension-chrome/src/popup.ts
@@ -8,20 +8,16 @@ const root = document.getElementById("root");
 if (root == null) throw new Error("#root not found");
 
 async function getActiveTab(): Promise<chrome.tabs.Tab | null> {
-  // When opened as a real extension popup, currentWindow refers to the browser
-  // window the user was in (not the popup's own floating window), so this gives
-  // the tab the user was viewing.
+  // When opened as a real extension popup, currentWindow refers to the
+  // browser window the user was in (not the popup's own floating window),
+  // so this returns the tab they were viewing. activeTab grants access to
+  // title + url for that one tab on user-gesture popup open; no broader
+  // tabs permission is required.
   const [tab] = await chrome.tabs.query({ active: true, currentWindow: true });
   if (tab != null && tab.url != null && !tab.url.startsWith("chrome-extension://")) {
     return tab;
   }
-  // Fallback for cases where the popup is opened as a tab (e.g., in tests):
-  // return the most recently accessed regular tab.
-  const allTabs = await chrome.tabs.query({});
-  const regularTabs = allTabs
-    .filter(t => t.url != null && !t.url.startsWith("chrome-extension://") && !t.url.startsWith("about:"))
-    .sort((a, b) => (b.lastAccessed ?? 0) - (a.lastAccessed ?? 0));
-  return regularTabs[0] ?? null;
+  return null;
 }
 
 async function render(): Promise<void> {