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The world would be a better place today if Android Chrome supported extensions. Users have so little control over their experience of using modern software. Whe

The world would be a better place today if Android Chrome supported extensions. Users have so little control over their experience of using modern software. When the dominant browser on the most popular OS doesn't support extensions they just can't gain critical mass.

Zak 2y ago
Extensions are the main reason I use Firefox on Android. I'm more committed to it there than I am on desktop. Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Android for several years, during which I mostly used a lightly tweaked Chromium build called Kiwi Browser.
- notpushkin 2y ago
  > Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Android for several years Hmm, I didn’t really notice that. (I’m using Fennec F-Droid though, but it’s pretty close to the official Firefox build, with only a few minor tweaks.) Could you tell me more about what was broken for you?
  - Zak 2y ago
    For several years, only "recommended" extensions could be installed, and the number available was extremely limited. Over time, some workarounds showed up, but broad extension support was absent from mid 2019 to late 2023. Third party builds differed, of course.
    - notpushkin 2y ago
      Oh, yeah, you’re right. That was a shitty move, and the custom collection workaround wasn’t really nice either. I think even some Mozilla-owned extensions had to teach their users how to do that? Personally, I’d just allow installing any extensions (from AMO at least) and put a big scary warning that this is unsupported (which was the reason they gave for the whitelist approach).
      - Zak 2y ago
        I had similar thoughts. There was never a satisfying explanation for the approach they took, which seemed more typical of Apple than an open source project.
- xnx 2y ago
  This was exactly my path. Is it safe to switch back to Firefox now? Firefox on Android still doesn't look like it has the ability to save pages. Chrome and Kiwi both have this feature, and Firefox used to have it via extension that triggered built-in, but unexposed, functionality.
  - Zak 2y ago
    I don't know what "safe" means to you. Firefox for Android has a decent extension ecosystem now as long as you're happy getting them from the official repository. The stable build won't let you install extensions from storage, which I find a little disrespectful.
FreeTrade 2y ago
Extensions do give the user more power - I guess that's part of the reason they are not available on mobile. I think Brave could be a pioneer here and add a further point of differentiation by allowing extensions.
- cosmic_cheese 2y ago
  FWIW, Safari on iOS allows extensions. Same manifest-v3-like limitations as desktop Safari (only allowlist-based blocking), but otherwise it implements a decent chunk of webextension APIs. Also on iOS, Orion supports both Chrome and Firefox extensions.
- ryandrake 2y ago
  I agree 100% with the author's take. But I'd go further: Whenever you have to reach for an extension, it means the browser has failed to do its job as the user's agent, and it's become the user's problem to correct this defect. I'd much rather a world where extensions didn't have to exist, because the browser acts on behalf of the user. Failing that, I'm glad we at least have extensions.
  - bad_user 2y ago
    Have you read the article? The author is playing with his own bookmarklets and extensions that will never be part of the browser, as it serves his own needs, not someone else’s. For the browser to act as the user agent, it needs to be scriptable.
- ewoodrich 2y ago
  Kiwi Browser is Chromium based and has had extensions on Android forever so they wouldn't exactly be a "pioneer".
  - FreeTrade 2y ago
    Thanks for the pointer. I had never heard of Kiwi before.

Zak 2y ago

Extensions are the main reason I use Firefox on Android. I'm more committed to it there than I am on desktop. Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Android for several years, during which I mostly used a lightly tweaked Chromium build called Kiwi Browser.

notpushkin 2y ago
> Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Android for several years Hmm, I didn’t really notice that. (I’m using Fennec F-Droid though, but it’s pretty close to the official Firefox build, with only a few minor tweaks.) Could you tell me more about what was broken for you?
- Zak 2y ago
  For several years, only "recommended" extensions could be installed, and the number available was extremely limited. Over time, some workarounds showed up, but broad extension support was absent from mid 2019 to late 2023. Third party builds differed, of course.
  - notpushkin 2y ago
    Oh, yeah, you’re right. That was a shitty move, and the custom collection workaround wasn’t really nice either. I think even some Mozilla-owned extensions had to teach their users how to do that? Personally, I’d just allow installing any extensions (from AMO at least) and put a big scary warning that this is unsupported (which was the reason they gave for the whitelist approach).
    - Zak 2y ago
      I had similar thoughts. There was never a satisfying explanation for the approach they took, which seemed more typical of Apple than an open source project.
xnx 2y ago
This was exactly my path. Is it safe to switch back to Firefox now? Firefox on Android still doesn't look like it has the ability to save pages. Chrome and Kiwi both have this feature, and Firefox used to have it via extension that triggered built-in, but unexposed, functionality.
- Zak 2y ago
  I don't know what "safe" means to you. Firefox for Android has a decent extension ecosystem now as long as you're happy getting them from the official repository. The stable build won't let you install extensions from storage, which I find a little disrespectful.

FreeTrade 2y ago

Extensions do give the user more power - I guess that's part of the reason they are not available on mobile. I think Brave could be a pioneer here and add a further point of differentiation by allowing extensions.

cosmic_cheese 2y ago
FWIW, Safari on iOS allows extensions. Same manifest-v3-like limitations as desktop Safari (only allowlist-based blocking), but otherwise it implements a decent chunk of webextension APIs. Also on iOS, Orion supports both Chrome and Firefox extensions.
ryandrake 2y ago
I agree 100% with the author's take. But I'd go further: Whenever you have to reach for an extension, it means the browser has failed to do its job as the user's agent, and it's become the user's problem to correct this defect. I'd much rather a world where extensions didn't have to exist, because the browser acts on behalf of the user. Failing that, I'm glad we at least have extensions.
- bad_user 2y ago
  Have you read the article? The author is playing with his own bookmarklets and extensions that will never be part of the browser, as it serves his own needs, not someone else’s. For the browser to act as the user agent, it needs to be scriptable.
ewoodrich 2y ago
Kiwi Browser is Chromium based and has had extensions on Android forever so they wouldn't exactly be a "pioneer".
- FreeTrade 2y ago
  Thanks for the pointer. I had never heard of Kiwi before.