Google Chrome extensions are a vital part of the desktop browser as they help add third-party services to your browser. Sadly the mobile variant of the browser is still missing the ability to use extensions on Android. If you are someone in need of a vital extension for chrome on your mobile device then you can use a third-party browser that supports Chrome extensions. Let’s take a look at how you can do this on your Android device.
How to Get Chrome extensions on mobile
Yandex and Kiwi are two third-party mobile browsers for Android that allow you to use chrome extensions. So, install either of these first of all to be able to get Chrome Extensions on your mobile.
- Yandex browser Beta | Download Link
- Kiwi Browser | Download Link
You can now go to Google Chrome Web Store and download any extensions you like from here.
Find the guide for downloading and installing the extensions below, after which we will be checking out the list of best extensions to download.
How to install a Chrome Extension on Kiwi or Yandex Browser
Extensions depend on free RAM on your device and they can take up anywhere from 2GB to 2MB depending on the number and type of extensions you decide to install. While these third-party browsers have done their best to optimize extensions for mobile use, make sure that your device has at least 6GB of RAM so that you encounter no issues.
Here we go.
Once you have downloaded the Kiwi or Yandex browser on your Android phone, visit the Google Chrome Web Store using this link.
Tip: You can use the pinch gesture to zoom out for better navigation of the Web Store.
Tap on the search bar in the left sidebar.
Now search for the extension you wish to install.
Tap on the extension, once it shows up in the search results.
Now tap on ‘Add to Chrome’ to install the extension.
On Yandex
Yandex will now display a confirmation box. Tap on ‘Add Extension’ to confirm your choice.
The extension will now be installed on your browser. Once installed, tap on the ‘3-dot’ menu icon in the bottom right corner of your screen.
Scroll down and tap on ‘Extensions’.
Tap and select the Extension you just installed.
You can now use the given extension while browsing the web.
On Kiwi Browser
Kiwi Browser will now display a dialog box along with the permissions required by the extension to properly. Tap on ‘Ok’ to confirm your choice.
Now tap on the ‘3-dot’ menu icon in the top right corner of your screen.
Tap and select your extension at the bottom.
You can now use the extension as intended while browsing the web.
Best Chrome Extensions for mobile browser
Now that you can use extensions on your Android device, here are our top 10 extensions to help increase your productivity and web browsing experience.
ScriptSafe
The online world of the new age internet has introduced numerous privacy incursions that are hard to circumvent without breaking website and service functionality. Thankfully, Scrip safe helps solve all your problems. ScriptSafe allows you to manage cross-site tracking, cookies, referrer data, and much more. You can control exactly what you wish to block including certain elements on a webpage.
This will help you prevent sites from selling your data while ensuring that you do not encounter anything on the internet with malicious intent.
Features
- Whitelist and blacklist
- Block fingerprinting and WebRTC leaks.
- Automatic syncing of all settings and lists via Google Sync
- Removes unnecessary website elements which help improve browsing speed.
- Remove the following: <Script>, <Object>, <Embed>, <IFrame>, <Applet>, <Audio>, <Video>, <NoScript>, <IMG>, and webbugs.
- Block click through referrer data
- Spoof the following: Referrer, User-agent, Timezone data, and more.
- Block cookies
- Support for IPv6 addresses.
Ghostery
If ScriptSafe seems needlessly complicated, then maybe Ghostery will help feel you at ease. Similar to Scriptsafe, Ghostery helps block intrusive ads, trackers, and more to help improve your browsing experience. Like ScriptSafe, Ghostery ensures that blocking these elements is well optimized which leads to faster browsing times. Here are the top features offered by Ghostery.
Features
- Built-in Adblocker
- View and block trackers from websites
- Enhanced Anti-tracking
- Better browsing speed
- Multiple dashboards
TabCopy
Ever wanted to save all your open tabs in a particular document? Do you research a lot of articles and hat to have them recover from your browser history? Then TabCopy is the perfect extension for you! TabCopy will help you copy all your tabs in the current session.
As you’ll be using this on mobile, you won’t be able to use the feature dedicated to particular windows but you will still be able to copy all the currently open tabs to your clipboard. You can then paste them anywhere including your notes, a word document, or any text field on the web. Check out TabCopy if you are someone who usually has a lot of tabs open in his/her browser at any given point in time.
Features
- Quickly copy tabs to your clipboard.
- Supports various formats including URL, Compact, Expanded, Link, Markdown, CSV, JSON, and more.
- Ability to create your own custom templates.
Session Manager
If you are not a fan of copying tabs, then Session Manager might be more up your alley. Instead of copying links to all the open tabs, you can use Session manager to save an ongoing session. Once saved, you can use the extension to restore the session anytime in the future.
Session Manager allows you to save multiple sessions making it easier for you to get back to your previous research with a simple tap. The extension works great on supported mobile browsers and helps manage most open sessions. It also helps fill the gap created by the lack of windows within mobile browsers as you can now save and restore multiple sessions with similar web pages related to particular research.
Features
- Save, update, restore and delete sessions.
- Create sessions according to your routine.
- Group common pages in a session for easy management.
Turn Off the Lights
Have you ever noticed that while watching videos in the browser, it can get quite annoying if you are unable to view it in fullscreen? Especially if the UI of the website is spoiling your experience with a different color palette and visual appeal. Turn off lights helps solve this issue by dimming your entire screen except for the currently playing video. It is compatible with most sites out there including YouTube. Let’s take a look at its top features.
Features
- Easy to use UI
- Supports YouTube, and HTML5 compatible video sites.
- Dedicated Youtube customization: Set a predetermined requirement for video quality and automatic wide mode.
- Fade effects when dimming the rest of the screens which can be turned off based on your needs.
- Flash detection
- Whitelist and Blacklist filters
- Dedicated Keyboard shortcuts.
- Speech Recognition
- Add filters to currently playing video: Grayscale, Sepia, Invert, Contrast, Saturate, Hue rotation, and brightness.
- Dedicated audio visualizer.
- Loop video if option unavailable
- Zoom in and Zoom out of video player.
InVideo
YouTube is one of the most popular video consumption platforms for many users around the world. Invideo is an extension that will enhance your video viewing experience on Youtube. Invideo allows you to search YouTube videos for specific words and phrases which can be quite useful if you are searching for a particular sentence, person, keyword, phrase, and more. Let’s take a look at some of its top features.
Features
- Search Youtube videos for keywords, phrases, names, sentences, and more.
- Dedicated sidebar for search results.
- Dedicated extension icon in the Youtube UI (might not work on mobile devices)
Stylish
Do you love customization? Do you find visiting the same sites daily is bland and boring? Then meet Stylish, a theme engine that is compatible with most modern-day websites. Stylish allows you to change the look of a website based on your needs, including changing things like background, font color, font, and more. You can choose from a variety of dedicated themes developed for Stylish or create your own using CSS. Here are the top features offered by Stylish.
Features
- Customizable themes: Backgrounds, color schemes, layout, website icons, fonts, and animations.
- Disable, enable, edit or delete installed themes.
- Add custom themes using CSS.
- Dedicated community to help create themes.
Instapaper
Most of us use our free time to scroll the web and read interesting articles that appeal to us. But sometimes you encounter huge written pieces that while intriguing, can not be read in one go. You might also come across articles that will be useful to read in the future as well.
To help solve all these issues you may encounter, you can try the extension Instapaper. Instapaper allows you to save webpages so that you can read them offline in the future whenever you may like. This is a great option for users that travel a lot as being connected to the internet is a luxury in such cases. Here are the top features offered by Instapaper.
Features
- Offline viewing of all saved webpages
- Cloud sync using Instapaper account
- Supported platforms: iOS, Kindle, Android, PC, and Mac.
Google Scholar button
Google Scholar has been a godsent gift for students all around the world since its release. It helps source validated and verified information with detailed explanations from university libraries to complete research projects and more. This dedicated extension can help you lookup Scholar articles while you browse the web.
Simultaneous viewing of the two can help you verify your research, as well as fact-check information on the go. Here are the foremost features of the Google Scholar button.
Features
- Find full text either from the web or your university library.
- Transfer queries from web search to Scholar.
- Templates to format your references.
- Save an article for later reading in your Scholar library.
Noisli
Working can be hard, especially in this time of the pandemic where you’ll be forced to spend hours in front of a screen. Everybody needs a break and Noisli is here to do just that. This extension allows you to play curated calming playlists that will help you concentrate on your work while tuning out ambient sounds that might be distracting. Here are the top features offered by Noisli.
Features
- Curated selection of playlists.
- Create your own favorite combos for quick access.
- Dedicated timer to automate your work sessions depending on your routine.
- Master volume control.
- Create combos and share with other Noisli users.
- Shuffle and Oscillation
Marinara
Pomodoro is a time management technique to increase your productivity and ease your workflow. It essentially focuses on an accurate balance between work and breaks to keep you as productive as possible. Marinara extension offers you a dedicated Pomodoro clock directly in your web browser to track your work hours as well as upcoming breaks.
This timer can be especially useful for users whose workflow mostly relies on a browser rather than dedicated apps. Here are all the features offered by Marinara.
Features
- Define your short and long breaks
- Extension icon with an in-built timer
- History tracker and daily stats.
- Configurable: Timer durations, long breaks, short breaks, desktop, tab, and audio notifications.
- 20 different notification sound choices.
- Ticking timer sounds.
- Open-source project.
Mail track – Email tracker for Gmail
Are you tired of people ignoring your emails? Are you a business operating in a space where you are sending out multiple invoices daily? It is always reassuring to know that an important mail has been addressed by the recipient. Mail track extension helps solve this exact issue by allowing you to track when a mail has been read by the recipient.
Mailtrack adds double checkmarks like Whatsapp to your mails once they have been read by the recipient. Here are all the features offered by Mailtrack.
Features
- Integrated into Gmail.
- Find when your mails have been read
- Track how many times your emails have been clicked
- Track the number of times the mail has been opened by the recipient.
- Dedicated dashboard to filter read and unread sent emails.
- Completely free (but comes with Signature)
- Create and manage email lists.
Tip: Mailtrack also offers a paid version of the service which offers you more features including the ones mentioned above.
That was our list of next Chrome Extensions for your mobile browser that supports it.
Chrome extensions for iPhone
Well, that is simply not possible at the moment. On Android, you are lucky as Kiwi and Yandex have brought support for the Desktop Chrome Extensions to your Android device, but on iPhone, there is no browser that supports it.
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