Google Chrome dominates the desktop browsing market for various reasons, and its extension library is one of them. However, Chrome for Android doesn’t offer the same level of luxury, yet, leaving avid users without their favourite password managers and ad blockers.
There is good news, though, since you can use Chrome extensions on mobile. A handful of Chromium-based browsers have quietly added support for the Chrome Web Store, and here’s how you can make it work.
How do I use Chrome extensions on my Android?
The simplest way to use Chrome extensions on Android is to install Kiwi Browser. It’s a Chromium-based app that supports Chrome extensions natively.
- Download the Kiwi from the Play Store
- Open the three-dot menu
- Navigate to Extensions
- Toggle on Developer Mode
- Visit the Chrome Web Store directly in your browser
- Search for the extension you want, and tap “Add to Chrome.”
You can also follow a similar route with Mozilla Firefox, which also supports extensions on mobile. An alternative is to use experimental desktop builds of Chrome for Android.
To use the alternative method, you can:
- Download the latest “chrome-android-desktop.zip” file from Google’s download page.
- Scroll down until you reach the highest number, then click it to find the “.zip” file.
- Extract the zip file and locate “ChromePublic.apk” inside the chrome-android-desktop > apks folder.
- Install the APK using Android’s Package Installer.
- Launch the app.
- If you’re on a phone, go to Settings > Developer Options > Smallest Width and change it to “600” so the Chrome Web Store recognizes your device as a desktop.
- Once the desktop Chrome is installed, you can navigate to the Chrome Web Store and install extensions directly.
The alternative may look like a Google Chrome trick for Android right now, but it also suggests that Google may have plans to introduce extension support later on.
FAQs
Why can’t I use extensions on Chrome mobile?
You can’t officially use extensions on Chrome mobile because Google hasn’t officially enabled extension support on Chrome for Android, yet. There are alternative methods that involve installing other browsers with extension support and installing a desktop variant of Chrome on Android devices; both are detailed above.
Most users hope that Google eventually introduces extension support to the Chrome app on mobile since extensions play a key role in power users’ browsing habits. These things can take time, though, much like how the shift toward app-based payment on Android became dominant slowly, but surely. This transition paved the way for easier payment solutions, which are currently present in the likes of Google Play betting apps.
Do Chrome extensions work in Android?
Chrome extensions don’t work on the official Chrome app on Android. However, they work in Chromium-based browsers such as Kiwi Browser and Yandex Browser, as well as in experimental Chrome desktop builds.
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