Android: With this browser you can already use your Chrome extensions on your smartphone

With the Chrome extensions All users have the opportunity to expand the browser’s range of functions in many directions and adapt it as far as possible to their own needs. However, Google has so far only supported these extensions on the desktop and has never seriously worked on a mobile version for a long time. If you are willing to use an alternative browser that is very similar to Chrome, you can already use it on your smartphone.

Google brought the extensions to the Chrome browser quite early on and created a real ecosystem with the Chrome Web Store that can also synchronize and update the extensions across platforms. However, the Android version of the browser is still left out and does not offer the option to install or use the browser extensions. There are various reasons for this, which could easily be solved by Google – you just don’t want to. Behind closed doors, one can probably say that the ad blockers are a major reason for this.

If you still want to use Chrome extensions on Android, you should also look left or right and you will find some solutions. Since all Chromium browsers are built on the same foundation, browser extension support for the alternative browsers is not a big deal. The Kiwi browser is a popular Chromium offshoot and has supported Chrome extensions since last year. In addition, the browser is very much based on Google Chrome and can be used immediately and intuitively by every Chrome user. It also feels like it’s a little bit faster.

Chrome extensions can be installed directly from the Chrome Web Store or through a manually integrated CRX file and then used as usual in most cases. The extensions can be found in the Chrome menu, just like on the desktop (see the following screenshots).

Chrome extensions for the Android Kiwi browser

To install an extension, you simply have to select “Extensions” from the Kiwi menu and from there you will be taken to the list of all extensions and the link in the Chrome Web Store. Basically, ALL extensions are available and can be easily installed in the Kiwi Browser. However, it must also be said that due to Google’s previous blocking, no extension is really optimized for smartphones or mobile use. The changed integration into the interface also causes problems for the extensions.

You won’t be able to have a perfect extension experience with the Kiwi Browser, but the more apps and browsers that support mobile extensions, the more developers will probably adapt their projects. At the same time, of course, pressure is building on Google to one day bring the extensions to the Chrome browser for Android. In fact, Google is currently pursuing a project to bring browser extensions to a new Android version of Chrome. However, it could still be a long time before a possible release.