How to install and use Google Chrome extensions on Android phones
For years, there has been a clear difference between the Google Chrome mobile app and the Google Chrome desktop app. The latter was a fast, powerful browser that could be enhanced with a wealth of add-ons, while the former was just a fast mobile browser with not many options.
But let me tell you that all that has changed now. Android phone users can now install and run Google Chrome extensions on their phone without any problems, including Dark Reader to enable dark mode on all sites, HTTPS Everywhere and many other important extensions that are very popular among Chrome users on the computer.
Unfortunately, you still can't use these extensions in the default Chrome browser that comes pre-installed on Android phones - you'll have to download another browser called Kiwi Browser, which is built on Chromium and lets you use Chrome extensions on Android phones. Here's how.
Kiwi Browser is a new browser that brings with it many useful features and properties for Android smartphone users. Other than being built on the Chromium kernel and its fast performance, you will discover something as you use this browser that will attract you to use it and adopt it as your default favorite browser. Perhaps because of the night mode that you can activate to cover the browser interface in deep black, which results in saving battery life if your phone has an OLED or AMOLED screen.
Maybe because of the faster loading of websites and the option to browse without ads, there are many reasons really but perhaps the most important of all is the ability to install and use Google Chrome extensions. Below we will explain exactly how to do that.
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Once you have installed and launched Kiwi Browser on your Android phone, type “chrome://extensions” in the address bar and press Enter to go to the Extensions management page. Alternatively, you can tap on the menu button at the top right after launching the browser and then tap on the “Extensions” option from the menu.
Generally, on the extension management page, click on the name "Google" which in turn will search on the Google search engine for the Chrome extension store, then click on the first search result to display the Chrome Web Store page. Or you can go to the following link once you start the browser:
chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions
Type in the search field the name of the extension you want to install and use on your phone, in case you do not find it on the main page of the extension store. Once you enter the extension review page, click on the " Add to Chrome " button and a pop-up window will appear asking you if you want to install this extension, click OK to confirm your choice.
The add-on will then be available for immediate use, and you can access it from the options menu below - as shown in the image above - to control the add-on settings.
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Once you have installed one or more extensions, you can go from the Options menu to the Extensions page to manage them. There you will see all the extensions you have added.
Also on this page, you can disable any add-on, explore the settings of an add-on, or uninstall it from your device. You can enable Developer mode at the top to see additional options such as uploading a zip file to install an add-on manually, or updating installed add-ons.
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