Google may be moving to tighten security of the Chrome web browser for Windows and Mac by making it tougher for users to install third-party extensions from sources other than the Chrome Web Store. But at least you can install extensions on those platforms.

Chrome for Android doesn’t support extensions at all… and there’s a decent change it never will.

chrome android

During an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit this week, members of the Chrome for Android development team said there are “no plans to add extension support on mobile” because the team hasn’t “been able to implement these on mobile and still have it be a good user experience.”

That’s not shocking, since Chrome for mobile devices can be a bit of a resource hog even without extensions. But it’s a disappointing answer, since extensions can add features that dramatically improve (or at least change) the behavior of a web browser.

One of the main reasons I use Firefox instead of Chrome on my smartphone is that Firefox supports a LastPass manager add-on, allowing me to securely login to hundreds of websites using the same tool I use on Chrome or Firefox on desktop and notebook computers. While the standalone LastPass app for Android offers a way to sort of work with Chrome through Android’s accessibility features, the experience isn’t as smooth as it is in Firefox.

At this point it’s not impossible that Chrome for Android could eventually add support for extensions. Much of the code for the Android app is shared with the desktop version of Chrome. But it sounds like it’s not a priority for the mobile team at this point.

via OMG Chrome

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7 replies on “Google Chrome for Android: No plans for extension support”

  3. Yeah, too bad, I’d install an adblock on that too. Google ads are the most annoying things on a phone, and also the most dangerous thing too, spam, spyware and mobile viruses thrive without Google doing anything (or at least not nearly enough) to prevent them. Any free program that has an ad-bar will tempt the users to install fake anti-virus apps and other crap that will actually do plenty of harm to their phone and possibly their wallet. As much as I hate Apple’s walled garden philosophy, this is one big point for iOS. For those, who have a rooted Android phone, you can install AdAway and be done with the ads on your phone altogether, browser and in-app ads too.

    1. I still use FF, but I find that it’s getting slower and slower with each release (I have 3 plugins running). Chrome is way faster.

  6. I use Chrome everyday and I’m happy with it.

    I don’t like Firefox, sorry Brad. 😉

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