A major Chrome rival on Android just got a huge extension boost

Google Chrome is undisputedly the most widely used web browser on both desktop and mobile devices. But if there’s one feature that makes the mobile version feel incomplete, it’s the lack of extension support. Since it is a highly requested feature, Google is working on bringing extension support to Chrome on Android, although we aren’t yet close to delivering it as a feature. Meanwhile, some other web browsers on Android already allow you to use extensions, and one of them is receiving a significant upgrade in this regard.

Since Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium (the framework that powers Chrome), it also supports Chrome extensions. Edge’s Android version has supported extensions for over a year, and the built-in extension store allows you to choose from a selection of 20-something pre-approved extensions. However, the browser is now getting a big boost, with Microsoft opening up the option to search for and install a much broader selection of extensions.

Microsoft appears to have recently added a flag in Edge on Android, allowing users to enable extension search within the browser, as recently pointed out by Reddit user hosseinfarnia. When this flag is enabled, a new search box appears on top of the extension store on Edge, where you can look up your favorite extensions, even if they aren’t immediately listed in the pre-curated list on Edge’s extension store.

The option to enable extension search on Edge is currently available only in the latest beta (version 143). The Redditor also anticipates it to be available in the upcoming stable release with the same version number, but there’s no way to be sure.

How to enable extension search on Microsoft Edge?

If you’re eager to use the extension search in Edge on Android, you must follow these simple steps:

1. Download Microsoft Edge Beta from the Play Store and set it up with your Microsoft account if you want to sync data from the stable version.
2. Type edge://flags or chrome://flags in the address bar and tap the Go button
3. On the page that appears, you will see a search bar. Type edge-extensions-search here.
4. Enable the flag and restart Edge as prompted.
5. Return to the Extensions option in Edge, where you will now see a search bar at the top of the store.

With this option, you can now simply search for any extension, and it should appear, provided it is listed on Microsoft’s store for desktop. Tap the Get button to install it, and you should be able to use it in Edge on Android.