Here’s Why Safari Is Missing Your Favorite Extensions

One of the standout features of web browsers we’ve travel to trust connected is extensions. If you usage Safari connected your Mac, you whitethorn person noticed the hold scenery connected Apple's browser looks a small sparse compared to its rivals, and determination are immoderate beauteous circumstantial reasons for that.

Apple Makes It Difficult

If you’ve ever downloaded extensions for Chrome, Firefox, oregon adjacent Microsoft Edge, you cognize it’s usually a beauteous seamless process. You caput to their respective web stores, find what you need, and with a click oregon two, it’s acceptable to usage successful your browser. Apple takes a overmuch antithetic attack with Safari, and that quality creates important hurdles for developers.

For starters, if a developer wants to connection a Safari extension, they're required to physique it utilizing Xcode, Apple’s improvement environment. This instantly adds a furniture of complexity that isn't contiguous with different browsers, which often let for hold improvement utilizing much wide adopted web technologies.

But the gatekeeping doesn't halt there. Once an hold is developed, it has to spell done Apple’s App Store submission process. This isn't conscionable a elemental upload similar connected immoderate different platforms. It involves adhering to Apple's guidelines and waiting for their review. On apical of that, developers request to person a paid Apple Developer Program membership, which costs $99 per year. This yearly interest tin beryllium a important deterrent, particularly for smaller developers oregon those who mightiness connection escaped oregon niche extensions.

These roadblocks simply don't beryllium for the immense bulk of extensions connected different fashionable browsers. The unfastened quality of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge’s hold ecosystems allows much developers to participate, starring to a overmuch wider enactment for radical who usage them.

Safari Works Differently

Beyond the App Store requirement, the cardinal mode Safari handles extensions besides plays a relation successful the smaller library. The APIs that let extensions to interact with the browser are antithetic successful Safari compared to Chromium-based browsers (like Chrome and Edge) and Firefox.

Certain functionalities that are disposable successful different browsers either don't beryllium successful Safari's hold API oregon enactment successful a importantly antithetic and often much constricted way. This tin marque it difficult, oregon adjacent impossible, for developers to bring implicit each the features of their existing extensions to Safari. Raymond Hill, the developer down the fashionable advertisement blocker uBlock Origin, stopped supporting Safari, and it's not wide if it volition ever travel back.

An hold that profoundly modifies a webpage's contented oregon behaviour mightiness trust connected circumstantial APIs successful Chrome oregon Firefox that person nary nonstop equivalent successful Safari. This means developers mightiness person to marque important compromises or, arsenic Hill did, determine that it's not worthy the effort to effort and replicate the functionality connected Apple's browser. This is wherefore immoderate of your go-to extensions simply aren't disposable erstwhile you're utilizing Safari.

---

The hoops developers person to leap done to get their extensions onto your Mac's Safari browser are considerably higher than with Chrome oregon Firefox. Requiring the usage of Xcode, navigating the App Store submission process, and shelling retired for a yearly developer interest make barriers that galore simply take not to woody with.

Ultimately, the sparser hold scenery connected Safari boils down to Apple's chiseled philosophy. While different browsers clasp a much unfastened ecosystem, starring to a wider enactment of tools astatine your fingertips, Safari prioritizes tighter power implicit what gets integrated. This means you mightiness miss retired connected immoderate of the fashionable extensions disposable elsewhere, but you tin apt number connected a much accordant and unafraid browsing experience.