The best way to really see what extensions can do is to explore the extension store for your preferred browser. In the early days, extensions could access a lot of internal workings of browsers, but as security has tightened up, so have the abilities of extensions. The extent of what a browser extension can do is dependent on the browser. Similar to how third-party developers and the App Store exploded the popularity of apps on the iPhone, once developers were able to create extensions and distribute them in first-party web stores, they became very popular. Microsoft’s Edge browser also supports extensions, of course. Mozilla’s Firefox browser was the next to support extensions in 2004, followed by Opera in 2009, and finally, in 2010, by Google Chrome and Safari. For example, you could have an Explorer Bar that displayed a stock ticker. The first extensions on Internet Explorer were called “Explorer Bars.” They were simply specialized toolbars that could be added to the interface. However, it wasn’t until much later that extensions became the powerful tools that they are today. A Brief History of Browser Extensionsīrowser extensions go all the way back to 1999 with the fourth version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. A big part of that evolution was the introduction of “extensions.” They let you control how websites load and behave, and they can add extra features to your browser.
Browsers have evolved to become much more than simple internet navigators.
