You’ve probably heard about “ad blockers,” “tab managers,” “anti-trackers” or any number of browser customization tools commonly known as extensions. And maybe you’re intrigued to try one, but you’ve never installed an extension before and the whole notion just seems a bit vague. 

Let’s demystify extensions. 

An extension is simply an app that runs on a browser like Firefox. From serious productivity and privacy enhancing features to fun stuff like changing the way the web looks and feels, extensions give you the power to completely personalize your browsing experience. 

Addons.mozilla.org (AMO) is a discovery site that hosts thousands of independently developed Firefox extensions. It’s a vast and eclectic ecosystem of features, so we’ve hand-picked a small collection of great extensions to get you started…

I’ve always wanted an ad blocker!

uBlock Origin

Works beautifully “right out of the box.” Just add it to Firefox and uBlock Origin will automatically start blocking all types of advertising — display ads, banners, video pre-rolls, pop-ups — you name it. 

Of course, if you prefer deeper content blocking customization, uBlock Origin allows for fine control as well, like the ability to import your own custom block filters or access a data display that shows how much of a web page was blocked by the extension. More than just an ad blocker, uBlock Origin also effectively thwarts some websites that may be infected with malware. 

For more insights about this excellent ad blocker, please see uBlock Origin — everything you need to know about the ad blocker, or to explore even more ad blocker options, check out What’s the best ad blocker for you?

I’m concerned about my privacy and tracking around the web

Privacy Badger

The flagship anti-tracking extension from privacy proponents at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Badger is programmed to look for tracking heuristics (i.e. specific actions that indicate someone is trying to track you).

Zero set up required. Just install Privacy Badger and it will automatically search for third-party cookies, HTML5 local storage “supercookies,” canvas fingerprinting, and other sneaky tracking methods.

Consent-O-Matic

Not only will Consent-O-Matic automatically handle pop-up data consent forms (per GDPR regulations), but it’s brilliantly designed to interpret the often intentionally confusing language of consent pop-ups trying to trick you into agreeing to invasive tracking.

Developed by internet privacy researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark who grew sick of seeing so many deceptive consent pop-ups, Consent-O-Matic’s decision-making logic is built upon studying hundreds of pop-ups and identifying duplicitous patterns. So using this extension not only gives you a great ally in the fight against intrusive tracking, but you’re spared the annoyance of constantly clicking consent forms all over the internet.

I need an easier way to translate languages

Simple Translate

Do you do a lot of language translations on the web? If so, it’s a hassle always copying text and navigating away from the page you’re on just to translate a word or phrase. Simple Translate solves this problem by giving you the power to perform translations right there on the page. 

Just highlight the text you want translated and right-click to get instant translations in a handy pop-up display, so you never have to leave the page again. 

My grammar in speling is bad!

LanguageTool

Anywhere you write on the web, LanguageTool will be there to lend a guiding editorial hand. It helps fix typos, grammar problems, and even recognizes common word mix-ups like the there/their/they’re. 

Available in 25 languages, LanguageTool automatically works on any web-based publishing platform like Gmail, web docs, social media sites, etc. The clever extension will even spot words you’re possibly overusing and suggest alternatives to spruce up your prose. 

YouTube your way

Improve YouTube!

Boasting 175+ customization features, Improve YouTube! is simple to grasp while providing a huge variety of ways to radically alter YouTube functionality. 

Key features include… 

• Customize YouTube’s layout with different color schemes
• Create shortcuts for common actions like skipping to next video, scrolling back/forward 10 seconds, volume control & more
• Filter out unwanted elements like Related Videos, Shorts, Comments, etc.
• Ad blocking (with ability to allow ads from channels you choose to support)
• Simple screenshot and save features
• Playlist shuffle
• Frame by frame scrolling
• High-def default video quality

I’m drowning in browser tabs! Send help! 

OneTab

You’ve got an overwhelming number of open tabs. You can’t close them. You need them. But you can’t organize them all right now either. You’re too busy. What to do?! 

If you have OneTab on Firefox you just click the toolbar button and suddenly all those open tabs become a clean list of text links listed on a single page. Ahhh serenity.

Not only will you create browser breathing room for yourself, but with all those previously open tabs now closed and converted to text links, you’ve also freed up a bunch of CPU and memory, which should improve browser speed and performance. 

If you’ve never installed a browser extension before, we hope you found something here that piques your interest to try. To continue exploring ways to personalize Firefox through the power of extensions, please see our collection of 100+ Recommended Extensions.