NOT SUPPORTED ON MOBILE

Chrome Extensions Don't Work on Mobile

Android • iPhone • iPad • iPadOS

Google Chrome extensions are officially limited to desktop-class Chrome only — Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS. This is a platform-level restriction confirmed by Google, not a limitation of any individual extension.

What Google Says — Officially

This isn't a grey area. Google has explicitly confirmed in their own support community that Chrome extensions are desktop-only:

Google Product Community • Official Answer
"Chrome extensions is only supported for the Chrome desktop web browser. And not for iOS and Android."
support.google.com/chrome/thread/284855404 →
Google Chrome Web Store Help • Official Documentation
The Chrome Web Store Help article on installing and managing extensions describes only desktop platforms — there is no mention of mobile Chrome support anywhere in Google's official documentation.
support.google.com/chrome_webstore/answer/2664769 →
Google Chrome Community • Support Thread
"The mobile versions of Chrome on Android and iOS do not support extensions like the desktop version."
support.google.com/chrome/thread/330237608 →

Platform Support at a Glance

Platform Chrome Extensions Supported? Notes
Windows (desktop) YES Full support
macOS (desktop) YES Full support
Linux (desktop) YES Full support
ChromeOS YES Full support
Android (Chrome) NO Mobile Chrome does not implement the desktop extension API
Android (Kiwi / Yandex / Mises) PARTIAL Some third-party Chromium browsers add their own extension support — not all extensions work
iOS / iPadOS (Chrome) NO Apple requires WebKit; Chrome extensions use Blink. Engine mismatch + App Store rules = impossible
iOS / iPadOS (Orion browser) PARTIAL Orion adds experimental Chrome extension support on top of WebKit — compatibility varies

Why Android Chrome Doesn't Support Extensions

The mobile version of Google Chrome for Android is built on a stripped-down Chromium base that does not implement the Chrome Extension API. Extensions on desktop Chrome rely on a rich set of browser APIs (tabs, webRequest, storage, scripting, etc.) that simply do not exist in the Android build of Chrome.

As one technical guide puts it: "Chrome on Android doesn't support extensions the way its desktop version does — the mobile Chrome build does not implement the desktop extension API."

Android Workaround: Third-Party Chromium Browsers

Some third-party browsers on Android — such as Kiwi Browser, Yandex Browser, and Mises Browser — have implemented their own version of the Chrome extension API and can load extensions directly from the Chrome Web Store.

Note for Finmagine extension users: While these browsers may technically load our extensions, we have not tested them on Android and cannot guarantee correct functionality. Finmagine extensions are developed and tested exclusively on desktop Chrome.

Why iPhone & iPad (iOS/iPadOS) Don't Support Chrome Extensions

The reason iOS and iPadOS cannot support Chrome extensions goes deeper than just Google's choices — it is enforced by Apple at the operating system level:

1. Apple's WebKit Mandate

Apple's App Store rules require every browser on iOS/iPadOS — including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge — to use Apple's WebKit rendering engine. Chrome on desktop uses Google's Blink engine. Chrome extensions are built specifically for Blink and its APIs; they cannot run on WebKit.

2. iOS Sandboxing

iOS applies strict app sandboxing that prevents browser extensions from accessing other apps, modifying web page content with the same permissions as desktop, or running background scripts — all of which Chrome extensions depend on.

3. App Store Rules

Apple's App Store Review Guidelines explicitly restrict the kind of code execution that Chrome extensions require. As a result, Chrome for iOS cannot load or execute standard Chrome Web Store extensions.

iOS workaround: Apple does support Safari Extensions on iOS/iPadOS, available through the App Store. These are native iOS extensions built specifically for Safari — they are an entirely different format from Chrome extensions and are not interchangeable.

What This Means for Finmagine Extensions

Both the Finmagine AI Advisor and the Finmagine Financial Chart Builder are Chrome extensions. They work by reading the financial data on the page you're viewing (Screener.in, stockanalysis.com, Google Finance) and processing it locally in your browser. This requires the full Chrome extension API — available only on desktop.

To use either extension, you need a desktop or laptop running Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Opera (any Chromium-based desktop browser) on Windows, macOS, Linux, or ChromeOS.

References & Citations

All claims on this page are supported by the following primary sources: