Safari web users will no longer have to worry about falling behind Chrome and Firefox after Apple revealed a major update to its web browser.
After mentioning a number of native extensions as part of the macOS 11 Big Sur reveal earlier this week, Apple has said it will add support for porting web extensions from other platforms.
The company says this move will allow developers to port an existing Chrome, Firefox, or Edge extension “with very little effort” in Safari, which has lagged behind its rivals when it comes to useful plugins.
Safari extensions
The news was revealed in a WWDC session that describes exactly what the new Safari web extensions can provide users.
Safari users currently don’t have much to choose from when it comes to extensions and plug-ins, with just a few sharing and locking options currently available on iOS or macOS.
However, the new platform opens developers up so they can use the likes of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS in Safari.
All new offerings will need to be sent to the app store as Safari extensions will still need to be an Xcode project bundled with a native app to download, although this app won’t even have to do anything.
Users will receive a warning alert when they use an extension for the first time, and Safari will also display alerts if an extension tries to access all of a user’s browsing data.
Apple says it will soon launch an extension converter to help developers transfer their extensions simply and quickly. This converter will be able to detect any regulatory or compatibility problem, and whether it should limit the scope of an extension to particular websites, or for a certain period of time.
Via TechCrunch
