How to Add an Extension to Safari

Yes, Safari has extensions, and you add them from the App Store. On a Mac you install one and then tick it in Safari's settings. On an iPhone or iPad you install an app from the App Store and then switch its extension on in the Settings app. That second step is the one most people miss, which is why an extension can look like it never installed.

Here is the whole process for both, and what to check when an extension does not appear.

Does Safari have extensions?

It does. Safari supports the same kind of web extensions that Chrome, Edge and Firefox use, and they run on Mac, iPhone and iPad.

What you need:

• Mac: Safari 14 or later.
• iPhone and iPad: iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 or later. Extensions arrived on the phone and tablet in 2021, so anything older will not have the option.

One thing to know before you start: a Safari extension is never a standalone download. Every extension is wrapped inside an app. You install the app, and the app hands the extension to Safari. Safari then waits for you to turn it on. Nothing happens until you do.

Where is the Safari extension store?

There is no separate Safari extension store. Safari extensions live in the App Store, in a category called Safari Extensions.

Three ways to get there:

• On a Mac: Safari menu, then Settings, then the Extensions tab, then the More Extensions button. The App Store opens on the Safari Extensions page.
• On an iPhone or iPad: Settings app, then Safari, then Extensions, then More Extensions.
• Either device: open the App Store and search for the extension by name.

Some extensions never show up in that category because they ship inside a larger app, such as a password manager or a note taking app. Install the app and its extension appears in Safari's extension list alongside the rest.

How to add an extension to Safari on a Mac

1. Open Safari.
2. In the menu bar, choose Safari, then Settings. On macOS 12 Monterey and earlier this is called Preferences. The keyboard shortcut is Command and comma.
3. Click the Extensions tab.
4. Click More Extensions at the bottom of the window. The App Store opens on the Safari Extensions page.
5. Pick an extension and click Get, or the price if it is a paid one, then Install. You may be asked for your Apple Account password or Touch ID.
6. Go back to Safari, then Settings, then Extensions. The new extension is now in the list on the left.
7. Tick the checkbox next to its name. This is the step that turns it on.

How to turn on a Safari extension on a Mac

Ticking the box is half of it. Safari also asks which websites the extension is allowed to read, and an extension with no permission does nothing at all.

Select the extension in Safari, then Settings, then Extensions, and set its website permission. Always Allow on Every Website is what most extensions need to work everywhere. If you pick a narrower option, the extension will look broken on every site you did not approve. You can also set this from the page itself: click the extension's button in the toolbar and Safari offers the permission choices for the site you are on.

Two more settings on that same screen are worth a look:

• Allow in Private Browsing is off by default. Tick it if you want the extension to work in private windows.
• If you cannot see the extension's button in the toolbar, choose View, then Customize Toolbar, and drag the button up into place.

How to add an extension to Safari on iPhone and iPad

This route works differently from the Mac, and it is where most people get stuck. You install an app from the App Store, then enable its extension in the Settings app.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap Safari. On iOS 18 and later, Safari sits under Apps, so the path is Settings, then Apps, then Safari.
3. Tap Extensions.
4. Tap More Extensions. The App Store opens on the Safari Extensions page.
5. Tap Get, or the price, and install it like any other app.
6. Go back to Settings, then Safari, then Extensions. The extension is now in the list.
7. Tap its name and turn the switch on. On some versions the switch sits in the list itself.
8. Set its permissions on the same screen. Setting All Websites to Allow lets it work on every site. Ask means you are prompted the first time you visit each new site.

If you already installed the app from the App Store, start at step 6. The extension is on your device already, waiting to be switched on.

How to use an extension in Safari on iPhone and iPad

Open Safari and go to any page. Tap the page settings button at the side of the address bar. It is marked aA, and on iPad it can show as a puzzle piece instead. Your enabled extensions are listed in that menu, and tapping one runs it on the page you are reading. Manage Extensions in the same menu is a shortcut back to the on and off switches.

Why your extension is not showing

Work down this list. The first two account for most cases.

1. It is installed but not switched on. On a Mac, Safari, Settings, Extensions, tick the box. On an iPhone or iPad, Settings, Safari, Extensions, tap it, turn the switch on.
2. It has no permission for the site. The extension is on, but it does nothing on the page. Set it to allow on every website.
3. Safari was open while you installed. Quit Safari fully (Command and Q on a Mac) and open it again.
4. The toolbar button is hidden on a Mac. View, then Customize Toolbar, then drag the button in.
5. You are in Private Browsing. Extensions stay off in private windows until you allow them.
6. You use Safari profiles. Extensions are switched on per profile, so one you enabled in Personal can be off in Work.
7. The app was deleted. Deleting the app removes its extension, and the extension disappears from the list with it.
8. The device is managed by a school or workplace. A configuration profile can block extensions. The switch is greyed out and will not move, and no amount of reinstalling fixes it. Ask whoever manages the device.
9. Safari is too old. Update on a Mac in System Settings, then General, then Software Update. On an iPhone or iPad, Settings, then General, then Software Update.

If none of that helps, contact the people who make the extension. They can see version and crash details that you cannot.

How to turn off or remove a Safari extension

On a Mac: Safari, Settings, Extensions, then untick the box to turn it off. To remove it for good, click Uninstall. Safari shows you the app that contains the extension in the Finder, and moving that app to the Trash removes the extension too.

On an iPhone or iPad: Settings, Safari, Extensions, tap the extension, and turn the switch off. To remove it, delete its app from the Home Screen or App Library.

One extension worth a look: Helperbird

If you are here because you want Safari to be easier to read, this is the extension we make, so treat it as a recommendation with an interest in it.

Helperbird adds over 40 reading and writing features to any web page: dyslexia fonts including OpenDyslexic, text to speech, a reading mode that strips ads and sidebars, color overlays and a reading ruler. The free version needs no account. Pro is a paid tier.

It installs the way this article describes, from a single App Store listing that covers Mac, iPad and iPhone, and you switch it on in Safari the same way as any other extension.

• Helperbird for Safari on Mac
• Helperbird for iPad and iPhone