It’s been a year and a half since Apple added Safari extension support to iOS and iPadOS, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how popular they are. If you’ve never used one, a Safari extension is a tool that adds functionality to the web browser on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. They’re really cool.

I recently revamped my approach to Safari extensions, removing a few that I didn’t find useful anymore and taking on a couple that I thought might make my browsing experience better. Here are the Safari extensions I’m using right now:

Mapper: I use Apple Maps for navigating, but most address links online send you to Google Maps. Rather than copying and pasting addresses from the web, I use Mapper. It automatically redirects any Google Maps links to Apple Maps. This extension alone has saved me so much time and so many headaches. ($2 one-time purchase.)
Vinegar: I enjoy watching YouTube videos, but I don’t love YouTube’s video player. Vinegar automatically replaces YouTube’s player with the standard Apple video player, which I find easier to use. I’ve been using this extension ever since it came out, and I can’t imagine watching videos online without it. ($2 one-time purchase.)
Baking Soda: What Vinegar does for YouTube, Baking Soda does for other videos you come across in Safari. I love the ability to watch any video online in the standard Apple video player. ($2 one-time purchase, or available in a bundle with Vinegar for $3.)
Noir: Some website offer a special dark mode to match your device’s display settings. For everything else, there’s Noir. It will detect when your device is in dark mode and automatically darken the websites you visit if they don’t have a dark theme of their own. ($3 one-time purchase on iPhone and iPad; separate $3 one-time purchase on Mac.)
1Blocker: I don’t have an issue with online ads per se. Everyone has to pay their bills. But some websites have gotten out of control with overwhelming, intrusive ads that keep me from enjoying the content. 1Blocker removes the ads on those sites while enabling me to allow them on the websites I know are respectful and just trying to keep offering good content. (Free ad-blocking; $15/year to unlock other features like blocking web and app trackers.)
Banish: Banish blocks those annoying “Open in App” banners on websites like Reddit and Google Docs. Sometimes I just want to use the web! ($3 one-time purchase.)
Hush: This is the latest addition to my collection, and it’s working great so far. Hush blocks cookie notice on websites so you don’t have to click the “Accept” button every time you shop online or read the news. (Free.)
Web Inspector: There isn’t a built-in webpage inspector in Safari on iPhone and iPad, but that’s okay because Web Inspector fulfills that need nicely. I like this one because it includes the ability to search a page’s code for specific text, which makes it easy for me to find exactly what I need. (Free.)
Amplosion: Have you ever clicked on a news article in Google results and been taken to a weird, Google-ified version of the page rather than the actual website? I haven’t for a long time, thanks to Amplosion. It redirects you away from AMP pages to the real sites you’re trying to access. ($2 one-time purchase.)

Most of these extensions are available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. And last year, Apple added the ability to sync extensions across devices, making it easy for me to have a consistent Safari experience no matter what I’m using.

These tools have made web browsing a lot nicer for me. I’m glad that Apple added this extensibility to Safari, and I’m endlessly grateful to the developers who took the time to make these great tools.

Do any of these Safari extensions interest you? I’d love to know if you decide to try any on my list. And if I’m missing out on a good one, please let me know. Thanks for reading!