Browser Compatibility
Videochat Extension offers two modes:
- Website Mode: Works on all modern Chromium browsers (like Chrome, Edge, and Brave).
- Browser Mode: Supported in most Chromium-based browsers, but not in Google Chrome 139+ (Aug 2025).
99% of our users use Website Mode, but if you need Browser Mode - read below.
Which browsers support Browser Mode?
We have always recommended using a separate browser for Browser Mode, and we will continue to do so.
- Brave Browser gives the best Chrome-like experience with Videochat Extension.
- Microsoft Edge is preinstalled on all Windows PCs and works great (for now).
- Chrome for Testing is a special version of Google Chrome where Browser Mode still works.
Compatibility Table (work-in-progress)
| Browser | Recommended | Website Mode | Browser Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brave Browser | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Full support, privacy-focused |
| Microsoft Edge | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Full support, recommended browser |
| Google Chrome | 🟡 | ✅ | ❌ | Website Mode only, Browser Mode not supported |
| Chrome for Testing | 🟡 | ✅ | ✅ | Basically same as Chrome, but no auto-updates |
| Ecosia Browser | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Full support, privacy-focused with tree-planting |
| Opera | 🟡 | 🟡 | ❌ | Limited support, some interface modes not available |
| Vivaldi | 🟡 | 🟡 | ✅ | Partially recommended. Sidepanel UI mode is disabled. |
| Arc | ❌ | 🟡 | ✅ | Not recommended, development discontinued |
Browser Details
Brave Browser
Brave is our #1 recommended browser for Videochat Extension. It offers strong privacy protections, is frequently updated, and provides full support for both Website Mode and Browser Mode.
Download: https://brave.com/download/
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | ✅ | Fully recommended for all features. Best Chrome-like experience with enhanced privacy. |
| Website Mode | ✅ | Full compatibility with all interface modes. |
| Browser Mode | ✅ | Complete Browser Mode support. |
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is a great choice that comes preinstalled on Windows. It fully supports all Videochat Extension features. While it is possible that it will lose Browser Mode support in the future, it works great for now.
Edge is on par with Chrome; the only downside is that the side panel can't be repositioned to the left.
Download: https://www.microsoft.com/edge (preinstalled on Windows PCs)
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | ✅ | Fully recommended for all features. Preinstalled on Windows PCs. |
| Website Mode | ✅ | Full compatibility with all interface modes. |
| Browser Mode | ✅ | Complete Browser Mode support. |
Google Chrome
Google Chrome only supports Website Mode. Support for Browser Mode was removed in Chrome 139 (August 2025). We recommend using Brave or Microsoft Edge instead. If you must use a Google browser, Chrome for Testing still supports Browser Mode but does not auto-update.
Why did Google remove support for Browser Mode?
Browser Mode relies on a specialized developer feature in Chromium that allows extensions to access and modify the browser’s internal pages, provided this need is explicitly declared. Introduced in 2013, this capability was intended for advanced use cases, but in recent years it has been exploited by sophisticated malware campaigns to hijack search traffic from Google.
Instead of making sure that all extensions are safe, Chrome has decided to remove this capability from their branded browser, as they have a specialized developer-focused browser called Chrome for Testing. Browser Mode still works in most other major Chromium-based browsers, so you can still use Browser Mode in other browsers, and using it in a separate dedicated browser is much better from security perspective.
The primary attack vector for this particular campaigns was to compromize the computer and THEN install the malicious extension, not the other way around. So in reality the risks of using Browser Mode are not much higher than using any other extension, unless you have a computer with malware already present on it.
Download: https://www.google.com/chrome/
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | 🟡 | Partially recommended. Website Mode works, but Browser Mode is disabled. |
| Website Mode | ✅ | Full compatibility with all interface modes. |
| Browser Mode | ❌ | Disabled by Google's August 2025 changes. |
Chrome for Testing
Chrome for Testing is the only Google browser that supports Browser Mode, but it is not recommended for daily use.
It is a portable version of Chrome that never updates automatically, which can become a problem over time.
Functionally, Chrome for Testing is the same as regular Chrome, but it displays a "Chrome for Testing" notification. You can hide it by adding the --disable-infobars flag to the startup arguments (guide).
Download: https://googlechromelabs.github.io/chrome-for-testing/
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | 🟡 | Partially recommended due to lack of auto-updates. |
| Website Mode | ✅ | Full compatibility with all interface modes. |
| Browser Mode | ✅ | Complete Browser Mode support. |
Ecosia Browser
Ecosia is a privacy-focused browser that supports all Videochat Extension features. It is based on Chromium and uses its search revenue to plant trees.
Download: https://www.ecosia.org/browser
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | ✅ | Fully recommended for all features. |
| Website Mode | ✅ | Full compatibility with all interface modes. |
| Browser Mode | ✅ | Complete Browser Mode support. |
Chromium
Chromium is the open-source project that Google Chrome is based on. It supports all Videochat Extension features but is intended for developers. It does not auto-update and lacks some media codecs.
Download: https://chromium.woolyss.com/
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | 🟡 | Partially recommended. No auto-updates and no proprietary codecs. |
| Website Mode | ✅ | Full compatibility with all interface modes. |
| Browser Mode | ✅ | Complete Browser Mode support. |
Opera
Opera only partially supports Website Mode and does not support Browser Mode at all. Some interface features like the sidepanel and picture-in-picture are unavailable.
Heavily modified browsers like Opera often have unpredictable issues with extensions that push the limits of the WebExtensions API. They also tend to lag behind the latest Chromium releases.
Download: https://www.opera.com/download
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | 🟡 | Partially recommended. Limited UI mode support. |
| Website Mode | 🟡 | Partial support. Some UI modes (sidepanel, pip) not available. |
| Browser Mode | ❌ | Not supported. |
Vivaldi
We are big fans of Vivaldi. It is a customizable, innovative browser that supports both Website Mode and Browser Mode.
However, Vivaldi has its own custom version of side panels (called Web Panels), which it created before the feature was standardized in Chromium. This custom version has a very weird implementation of Chromium's Side Panel API. It is practically impossible to get it to work properly, but we hope that it will get improved in the future.
To ensure a smooth experience, we have disabled the sidepanel UI mode in Vivaldi. All other UI modes, such as opening in a new window or picture-in-picture, work perfectly. As sidepanel is broken, we recommend using a different browser.
Download: https://vivaldi.com/download/
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | 🟡 | Partially recommended due to disabled sidepanel UI. |
| Website Mode | 🟡 | Partial support. The sidepanel UI mode is disabled. |
| Browser Mode | ✅ | Complete Browser Mode support. |
Arc
Arc is a very unusual browser. While Browser Mode technically works, Arc falsely claims to support the Document Picture-in-Picture API and Sidepanel API. This causes significant confusion, so we do not recommend using this browser.
Compatibility is unlikely to improve, as the company behind Arc has moved on to other products.
Download: https://arc.net/
| Feature | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | ❌ | Not recommended due to unreliable UI mode support. |
| Website Mode | 🟡 | Partial and unreliable support for UI modes. |
| Browser Mode | ✅ | Complete Browser Mode support. |