The transition to working from home during the pandemic has dramatically changed the way we use technology, with the browser becoming one of the most important tools for remote work.

Now that we’ve reached the two-year milestone of the start of the pandemic, Mozilla has released a new blog post taking a closer look at which browser extensions were most downloaded and used during the early days of the lockdown in Firefox.

As meetings went virtual with employees relying on video conferencing software like Zoom to connect with their teams, the Zoom Scheduler browser extension saw a 1,522% increase in installs. Indeed, it integrates Google Calendar with Zoom so that users can schedule or start their Zoom meetings directly from their calendar.

As remote workers also spent more time viewing their work from home screens, the Dark Background and Light Text extension, which inverts the colors of web pages to make them more visible, saw an increase. 351% of facilities at the start of the pandemic. Similarly, the Tree Style Tab extension also saw a 126% increase in downloads, as it can help users manage tab overload by opening browser tabs in a cascading “tree” format similar to vertical tabs. of Microsoft Edge.

Protecting our privacy and having fun

Cybercrime became widespread at the start of the pandemic. In addition to using VPN and anti-virus software when working remotely, Firefox users have also started installing privacy extensions for their browsers.

Cookie AutoDelete, which removes unused cookies each time you close a tab in Firefox, saw its install count skyrocket by 386% and the browser extension also averaged more than 206,000 installs per month between March and May 2020.

As remote workers used Facebook’s social media platform to stay connected during lockdown, Mozilla’s Facebook container was another popular browser extension. This extension isolates your Facebook identity in a separate “container” so that the social media giant cannot track your movements across the web.

Blocking trackers was also important for those working from home during the pandemic, which is why the Privacy Badger browser extension saw installs increase by 80% globally. One cool thing about this browser extension is that it blocks trackers better the more you use it, because Privacy Badger “learns” more about the hidden trackers you naturally come across online.

When it came to entertainment during lockdown, Firefox users installed the BetterTTV browser extension to change the look of Twitch, the Watch2gether extension to host parties with friends and colleagues online and YouTube Non-Stop to Fix Video Problem. platform boring “Video paused. Continue watching?” prompt.

No matter what browser you’re currently using, browser extensions can help improve your online experience and make the software and services you depend on while working from home even more useful.