WebUSB Extension for Firefox
Shares rank 55 of 70 browser extensions by recommenders
Adds WebUSB to Firefox so web apps can reach USB devices, safer for many than installing random executables. Critics fear the permission prompt would be ignored if it went mainstream.
Adds WebUSB to Firefox so web apps can reach USB devices, safer for many than installing random executables. Critics fear the permission prompt would be ignored if it went mainstream.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Safer than installing random executables
“For me, this is a better security posture than installing random win32 apps.”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “WebUSB Extension for Firefox” “it's genuinely better than downloading random executables from GitHub”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “WebUSB Extension for Firefox” Finally works in Firefox
“This is great. It makes printervention.app work on Firefox.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “WebUSB Extension for Firefox” “I'm glad that there's an option for Firefox at last.”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “WebUSB Extension for Firefox”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Risk may outweigh the benefit
“If it were used mainstream for some legitimate purpose, that permission dialog would get ignored, and it'd become a security risk.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “WebUSB Extension for Firefox” “A lot to lose, very little to gain?”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “WebUSB Extension for Firefox”
Other browser extensions people recommend
The four most recommended other browser extensions, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SponsorBlock | 137 | 4 | 97% | 13 | — | Approved |
| Firefox Multi-Account Containers | 76 | 13 | 85% | 10 | 7.5 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| NoScript | 61 | 11 | 85% | 12 | 10 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| Claude in Chrome | 53 | 42 | 56% | 9 | — | — |
| WebUSB Extension for FirefoxThis page | 6 | 3 | 67% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it's incredibly convenient compared with using QMK and ZMK directly”
“If it were used mainstream for some legitimate purpose, that permission dialog would get ignored, and it'd become a security risk.”
“that sounds like to much of a hassle for 90% of users”
“This is great. It makes printervention.app work on Firefox.”
“it's genuinely better than downloading random executables from GitHub”
“For me, this is a better security posture than installing random win32 apps.”
“I'm glad that there's an option for Firefox at last.”
“A lot to lose, very little to gain?”
“Looks to be a great proof of concept.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.