Best Hover Zoom alternatives in 2026
Hover Zoom was the original. Then it got caught selling browsing data, and the community fragmented into a dozen forks. Here’s an honest ranking of every Hover Zoom alternative still worth installing — by privacy story, active maintenance, Manifest V3 readiness, and feature parity.
The shortlist
- Ultra Zoom — actively maintained, MV3-native on Chrome and a current Firefox add-on, zero telemetry by design, on-device AI upscaling, video preview controls. Free core, optional Pro tier with 7-day trial. ultrazoom.app
- Imagus — the sieve-rule classic. Massive community sieve, but development pace varies and Manifest V3 has been a struggle. Full comparison.
- Hover Zoom Plus — the most-installed community fork. Useful, light on active development. Full comparison.
- Thumbnail Zoom Plus — a Firefox classic that broke when legacy add-ons retired. Some forks remain, mostly dormant. Full comparison.
- Mage and other Hover Zoom forks — sporadic releases, single maintainer, partial MV3. Full comparison.
How we ranked them
- Privacy story. Does the extension phone home? Is there a documented architecture? Has it ever been caught logging user data?
- Active maintenance. Last release date, commit cadence, whether issues get answered.
- Manifest V3 readiness. Native MV3 build, or running on borrowed time?
- Feature parity. Hover preview, gallery navigation, theater mode, reverse image search, custom URL rules.
- Browser coverage. Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, Firefox.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Ultra Zoom | Imagus | Hover Zoom Plus | Thumbnail Zoom Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active development | Every few weeks | Variable | Limited | Dormant |
| Manifest V3 native | ✓ | Partial | Partial | – |
| Firefox support | ✓ | ✓ | – | Legacy only |
| Zero telemetry guarantee | ✓ | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear |
| Theater mode | ✓ | ✓ | – | – |
| Reverse image search | ✓ | ✓ | – | Partial |
| On-device AI upscaling | ✓ (Pro) | – | – | – |
| Video preview controls | ✓ (Pro) | – | – | – |
Our recommendation
If you want a Hover Zoom replacement that’s still being shipped in 2026, has a documented zero-knowledge architecture, supports current Manifest V3 on Chrome and a signed Firefox add-on, and has a real company behind the Pro tier — install Ultra Zoom. If you have a heavy custom Imagus sieve and don’t mind the development pace, Imagus is still a credible choice; Ultra Zoom supports custom URL rules in its Pro tier for migrating sieves over.