Ultra Zoom vs. Hover Zoom Plus
Hover Zoom set the standard for image-zoom extensions, but its history with user data made many people walk away. Hover Zoom Plus picked up where it left off as a community fork — useful, but light on active development. Ultra Zoom is the modern alternative: same workflow, better Pro tier, and a privacy story those tools can’t match.
Why people are switching
- Zero telemetry by design. No analytics endpoint, no remote code, no server that sees your browsing. Read the architecture.
- Active development. New plugins and bug fixes ship every few weeks — you don’t have to hope a fork stays maintained.
- Manifest V3 native. Built for the current Chrome extension platform without the V3 trap that broke older hover-zoom forks.
- Real Pro tier. Power features (video controls, advanced gallery, history search, custom URL rules) are bundled in a transparent Stripe-managed plan with a 7-day free trial.
Feature parity at a glance
| Feature | Hover Zoom Plus | Ultra Zoom |
|---|---|---|
| Hover-to-zoom on every site | ✓ | ✓ |
| Site-specific plugins (Instagram, Amazon, etc.) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Theater mode (Z) | – | ✓ |
| Reverse image search shortcuts | – | ✓ |
| Gallery navigation | Partial | ✓ |
| On-device AI upscaling (Real-ESRGAN) | – | ✓ (Pro) |
| Video preview & playback controls | – | Preview free on Reddit & Imgur; controls (Pro) |
| Advanced gallery (filmstrip, slideshow, batch download) | – | ✓ (Pro) |
| Hover history | – | 50 free / 1,000 + search (Pro) |
| Manifest V3 native | Partial | ✓ |
| Active release cadence | Limited | Every few weeks |
| Zero telemetry guarantee | Unclear | ✓ |
Coming over from Hover Zoom Plus
- Install Ultra Zoom and disable Hover Zoom Plus — running both at once will conflict on the hover overlay.
- Open the popup and toggle the sites you want active. The default catalogue covers everything Hover Zoom Plus does, plus newer sources like Unsplash, Pexels, Wikimedia, Bilibili, and Avito.
- If you used the Hover Zoom Plus blacklist heavily, Ultra Zoom’s per-site toggle is one click away in the toolbar popup — same workflow.
Try it free
The core extension is free forever, with 34 built-in site plugins. Pro adds 18 more, with a 7-day free trial when you’re ready — see plans.