Ultra Zoom vs. Imagus
If you came up with Imagus, you already know what you want from a hover-zoom tool: sieve rules, full-resolution previews, gallery navigation, theater mode. Ultra Zoom keeps the workflow and adds something Imagus stopped offering: zero telemetry, an actively maintained release cadence, and a clear company behind it.
Why people are switching
- Active development. Ultra Zoom ships releases every few weeks, with new site plugins added on each one. The Imagus catalogue depends almost entirely on the community sieve.
- Modern browser support. Native Manifest V3 builds for Chrome, Edge, Brave, and a current Firefox add-on — without the V3 traps that broke older zoom tools.
- Zero telemetry, on purpose. No analytics endpoint, no remote code, no server that sees your browsing. Read the architecture.
- One-tab Pro upgrade. If you want power features (advanced gallery, video controls, history search), they’re a managed Stripe subscription — no opaque license server.
Feature parity at a glance
| Feature | Imagus | Ultra Zoom |
|---|---|---|
| Hover-to-zoom on every site | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sieve / custom URL rules | ✓ | ✓ (Pro) |
| Theater mode (Z) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reverse image search shortcuts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gallery navigation | ✓ | ✓ |
| On-device AI upscaling (Real-ESRGAN) | – | ✓ (Pro) |
| Video preview & playback controls | ✓ | Preview free on Reddit & Imgur; controls (Pro) |
| Hover history | Local only | 50 free / 1,000 + search (Pro) |
| Manifest V3 native | Partial | ✓ |
| Active release cadence | Slowed | Every few weeks |
| Zero telemetry guarantee | Unclear | ✓ |
| Open billing & account portal | – | Stripe-managed |
Coming over from Imagus
The default Ultra Zoom configuration covers most of the hosts Imagus power users rely on. Three quick tips:
- Install Ultra Zoom and disable Imagus — running both at once will fight for the hover overlay.
- There is nothing to switch on: generic hover-zoom works on every site by default, and the popup’s Exclude this site toggle turns it off where you don’t want it.
- If you wrote your own sieve entries, the Pro plan ships with custom URL rule support so you can port them.
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.