Ultra Zoom vs. Mage
Mage is one of many Hover Zoom forks that picked up users after the original Hover Zoom privacy scandal. The fork tree is messy, releases are sporadic, and Manifest V3 is putting pressure on every legacy hover-zoom extension. Ultra Zoom is the modern alternative: same workflow, current platform, real company behind it.
Why people are switching
- Active development. Releases every few weeks with new site plugins — not the long silences typical of single-author forks.
- Manifest V3 native. Built for the current Chrome extension platform without the V3 trap.
- Zero telemetry by design. No analytics endpoint, no remote code, no server that sees your browsing. Read the architecture.
- Real Pro tier. Power features (AI upscaling, video controls, advanced gallery, hover history search) under a transparent Stripe-managed plan with a 7-day free trial.
Feature parity at a glance
| Feature | Mage | Ultra Zoom |
|---|---|---|
| Hover-to-zoom on every site | ✓ | ✓ |
| Site-specific plugins | Partial | ✓ |
| Theater mode (Z) | – | ✓ |
| Reverse image search shortcuts | – | ✓ |
| On-device AI upscaling | – | ✓ (Pro) |
| Video preview & playback controls | – | Preview free on Reddit & Imgur; controls (Pro) |
| Hover history | – | 50 free / 1,000 + search (Pro) |
| Manifest V3 native | Partial | ✓ |
| Active release cadence | Sporadic | Every few weeks |
| Zero telemetry guarantee | Unclear | ✓ |
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.