[nitrogen]

Whatever you would use a browser extension to do now, there was probably a standalone application to do the same thing before.

The original vision of the web didn't just have "sites with servers" and "consumers with browsers", but rather tons of potential independent "User-Agents" that would perform tasks on behalf of people. The consolidation of the web into just browsers, and subsequent flipflopping between creation and destruction (similar to the EEE cycle MS has employed), has killed whatever of that vision might have flourished.

[duskwuff]

> Whatever you would use a browser extension to do now, there was probably a standalone application to do the same thing before.

I don't buy that argument. While I can't speak for all users, most of the extensions I use are ones which modify the behavior of the web browser or of specific web pages. They wouldn't have any meaning outside the context of a web browser.

Maybe paid extensions represented part of a different ecosystem? If so, though, it's one I never really encountered a need for.

[bawolff]

The last browser extension i used that was basically an app was chatzilla for firefox, and that was a long time ago. I can't even think of an extension that would make sense as an independent app, let alone one i would pay for.

[therealx]

People pay for 2fa and password management. Granted the model of payment for those is usually shifted, but there could have been a sold product on the store. I would pay for the Adblockers I use, but just donate instead (when possible.) I could see a lot of b2b companies selling their extensions.

Edit: I have maybe 20 extensions installed in general. Everything to killing websites ability to affect my ability to copy/paste to transcoders.