Andy Walker / Android Authority
As a committed Mozilla Firefox user on desktop and Android, I consistently install several extensions on my devices. uBlock Origin has a firm place on this list. This beloved content-blocking extension is like a digital pressure washer, blasting away content I don’t want to see from the web pages I visit. Despite its usefulness, it’s not the first browser extension I install on my personal device. That honor goes to one that packs the utility and extendibility of dozens of other extensions: a userscript manager called Violentmonkey.
For the uninitiated, userscripts are small snippets of code, usually JavaScript, that can modify the functionality or appearance of a web page. I’ll admit that sounds pretty vague, but it’s deliberately so. These scripts can accomplish a multitude of tasks, affect every site or specific pages, impact certain types of content, add or remove features, and even automate mundane tasks you encounter while browsing the web. I’ll run through a brief list of my favorite userscripts a little later, but for the purposes of this article, know that you can’t just install userscripts directly to your browser — you need a userscript manager to handle them. This is where Violentmonkey comes in.
Do you use userscripts on your web browser? 19 votes Yes, I use them on mobile and desktop. 21 % Yes, but only on my desktop browser. 32 % I used to use them but no longer have the need. 21 % No, I've never used userscripts before. 26 %
Why Violentmonkey is the best userscript manager
Andy Walker / Android Authority
There are plenty of userscript managers available for Firefox, Google Chrome on desktop, Microsoft Edge, and other browsers that support extensions. I previously used Tampermonkey but switched to Violentmonkey because it’s open source and transparent. Considering the nature of userscripts, this aspect is pretty important to me. Violentmonkey also makes finding scripts, installing them, and subsequent management a breeze.
Using it on a fully-fledged desktop browser, you wouldn’t think its design would translate well to the smaller Android screen, but it does. There are options to access popular userscript management sites like Greasyfork and OpenUserJS, inspect installed scripts and make edits, choose execution methods, enable or disable individual scripts, view their developers’ home pages, and much more. All this fits neatly on a mobile screen, making navigation clear and intuitive.
So, how do you use userscripts? First, you’ll need a browser that supports extensions — for me, that’s Firefox. Next, install Violentmonkey. From here, you can jump into the world of userscripts directly through the extension itself.
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a favorite source in Google Discover to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more.
... continue reading