Merlin
Always active Window (Always Visible)

Always active Window (Always Visible)

Pretend that all browser windows are active by spoofing the visibility state event

What is Always active Window (Always Visible)?
'Always Active Window (Always Visible)' is a Firefox extension aimed at safeguarding user privacy by creating an illusion that your browser window is always active. The add-on suppresses tracking of webpage activity state by tampering with 'document.visibilityState' and 'document.hidden'. It facilitates seamless operation of resources like audio players that normally require an active tab. It supports tracking of document.mozHidden and document.webkitHidden and various events across different browsers. You need to disable the extension for bypassing the always active behavior.
Download
Merlin
Stats
By: Brian
Rating: 4.09 (23)
Version: 0.2.6.1 (Last updated: 2023-09-08)
Creation date: 2019-10-12
Weekly download count: 373
Firefox on Android: No
Risk impact: Moderate risk impact
Risk likelihood: Moderate risk likelihood
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
  • storage
Size: 48.32K
Stats date:

Chrome-Stats Rank

# 1518 ▲ 40
Other rankings
Upgrade to see more rankings

Other platforms

Always active Window - Always Visible
Always active Window - Always Visible (v0.3.2)
4.05 (100) 100,000
Not available on Edge
Want to check extension ranking and stats more quickly for other Firefox add-ons? Install Chrome-Stats extension to view Chrome-Stats data as you browse the Firefox Browser Add-ons.
Chrome-Stats extension
Merlin
Summary
Analyze keywords

This extension protects against web pages tracking the activity state of the page. Some websites use this track to only offer services when the tab is active. By installing this extension a small script is injected into every webpage which overwrites the "document.visibilityState", and "document.hidden" properties to pretend the tab is always in the active state (document.visibilityState = 'visible' and document.hidden = false).

This is useful for the webpages that check your visibility state before loading resources like many music webpages. By installing this extension even if the page is opened in the background page, the player will start immediately like the page is loaded on an active tab.

Supported Trackings: document.mozHidden (only on Firefox browser) document.webkitHidden (only on Chromium browsers)

Supported Events:

  1. visibilitychange
  2. webkitvisibilitychange (only on Chromium browsers)
  3. mozvisibilitychange (only on Firefox browser)
  4. blur (some websites require the user to keep the tab focused)
  5. mouseleave (some websites use this method to make sure the user pointer is inside the window)
See more
User reviews
User reviews summary
These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Firefox Browser Add-ons does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • Keeps video and interactive content running in background tabs
  • Fixes issue with tabs not loading titles until clicked
  • Improves website behavior consistency regardless of browsing technique
  • Helpful for courses, downloads, and multi-tasking
Cons
  • May increase power consumption
  • Not all sites work correctly with it, can break some sites
  • Lacks a whitelist/blacklist feature
  • No icon or indication of when it's active or not
Most mentioned
  • Effectiveness for keeping tabs active
  • Request for a whitelist/blacklist feature
  • Lack of user interface elements (no add-on bar icon)
  • Can cause certain websites to malfunction
Recent reviews
Works great for coursera.org courses on Rhyme
by Daniel_Laixer, 2024-02-06
View all user reviews
Safety
Risk impact

Always active Window (Always Visible) may not be safe to use and it requires some risky permissions. Exercise caution when installing this add-on. Review carefully before installing.

Risk likelihood

Always active Window (Always Visible) is probably trust-worthy. Prefer other publishers if available. Exercise caution when installing this add-on.

Upgrade to see risk analysis details
Screenshots
Always active Window (Always Visible)