A new update to the HeroMode Chrome Extension is now available in the Chrome Web Store! This major update migrates from a side panel to a pop up experience, and also fixes an issue with Google authentication.
A couple of months ago, we began to encounter issues with user authentication with Google accounts in the HeroMode Chrome extension. Password authentication was not affected. Authentication in the HeroMode web app (both Google and password) was not affected. And the iOS HeroMode app was also working just fine. It was an issue with just the Chrome Extension, and just with Google authentication.
I happen to be a big fan of the HeroMode Chrome extension, and because of this issue, I had to switch to the HeroMode web app. It works just fine, but I do miss embedding HeroMode within the same browser tab as my existing workflow.
The New HeroMode Chrome Extension
After some investigation, we identified the cause. Previously, to support all three platforms of the HeroMode app (web, iOS, and Chrome extension) with an n=1 team, we were sharing as much code as possible. Over time, we began to have more platform-specific behaviors, for example, to give web and mobile slightly different UIs.
For Chrome Extension, we had not started to give it Chrome-specific treatments. It was simply and faithfully loading the web app. We were not taking adventage of some of the Chrome Extension APIs that can handle many functionalities, including user authentication.
So we revamped the HeroMode Chrome Extension! Now, it gets its own build, even though there's still a lot of code sharing. We are also switching from a side panel experience to a pop up - this is the recommended experience for Chrome Extensions, and makes the HeroMode Chrome Extension feel lighter and more accessible.
You can open HeroMode Chrome Extension from any browser tab, and quickly check off quests you have completed, or create new ones. All the HeroMode functionalities are also available in the Chrome Extension.
We hope you will enjoy it!