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Both browsers offer sideloaded extensions as well as open source cores that can be set to use their own stores.

While troubling that they have such ability, they make their terms of use clear and do offer motivated users the ability to chose alternative plugin sources.

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Neither browser allows sideloaded extensions in its standard build:

Chrome:

> As of Chrome 33, no external installs are allowed from a path to a local .crx on Windows (see Protecting Windows users from malicious extensions). As of Chrome 44, no external installs are allowed from a path to a local .crx on Mac (see Continuing to protect Chrome users from malicious extensions).

https://developer.chrome.com/apps/external_extensions

Firefox:

> What are my options if I want to install unsigned extensions in Firefox?

> The Nightly and Developer Edition versions of Firefox have a preference to disable signature enforcement.

https://wiki.mozilla.org/Add-ons/Extension_Signing

Sure you can. You can load unpacked extensions in Chrome - I do it all the time when developing extensions.

They don't stay enabled though I think, you need to turn them back on after every restart.

That’s Safari. I have unpacked extensions loaded up in chrome all the time because I can’t figure out how to push an update to an extension I made

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