A new feature on AMO (addons.mozilla.org) will now allow developers to promote their extensions. With the intent to increase the visibility of extensions, and to verify and review them, this feature is presently in its pilot phase, and available to a limited number of countries.
With the Extension package promotion program, developers can now pay to verify their extensions on Mozilla. Verified extensions will receive a badge and will show up on AMO. Further, by paying an amount, the developers can make their extensions appear on the home page. At present, it is accepting applications from companies and developers in Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
‘Recommended extensions’, a program launched in September 2019, tests for the functions, security, and customer satisfaction of extensions. The extensions that pass this test, become official and will be recommended to highlight on AMO.
Although Mozilla wants to maximize the number of extensions reviewed, since it is being done manually, it is costly. Due to this, the expansion package promotion program was launched and developers can pay for the services now.
The services come in two tiers: at the first stage, developers can opt for their extensions to be manually reviewed to verify their safety and compliance with regulations. At the end of this review, they can expect to receive a badge. The second stage requires the obtaining of a badge to move further. In this phase, developers can pay and make their extension come on the homepage of AMO in the section of sponsors.
Since the review is done manually, Mozilla is accepting a maximum of 12 extensions in the test plan. Priority is given to those extensions with a large number of active users. Details of pricing will be announced in the future.
