Wayback Machine

Name: Wayback Machine
Rating: 4.0795 (352 reviews)
Author: Internet Archive

Welcome to the Official Internet Archive Wayback Machine Browser Extension! Go back in time to see how a website has changed through the history of the Web. Save websites, view missing 404 Not Found pages, or read archived books & papers.

Download

Install Compare

The Official Internet Archive Wayback Machine Chrome extension allows users to travel back in time to view how websites have evolved through the history of the Web. Instantly save pages with "Save Page Now", view archived versions including oldest and newest snapshots, and access archived content such as books and research papers. The extension enhances browsing by automatically checking for archived copies of missing 404 Not Found pages and integrates contextual fact-checking notices for improved content reliability.

Additional features include the display of snapshot counts, navigational aids like site maps and word clouds, access to your personal web archive, and social sharing tools. Privacy options include a Private Mode to protect user data. This tool works seamlessly with or without an account, making digital preservation and research more accessible to everyone.

Add-on Productivity Education Privacy & Security Developer Tools

By:

Daily users:

Rating:

Version:

3.2 Last updated: 2023-01-05

Version code:

5502791

Creation date:

2016-06-23

Risk:

Permissions:

activeTab
cookies
contextMenus
notifications
storage
webRequest
webRequestBlocking
https://archive.org/*
https://*.archive.org/*
https://hypothes.is/*

Size:

1.31MB

Email:

in*****@archive.org

URLs:

Website ,Privacy policy

Full description:

Source:

Firefox Browser Add-ons

Data ingested on:

2025-07-17

Ranking

# 382

Other rankings

#22 in Feeds, News & Blogging ▼ 1

#36 in Search Tools

#59 in Other extensions

#2 in machine keyword 23 ▼ 1

#3 in cmd+m (mac) keyword 17

Upgrade to see more rankings

Other platforms

Wayback Machine (v3.4.2)

300,000 4.24

(308)

Wayback Machine (v3.3.1)

28,809 4.80

(9)

User reviews

Users appreciate the Wayback Machine add-on for its ability to save and archive web pages effectively, helping prevent link rot, especially with Wikipedia citations. The extension installs easily and offers convenient manual and automatic archiving options. However, multiple users report issues saving pages from social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Additionally, automatic archiving can slow down devices with limited hardware and poor internet connectivity, and save failures occur occasionally, leading to user frustration.

Pros

Successfully saves web pages and links for archiving.
Helps prevent link rot by finding archives of cited webpages.
Easy installation and user-friendly functionality.
Convenient for manual use to manage internet resources efficiently.
Automatic archiving feature is effective when system resources allow.

Cons

Fails to save certain social media pages, specifically tweets on x.com (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
Runs slowly and consumes significant resources when used with automatic archiving on lower-end hardware and poor internet connections.
Occasional save failures reported, causing user frustration.

Recent reviews

'Save failed Every gooddamn time.😡

by Fi*****, 2025-07-01

Installed easily and worked like a charm at first attempt. It saved all links, etc. Very impressive software.

by Fi*****, 2025-06-19

by Fi*****, 2025-05-30

View all user reviews ›

Extension safety

Risk impact

Risk impact measures the level of extra permissions an extension has access to. A low risk impact extension cannot do much harms, whereas a high risk impact extension can do a lot of damage like stealing your password, bypassing your security settings, and accessing your personal data. High risk impact extensions are not necessarily malicious. However, if they do turn malicious, they can be very harmful.

Wayback Machine requires some sensitive permissions that could impact your browser and data security. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details

Critical Allows access to all websites, posing a significant security risk as it can monitor and modify data from any visited site.
Critical ******* ****** ** *** ********* ******** ********************
High ****** *** ********* ** ******* *** ******* ******* ** ****** *** *** ******** ******
High ******* ******* **** *** ****** ***** *** ***** ** ******* **** ********* ********* ** * *********** *****
Medium ******* ******* ************* ***** *** ** ******* *** **** ******* ****** ******** *******

Risk likelihood

Risk likelihood measures the probability that a Firefox add-on may turn malicious. This is determined by the publisher and the Firefox add-on reputation on Firefox Browser Add-ons, the amount of time the Firefox add-on has been around, and other signals about the Firefox add-on. Our algorithms are not perfect, and are subject to change as we discover new ways to detect malicious extensions. We recommend that you always exercise caution when installing a Firefox add-on.

Wayback Machine has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.

Risk likelihood analysis details

Medium This extension has medium user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
Low **** ********* *** ******* **** **** * ****** **** ***** ******** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
Low **** ********* *** ***** **** **** * ****** **** ***** ********** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
Good **** ********* *** **** **** *******

Upgrade to see full risk analysis details

Instantly check and monitor your browser extensions' risks and permissions with Extension Guard.