This Browser Extension Hides 'Shady' Items on Amazon

When you shop on Amazon, you inevitably have to sort through a whole lot of sponsored ads and listings for products of dubious quality or from no-name brands with inexplicable names before you find what you're looking for. Well-known and trusted brands often get buried in the noise, so unless you run a very specific search, there's effort required to filter out what's worth considering from what isn't.

A new browser extension-called Knockoff-aims to handle this decluttering for you. It greys out or hides items from shady and no-name brands, making it easier to find the reputable ones.

Knockoff filters out pseudo-brand listings

Knockoff is available for both Chrome and Firefox, and it works by cross-referencing listings on Amazon against a register of 5,000 established brands. Pseudo-brands-such as those with all-caps names, unpronounceable consonant runs, and vanishing vowels-as well as unbranded items are flagged.

Depending on what settings you select, Knockoff will label, dim, or remove those listings altogether from your Amazon results. You can also hide sponsored listings and set an allowlist and a blocklist for brands you always or never want to see. The "Relaxed" filter removes only the worst offenders and items on your blocklist, while the "Standard" filter also catches suspicious names and unbranded listings. If you choose "Strict," you'll see only what's on your allowlist.

The extension, created by developer Josh Pigford, runs locally on your device, and it doesn't require a user account login, nor does it track your search activity. It is also free and open source, and integrates community feedback to keep its list of curated "safe" brands current.

Unknown brands aren't necessarily bad

While Knockoff does filter out some of the noise, it's worth noting that not all of the products it catches are inherently bad, and you don't necessarily need to discount every seller that isn't a household name. For example, Lifehacker e-reader reviewer Joel Cunningham noted that, at least as of the time of publication, the extension blocks items from Xteink, a Chinese company that makes a line of pocket e-readers that have gathered a fervent following in recent months.

If you use the "labeled" or "dimmed" settings, you can still see and compare filtered items and look for other trust signals before making a purchase. For example, you should read a mix of recent reviews, check the seller's profile, view the price history, and compare product specs beyond the listing's title.