Developers, QA testers and anyone troubleshooting a site that behaves differently on mobile reach for a user agent switcher to see a page the way another browser or device would, without needing that actual hardware. The right extension should be quick to toggle, keep an updated list of realistic user agent strings, and let you apply a setting to one site rather than your whole browser.
Why developers use a user agent switcher
Testing how a responsive site behaves on a phone, tablet or older browser normally requires that actual device. A user agent switcher lets you send a different identity string from your desktop browser instead, so you can spot layout issues or check that a site correctly detects mobile visitors without switching devices.
Per-site rules vs a global setting
Some user agent switchers change your identity everywhere until you switch back, which can break sites that expect your real browser. Better extensions let you set a rule for one specific site so it always loads with the chosen user agent, while every other site sees your real browser, reducing the chance of accidentally breaking logins elsewhere.
Permissions a user agent switcher needs
Changing the user agent header requires either the declarativeNetRequest or webRequest permission along with host permissions for the sites it applies to. It doesn't need access to your browsing history or the ability to read page content, so be cautious of switcher extensions that request permissions beyond modifying request headers.