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One can currently find more than a dozen decent web browsers for Android, but Mozilla Firefox is undoubtedly among the best out there. While the browser's experience on Android phones is as smooth as it can get, the same cannot be said for Firefox on Android tablets. It is essentially a scaled-up version of the smartphone app and doesn't properly utilize the additional real estate on offer. Thankfully, we learned in January that Mozilla is working on a tablet-optimized version of the app. It now looks like developers are closer to rolling out this redesign more widely, with the updated tab bar appearing on the latest Nightly.
Mozilla is best known for its free and open-source Firefox, one of many great browsers out there. In a world where Firefox’s market share is steadily shrinking and hinges on Google’s money to stay afloat, the company has long been looking to diversify its income with other side projects like Pocket or Firefox Monitor. With a new interim CEO at the helm, Mozilla decided to change its strategy again and hone in on what it’s best at: focusing on Firefox, and sprinkling in some AI along the way.
Mozilla all but confirms Firefox's tablet redesign is actually in the works
Days after outlets said that Firefox had no plans to overhaul the tablet experience
The world of tech journalism is a strange place. There are tons of paradoxes that permeate throughout, such is life and the case with Mozilla Firefox’s supposed tablet redesign. Right now, the Firefox user interface on tablets is the exact same as the UI on smartphones, just scaled up. That kind of stinks, especially when it’s the best web browser on Android phones hands-down, in our opinion. Conflicting reports have appeared in recent days regarding whether Mozilla is actually working on a tablet redesign or not. It seems like the answer is, quietly, yes.
How to install any add-on extension in Firefox on Android
Firefox for Android still doesn't officially support all extensions, but there is a neat workaround
Previously exclusive to Firefox Nightly, add-ons have been available on the main Firefox browser app since 2022. These add-ons let you install any web browser extension on the Firefox Android app, but it isn't a simple process.
It's never been a better time to switch to Firefox
The mobile browser is about to get a massive update that could see it gain traction over Chrome
Chrome has been the dominant web browser for PC and mobile for some time now. Chrome is everywhere, to the point a huge selection of the best mobile browsers are Chromium-based (Google's open-sourced version of Chrome), and just because Chrome has been the leading choice for Android and desktop users, it doesn't mean it's necessarily the best browser out there.
Firefox will support at least 200 new extensions on Android this December
Mozilla is welcoming app developers to bolster its directory of mobile extensions
If Firefox is your desktop browser of choice, you might have several extensions installed to avoid some common annoyances. Ads and cookie consent forms, for example, can be limited and managed through the use of Firefox extensions. However, Mozilla has featured limited support for these tools in the mobile version of the browser. Now, Firefox 120 is expected to launch in a much different direction.
Microsoft wants Firefox to make Bing its default search engine
Not even by switching browsers will you be able to escape Bing
Historically, Microsoft's Bing has always played second fiddle to Google. Chances are that if you used it, it was because you fired up a Microsoft-made browser (Internet Explorer back in the day or Edge now) and either quickly replaced it or changed its default search engine to Google. With Microsoft diving right into the AI craze with its ChatGPT partnership, though, Bing experienced a small renaissance, and the company is riding that wave to make sure people actually start using Bing. One strategy? Microsoft might go after Firefox in an attempt to make Bing the browser's default search engine.
Firefox on Android finally supports this age-old gesture from Chrome
Chrome users will feel right at home on Firefox now
In the last few years, Google Chrome has kept its spot as the top web browser across operating systems, mostly because it stays ahead of the curve offering users the latest features. Meanwhile, the competition comprising browsers like Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox are still playing catch-up. Take, for instance, Firefox v112 on Android, which has only now added support for the pull-down-to-refresh gesture, a feature Google Chrome picked up many moons ago.
Mozilla Firefox 109 adds Manifest V3 support, but it’s not the end of ad blocking
Firefox 109 also brings a new extensions button to desktops
Firefox is one of the few browsers left that isn’t powered by Google’s Chromium rendering engine. Even then, there are common standards that Google, Mozilla, and Apple must follow in order to make the web work as expected across any and all major browsers out there. Firefox and Chrome also share some resources when it comes to extensions, making it easier for developers to create add-ons for both platforms.
Firefox Beta for Android finally lets you install any browser add-on, with a small catch
You will need to create a custom add-on collection
It’s about two years ago that Mozilla Firefox released its big mobile redesign for what is one of the most excellent mobile web browsers you can get for your phone. While the new version performs better and looks better than the hopelessly outdated release that predated it, there is one caveat attached to the redesigned Firefox that has stuck around until now. You can only install a limited number of pre-approved extensions. Firefox introduced an option to get any add-on you could want on the nightly version back in 2020, but the developers never promoted this capability to the beta or even the stable release. Firefox Beta 107 finally changes that and offers the option to install more than the pre-approved extensions.
Firefox 106 introduces Firefox View, a new way to organize recently closed tabs
Mac users gain access to two handy features as well
Mozilla's Firefox is no longer as popular as it used to be, with Chrome being the browser of choice for most users who surf the web. There are multiple reasons behind Firefox's demise, including anticompetitive behavior from Google, Apple, and Microsoft that makes it difficult for users to switch to another browser. This does not mean Mozilla has given up on Firefox, though. It celebrated the launch of Firefox 100 with a significant milestone release in May this year with several new features. Now, Firefox 106 is ready for release with enhanced customization, privacy, and accessibility options.
From phone calls, to emails, to text messages, as soon as we invent a new way to communicate, someone's going to start spamming people on it. Mozilla has a service called Firefox Relay that was designed to help keep spammers at bay, letting you protect your contact info through the use of email aliases. That system is now widening its scope to phone numbers, hoping to help similarly save you from spam SMS and annoying robocallers.
Mozilla Firefox 104 brings address autofill to Android... two years after Google Chrome
Firefox 104 also introduces power utilization enhancements for desktop users
Mozilla Firefox is right up there among the best browsers on Android, rubbing shoulders with other popular alternatives (for everyone who just doesn't go with Google Chrome out of habit). The latest version, Firefox 104, entered beta testing back at the end of July with a few functional improvements and ease-of-use additions, and now the stable version is rolling out to users worldwide on desktop and Android alike.
Mozilla rolls out Total Cookie Protection to everyone on Firefox
The open-source browser will make it much harder for cookies to track every move you make
Mozilla is increasingly positioning Firefox as the privacy champion among all the best browsers. The company recently introduced different tiers of tracking protection and no longer allows HTTP connections by default. Another thing its engineers are working on is called Total Cookie Protection (TCP). The protective layer is meant to make cross-site tracking even harder, and now, Firefox has announced that it’s rolling out TCP to all of its users by default on Windows and Macs.
Mozilla is celebrating Firefox 100 with a big milestone release
The company introduces new backgrounds, clutter-free history, and an HTTPS-only mode
Google released stable Chrome 100 just last month, and now, Firefox has finally followed up with its own first three-digit version. While Firefox is about four years older than Chrome, with its initial stable launch under the Firefox name taking place in 2004, Mozilla switched to a rapid release cycle much later than Chrome. As such, Firefox has only reached the big milestone now, but Mozilla has still introduced few neat features to celebrate the launch with.
Firefox’s useful email forwarding service Relay is now also a Chrome extension
Relay additionally gets a larger attachment limit and promotional email blocking
In 2020, Mozilla launched Firefox Relay, a free service that allows you to create up to five email aliases, so you can hide your identity while signing up for newsletters and various online services. Last year, it followed up with a paid tier of the service with a monthly subscription charge of $0.99 for users who wanted to create more than five aliases. Following user feedback, Mozilla is now making some much-needed improvements to Relay, including increasing the email attachment limit to 10MB, launching a Chrome extension, and more.
Mozilla teams up with Disney to bring promotional wallpapers to Firefox 98 on Android
Get some special Pixar ‘Turning Red' wallpapers for your new tab page, if that's your jam
Firefox is pretty much the only browser left that’s not based on Google’s Chromium rendering engine, but unfortunately, its income is mostly based on Google paying it to be the default search engine out of the box — not a great situation to be in. Mozilla is working hard on diversifying its revenue with paid services like a VPN and Pocket, but the company also recently teamed up with Disney to promote its latest animation flick, ‘Turning Red,’ right on your new tab page and as part of your desktop browser's theme — though only if you opt in, mind you. Firefox 98 for Android is launching today with a similar option.
Firefox Focus gets a privacy boost with Mozilla's Total Cookie Protection
New Year's resolution: Block all the cookies
Mozilla Firefox has long become a privacy champion, with the browser doing its best to stop noisy third-party cookies from tracking you everywhere you go on the web. As the tracking tools evolve, so does Mozilla’s protection, and as such, the company has to keep reinventing the wheel. Early in 2021, the company introduced a new measure preventing cookies from different sites from interacting with each other, and now, this so-called Total Cookie Protection is finally coming to Firefox Focus.
Firefox 96 is out now, complete with a minor tweak to the homepage (APK Download)
Making for a more stable experience
Mozilla Firefox is one of the last true competitors left in the browser market, with many other developers long using Google’s Chromium rendering engine. Thus, it's great to see that Mozilla is hard at work to improve its browser, even if in some versions nothing but the underlying code receives some cleanup and bug fixes. That seems to be the case for Firefox 96, which has just been released this week.
Mozilla Firefox is no longer accepting crypto donation following recent community backlash
Mozilla decided against HODLing some Dogecoin
On the verge of the new year, Mozilla broke loose all hell when it reminded people with a playful tweet that it was accepting cryptocurrency donations, with Mozilla founder Jamie Zawinski and many others brutally criticizing the tweet's meme-ified “dabble in dogecoin” and “HODLing some Bitcoin” language. As such, the company has decided to review its practice and is suspending cryptocoin donations for the time being (via The Verge).