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Mozilla has been working on a new mobile browser for Google's Android operating system for some time now. The idea was to create a browser from scratch that uses modern frameworks and technologies to compete with the likes of Chrome on Android.
The browser has been available as Nightly and Beta channel versions for some time, and has just recently been released as a Stable version. Staged migration has begun and Android users who have installed Firefox on their devices will soon notice that the browser is upgraded to the new one provided that they allow the upgrade.
The new browser offers better performance and web compatibility, but users may also notice that some features are not available that the old Firefox browser for Android supported. New users, those who never used Firefox for Android, may like the browser as it is fast, offers good web compatibility, and includes a selection of extensions including the popular content blocker uBlock Origin.
Here are three reasons why existing Firefox for Android users may want to block the update to the new version right now:
It always comes down to this. Mozilla has a habit of releasing changes too early, and the release of Firefox for Android is another example of that. Classic Firefox for Android supported most extensions for the browser, the new version only nine at the time of writing.
All installed extensions, except for the nine supported, will get disabled during the upgrade. They are not gone, and Mozilla has promised that the new Firefox will support all browser extensions eventually. The organization has not given any time frame though for that, and that is a major problem.
Three of the nine extensions are content blockers, including the most popular of them all, uBlock Origin, and that should cover the needs of many users, but those who rely on password managers, New Tab page customizers, other security extensions, download managers, media extensions and others, won't be able to use these right now. For example, how are you supposed to use your password manager passwords in the browser if it does not support the extension. Firefox for Android includes Lockwise, a password manager that is built-in, but not everyone wants to migrate to it or knows how.
What makes this particularly problematic from a user point of view is that it is unclear if any when support for certain extensions will become available in the new browser.
The stable version of Firefox for Android has the advanced configuration interface about:config disabled. You can use it in Beta and Nightly versions, as it is available in both, but many users may not want to run an unstable version just for that on their device.
About:config offers a treasure trove of advanced options that are not available via the browser's settings. Firefox users use it to harden the browser, or change certain features that cannot be changed in the settings. Recent examples include enabling redirect tracking protection, HTTP/3 support, or enabling the new HTTPS-only mode.
Mozilla argues that a single wrong value in some configuration entries can break the entire browser. It is certainly a regression for users who use about:config and for some, it may be a showstopper.
Firefox ships with a set of search providers, e.g. Google, DuckDuckGo and Bing, that you may switch between. It includes options to add custom providers, and may list some on the page. Existing search providers are not migrated when the classic Firefox is upgraded to the new.
Adding search providers used to be very easy, but it is no longer easy in Firefox for Android. Select Settings > Search > Add Search Engine > Other to enable the form to add a custom search provider to the new Firefox for Android.
Problem is, you have to type the search string manually into a field of the form. Since it requires a variable, copy and paste is not working automatically and that is a big problem. Want to add Startpage Search or any other search engine not supported officially? You need to run a search, replace the search term with the variable, and copy all that to the Firefox interface, or edit the original URL after you pasted it into the form in the Firefox Settings.
Mozilla makes most of its revenue from search engine deals and the decision to restore the default search engine during the migration and to ignore custom search engines, is problematic from an ethical point of view.
The new Firefox for Android will please users who used the browser's predecessor in the past without extensions, about:config tweaks, and with the standard search engine. The less modifications done to the browser the better as these users will get a faster more reliable browser. New users who install Firefox on Android for the first time may also like the browser.
Firefox users who used extensions or about:config tweaks however, will be disappointed as Mozilla removed two of the biggest advantages of Firefox over Chrome from the stable version.
Now You: What is your take on the browser?
Thanks a lot for the info. I still have one small question: exactly which version number of Firefox Android we’re talking about here? Iow, what’s the release number we should avoid installing for now? On my phone I have Firefox Android v. 68.11.0 and I suppose this is still an old version, right?
@Henk: 68.11.0 is likely the last version of the ‘old’ Firefox, and I think the ‘new’ one is 79.0
I seriously don’t understand how could they push this to public with “9” addons! Why would they willingly cause a second armag-addon.
I’ve spend so much time making my addons compatible with Firefox for Android and now they are all gone. Why?!?!
With such “releases” Firefox would extinct for sure. They don’t respect their user base. It is evident.
Aiming to house-wifes? Chrome is already there.
@NeonRobot
> Aiming to house-wifes? Chrome is already there.
Show some respect, Chromium and Chrome still have chrome://flags, Firefox on Android has nothing like that anymore.
Some Chromium-based browsers like Bromite are also more privacy-respecting than Firefox.
That’s the thing that really kills me, that the supposed champion of customisability has dropped a core feature which exists in *every single Chromium browser* (except Edge for Android).
What kills me is that it won’t even let me install addons I wrote myself (ie the .xpi files). (It’s ok, guys, I trust myself!)
I’ll see if the web-ext tool will load them, but that’s always just loaded them temporarily — until the next time my phone restarts Firefox.
Didn’t test but, can’t you install your self made adds on beta version?
-No Tabs Queue
-No tabs preview
If what you say about the config is true then i will defer the upgrade as long as i can and uninstall it immediately if i can’t.
Disgusting of Mozilla to disable about:config in the Stable version. Such pretentious creeps.
(Yes, Iron Heart, you were right; I just needed to hear it from the horse’s mouth…)
Iron was right about a lot of things in regard to Moz sabotaging FF and not respecting users.
Not surprised of a:conf removal, all they want is to push their agenda and eject power users from their hype train, look at the long list of useful features removed and the long list of forced useless/anti-privacy “features” introduced in the last years. (Google/M$ style)
FF was removed from all my devices, the disgust for Moz decisions took over.
So I guess their next step will be to remove about:config from the desktop version in future. After all, it might *break* something and is *unsafe*… But seriously, it’s not like normal users can even stumble on a:c – you need to actively type it in the address bar in order to even get to that page, you can’t click on it by accident… What a load of rubbish!
@ShintoPlasm
Of course killing off about:config on the desktop is the next step, how is this even a question?
Current day Mozilla is unworthy of its great legacy, Firefox itself is being run into the ground. I left this sinking ship in 2017, good riddance.
@Iron Heart:
You know what? I never believed they’d dare to ditch such a core feature. Foolish of me, I guess…
@ShintoPlasm
Well, Moz devs have a reaction to those complaining, apparently:
https://twitter.com/EmilyKager/status/1289308930972278789
Says it all.
Pros – ublock
Cons – no back button, I can only see the Android bottom buttons in dark mode, you have to give camera permission to FF or you can’t upload pictures to Twitter, often times tapping on links in pages doesn’t work, it no longer saves searches on certain pages, my cache and history were erased on install – I lost so many searches that I still used, can’t easily access bookmarks, Launcher crashes if I watch YouTube, loading slower.
How to see downloads in this new one. I have I can’t see button or menu.
Sadly my phone updated Firefox automatically. What a disaster. Only one of my add-ons is available, my search engine is gone… Mozilla really messed it up.
I just got this pushed on my tablet. It’s garbage. It is mayby good for small screens like a phone, but on a tablet it is hideous. It hides many things like the tab bar that made life so much more comfortable. It does not seem to allow me to select non mobile sites etc. It’s going. Firefox’s marketshare keeps dropping for a reason – people keep complaining about all the changes (read: removing features and compatibility) and Mozilla just stays deaf.
But what browser for Android, if you care about web compatibility and privacy?
We use Focus on all our devices along with AdGuard for Android. No ads, even in-app ads. Focus is somewhat limited in general features but has a wide range of privacy settings from breaking many sites at one extreme to wide open at the other. It’s easy to allow some trackers temporarily, then disable for normal use. Screen real estate is excellent.
The only challenge is actually finding the download in Play Store, it’s there, just scroll and scroll and scroll; thank you Google!
( Yeah, blah, blah, blah all data goes through a frozen server in Antarctica for penguins to read, whatever. There, that’s over. :) )
@Shiro
> But what browser for Android, if you care about web compatibility and privacy?
Bromite:
https://www.bromite.org/
Chromium-based = Optimal web compatibility.
Bromite’s own modifications (see link above) = Very good privacy.
You need to allow installation from other sources in Android’s settings, then download the APK, then install it from the APK using the file manager on your phone.
What about using FDroid to install and keep Bromite up to date? Is there a problem with this metthod?
@Anonymous
I’d definitely recommend setting up F-Droid to enable automatic updates for Bromite. Check out these links:
https://www.f-droid.org/en/tutorials/add-repo/
https://www.bromite.org/fdroid
Yes, the problem is: F-Droid.
I you have a Samsung, the Samsung browser is not that bad if you combine it with Adguard. Samsung knows everything about you anyway.
Another reason: Firefox can only be installed from PlayStore, and PlayStore with its Google background services means massive surveillance. Why should a privacy focused user accept that; but not also accept to use Chrome? Puzzled.
Disable Play Store, enable it only when you have install or update, then disable it again. It constantly eats data, does huge uploads and downloads twice a day and keeping it enabled dramatically increases app nagging. It’s your phone regardless of what’s in some hokey EULA.
@Chris
There is a version of Firefox (Android) without the Play Store dependencies, it’s called Fennec F-Droid and is available in the F-Droid store:
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/
That being said, if you are critical of the Play Store in general, you may want to consider installing a custom ROM like Lineage OS on your smartphone, since those custom ROMs do not have Google Play service sin the first place.
“…The new browser offers better performance and web compatibility…”
Sounds interesting, i’m going to check this out!
> No about:config
Is this a fucking joke? Good thing auto updates are disabled. Guess I will use the old FF in the next years.
about:config existed on mobile? Never knew that! Just assumed not as everything on mobiles is always more limited.
Speaking of which, it should be noted I feel that extensions being limited is not necessarily as bad as it seems. Many extensions simply cannot or do not work on mobile because there’s simple less UI space and therefore are either impractical or even impossible to use on the limited mobile platform. People tend to see mobile as “the future” but arguably the reality is it’s just another platform with limitations like every platform. Most panel-based extensions would potentially need UI changes to work on mobile and independent extension developers just may not have that time. Unless the UI for the desk/laptop panel can easily be integrated into a portrait layout, hopefully through display:flex, it’s a whole new paradigm. And how many icons even fit on a mobile browser’s toolbar before the URL completely disappears?!!!
A bit of a reality check is needed when expectations for browser extensions on mobile are formed.
“Classic Firefox for Android supported most extensions for the browser…”
This is simply a lie. False. There has always been a subset of extensions that works on Android. Most do not. Never have. It’s just that Mozilla never made the search engine filtering on AMO highlight this. On Firefox for Android 68.11.0 (not a migrated version) if you tap the three dots menu, Add-ons > “Browse Firefox’s Recommended Extensions” you get taken to this URL:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/collections/4757633/mob/?page=1&collection_sort=-popularity
On this page, there is a *whopping* 11 extensions. WOW, two more than those available at launch with the new version! Is this because it’s a minified list based on the “Recommended” program as implied in the link title? No, because there’s no “Recommended” orange icon against the extensions in the list. Instead it’s title “Featured”.
https://i.imgur.com/mRoE25k.png
Is is limited to 11 by the page=1 limitation in the URL params? Nope:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/collections/4757633/mob/
Is it just a collection limit. Has Mozilla curated a small list to highlight the best extensions, albeit the “Recommended” stamp has not been applied? Yes, and No!
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/search/?recommended=true&sort=random&type=extension
51 addons returned but how many of these actually function effectively on Android and how many of them are merely extensions their developers have ticked ‘works on Android’ but nobody has ever bothered to verify their actual usability?
Here’s a random example that seems indicative of many panel-based extensions in terms of UI.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/addon/audio-equalizer-wext/?src=featured
Look at this screenshot:
https://addons.cdn.mozilla.net/user-media/previews/full/234/234855.png?modified=1585544364
That isn’t a mobile Firefox, is it? Can you imagine a UI that wide working well on a portrait Android screen? Each graphic equaliser setting would be so narrow as to be unusable for touch purposes unless they re-oriented it vertically. Ok, let’s see … yep, much like I expect the fuller version of uMatrix and other similar addons would present, it’s unusable:
https://i.imgur.com/9Sla8uL.png
That’s after tapping the three dots menu, reading a whole bunch of menu options with no UI indication that the menu continues off screen but I know it does so I flick scroll *a lot* before I even get access to that terrible UI.
OK, pinch to zoom might help but the author would need to give it more attention to really be compatible with Android.
I ask you this Martin, if you’ve been using Firefox on Android before the new version, how many addons have you even installed? How many do you actively use (bearing in mind several addons can simply function fine without user interaction of course).
So the real story of Android addons for Firefox is much more subtle than you make out Martin. I agree it would be great if they did not limit addons. OTOH, has anyone actually tested whether the initial addons promoted are the only ones that can be installed? However, just listing your addon as functional for Android on AMO does not make it so! Therefore the number of addons that have historically *actually* worked in Firefox for Android is much, much lower than you think.
Or perhaps you can point me to Ghacks articles where more than 9, or 11, addons for Firefox on Android have actually been critically reviewed?
Why would you need an equalizer in a browser?
I for the moment stopped using Firefox Nightly and actual Firefox which run on the latest version. I absolutely dislike
the tap management,
the OS integrated password manager on either windows and android, the disfunctional addons which i was using,
the loost bookmarks,
the non existing possibility to export – import settings and or at least bookmarks
the force feed to use Firefox cloud service for all your data
….
and is say this as a very long time non critical enthusiastic firefox and nightly user. The first really unwanted development was the integration of firefox internal password manangement with the underlying OS.
Absolutly sinister is, the force feeding of the Firefox cloud services to sync what ever…
I don’t believe every single extension that works in the desktop browser actually works in the mobile
browser.They’re not designed for mobile.Take videodownload helper for example.Simply does not
work on android.But the other 2 points are good arguments not to upgrade until it is fixed.
Firefox used to be my favorite browser on android. That is no longer the case – in fact, I’ve just uninstalled the app, as there was no going back to the old version – and I wasn’t asked before the upgrade.
I rely heavily on multiple open tabs, which has become a bother to manage. Opening, closing, switching all require additional effort. I’ve also yet to discover how to go back to the previous page.
I also dislike the fact that Firefox now displays the pages in a different way, using different fonts and different font sizes – it took me a long time to get the “adaptable” pages set up just the way I like them, and now the (censored) at Firefox just had to mess with that as well.
Apart from that, I simply hate apps that hide the three “buttons” on the bottom of the screen.
It seems that the folks at Firefox have long since become too arrogant to consider the needs of the users.
@Peter Hansen
The old version is still available:
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/
You need to set up the F-Droid store in order to get it.
Fennec F-Droid is basically Firefox minus some of the Mozilla spyware components.
Maybe it was a mistake to sticking with Firefox to resist the Chromium monopoly. Since last few years Mozilla seems like a corrupt company with false mission statement and shady finance.
They failed big. I move away from FF on all my mobile devices and actively recommend the users I provide advices / support to do so. FF for Android has failed. Sad.
Too late… Also disappeared:
– Send to Other Devices from other apps share menu – you have to open in the browser first.
“The new Firefox for Android will please users who used the browser’s predecessor in the past without extensions, about:config tweaks, and with the standard search engine. The less modifications done to the browser the better as these users will get a faster more reliable browser. New users who install Firefox on Android for the first time may also like the browser.”
I used 9 extensions in my Firefox for Android. I decided to make the jump to the new version anyway because I decided that I could do without a few of my extensions. For my use case, it’s good enough since it has Dark Reader and uBlock Origin.
However, I agree that other users should wait a bit more even if you can see that this is a promising browser.
Thank you Martin!
Since it is very useful information, I quoted it immediately:
https://forums.mozillazine.jp/viewforum.php?f=23
I mistook paste the link, correctly:
https://forums.mozillazine.jp/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=18098&sid=707f7d58e5269e3db620e080fa2f7ebd
First used the old version and liked it. But it wasn’t getting any update so tried the new version. It doesn’t support 99.99% add-ons, doesn’t let users access about:config and it’s full of bugs. It is probably now the worst mainstream browser on Android.
If Mozilla thinks they can replicate Chrome’s success by restricting users freedom and privacy then they’re wrong. Chrome is used by people who either doesn’t think about or understand the importance of privacy. They value usability over anything else and Chrome is/has to be best at this. I think Firefox will just end up losing it’s existing users base on mobile.
I have to admit, even I was surprised that Mozilla would push this to the stable channel without it having broader extension support. Seems like they are hell-bent on losing users again, they didn’t even bother supporting the common password managers before rolling this out, haha.
The loss of about:config is no surprise to me, current Mozilla is about taking user choice away, not about granting it. All you knights of Firefox now have to accept its anti-privacy defaults on Android without bickering… Still, a sad day for user privacy – but then again, who is really surprised about this? I expect them to kill off about:config and userChrome.css on the desktop next.
On a side note, it seems like looking at telemetry stats now has totally taken over common sense at Mozilla. “See, only 50% of all Firefox users run extensions in the browser, and 70% of those only run uBlock Origin!” Let’s just support uBlock Origin and a few of its friends, it will be fine.”
After the demise of about:config a.k.a. the only way to fix Firefox, consider running Bromite, Brave, or Fennec F-Droid, if you care about your privacy.
Reason 4: No F-Droid build without Adjust, Google Analytics and Leanplum.
Where can I get the 68.11.0 APK from?
@Alex
The F-Droid store still has it:
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/
Allow the installation of apps from other sources in Android’s settings, then download the F-Droid APK and install from this APK using your phone’s file manager:
https://f-droid.org/
Try: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/68.11.0/android-x86_64/en-US/.
Or https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/68.11.0/android-api-16/multi/fennec-68.11.0.multi.android-arm.apk
for “classic” mobile devices.
Damn FF has completely lost the plot. Firstly FF was updated on my Android tablet without my consent. “I don’t care about cookies”, one of the most useful FF add-ons, has been auto-disabled and about:config isn’t accessible to turn on first-party isolation. Without “I don’t care about cookies” browsing is incredibly annoying with constant cookie notifications. First-party isolation is good for privacy. What the hell is FF playingbat? If it ain’t broke…
@Bigus Dickus
You can mitigate the „I don‘t care about cookies“ issue by adding the filter list of the same name to uBlock Origin by using this link:
https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/abp/
Here is how you can add custom filter lists to uBlock Origin:
https://www.ghacks.net/2014/10/10/how-to-add-custom-filters-to-chrome-ad-blocking-extension-µblock/
about:config is no longer available in the release version, it only exists in Beta and Nightly versions now. And yes, Mozilla messed up big time here.
It has uBlock Origin. I’m good.
Im still on 68.10.1..
S
When did Mozilla say that all browser extensions would eventually be made available?
Also, I have zero faith in Mozilla’s when it comes to promises regarding extensions.
I always run nightly so my browsing experience has been nearly crippled since January/February.
How to install the 68.0 apk i.e.latest good release file from mozilla FTP server? https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mobile/releases/68.9.0/
…and yeah i finally lost all my add on as well and i had some in use The once was something like free choice if not democracy which never existed in any of the so called open source projects anyway.
And yes i am angry and disappointed about this current developments. Just imagine that i had about 20 tabs open all the time and it just took a quick swipe in the tab bar to select one of them.
Now i need to force click a silly icon to get a listing of open tabs… and back and forward and so on endless… Also my cookie management app “forget me not” and some search engines was swiped from my installed add ons…
Any Sysadmin or even CIO would have been fired long ago…
What a gross and silly undertaking.
Uninstall the current Firefox in the Play-Store. Get the older version from https://www.apkmirror.com/ and install directly the apk-file. Disable the auto-update of Firefox in the Play-Store.
Yeah well i did install the older 68.9 from the mozilla FTP server. Unfortunately i could do this only after i uninstalled the latest and really and finally lost everything i had stored within firefox.
bookmarks history everything…
How really how can software developers and those responsible on the very top agree to go such a way? They have lost me there…
What an absolutely silly irresponsible decision after alle those problem free years… i am sure they understand that there is no viable choice left.
@Benjamin
> i am sure they understand that there is no viable choice left.
There is always a choice aside from spyware.
This new user interface is a desaster ! I scrolled back to an earlier version with the old gui and disabled the auto-update in the Play-Store. I hope they will bring back the old gui.
I wish they would.
I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.
(*sigh!*)
Given that FF is the only browser that supports extensions on Android (it’s killer feature), in no universe is it acceptable to remove that feature and call it and upgrade. I find it truly remarkable that no one at Mozilla realized that.
Yandex and Kiwi support extensions to, and Brave is working on it as well
Oh, cool. I might check out Kiwi… looks reasonable.
Thanks.
Theres no Print option in the Beta version. And getting to your bookmarks is abit of a faff as is getting to the new Collections feature. They also don’t sync across devices
“Three Reasons not to upgrade to the new Firefox for Android browser right now”
1: Mitchell Baker
2: Mitchell Baker
3: Mitchell Baker + Mozilla ‘Leadership’.
Been happily using Brave for the last 18 months.
Nice to have a cell without the stench of this mobs misguided ‘mission’.
@Stan
Check my setup out, fellow Brave user:
https://www.ghacks.net/2020/07/05/behave-for-chrome-and-firefox-warns-you-of-port-scans-and-local-attacks/#comment-4467393
Thanks mate, good ‘hands on’ instruction manual, bookmarked ! :)
@Iron Heart
Unrelated to post, but I have essentially followed your setup for Brave. There are a couple of sites I want to NOT have Brave Shields on. Site shows # Trackers and Ads blocked (standard). Site works when I slide shield to off, but I have to do this everytime I go to site. I have gone to Site Settings, and selected Ads to Allow. But when I close Brave, reopen and go to the site, shields are on for site.
Is there anything else I need to do? What am I missing? Thanks
@Anonymous
So, am I understanding this correctly, you went to brave://settings/shields and have deactivated ad and tracker blocking globally for all websites? Or did you use the lion icon in the address bar to turn off Shields for that particular website?
In both cases, Shields should remain off after a restart (either globally or for that specific website, depending on what you used), they do for me at least… I am using macOS though, no idea if that has any influence.
Luckily enough, if you have followed my guide, you likely also have uBlock Origin / Nano Adblocker or similar installed, since that is the only way to add additional filter lists to Brave. Now, there is no inherent benefit in using Brave’s own ad and tracker blocking within Brave Shields, you could turn that off under brave://settings/shields and solely rely on uBlock Origin / Nano Adblocker. I mostly keep Brave’s ad and tracker blocking activated out of convenience, but there is no privacy harm in turning it off and relying on another adblocker only. I wouldn’t touch the Brave Shields settings related to HTTPS upgrades, cookies, and fingerprinting, though, these are still useful.
“But Iron Heart, isn’t the internal adblocker Brave’s selling point?” I hear you say, and yes, it is one of the selling points, but it’s not strictly the only one, and ad- and tracker-blocking can also be achieved via extension. Aside from the internal adblocker, Brave still has the following advantages:
– It’s thoroughly ungoogled (all unsolicited connections to Google removed), yet unlike Ungoogled Chromium, updating the browser itself and extensions within it is not a mess with Brave.
– Its fingerprinting protection is still better than that of other Chromium-based browsers.
– HTTPS Everywhere being built-in saves you from installing yet another extension.
– Several other privacy protections Brave has by default compared to other Chromium-based browsers, e.g. a good referer header policy, hyperlink auditing / ping tracking being deactivated, several APIs that are commonly used for fingerprinting being deactivated etc.
What I am trying to tell you is that Brave is still worth using even if you turn the ad- and tracker-blocking part of Shields off (provided you have another adblocker installed).
@Iron Heart
OK,my bad, I thought I just wanted to stop Trackers and ad blocks (since those are the only numbers showing up) so I was going to site and turning off Ads (thinking it would keep other shields on) and leaving the shields slider on. But that didn’t work.
But, just sliding shields off and leaving it at that, and when I reopen Brave, that sticks and works.
(Yes, I have nano adblocker and need to stop it there for individual site, too).
Guess I was just confused with how the shields works.
Thanks
Interesting. For me it’s:
– loss of functionality wrt 68.x
– butt-ugly user interface (imho)
– and last but not least, it crashes my LineagesOS every chance it gets
The CEO and upper levels need to stop looting Mozilla and allocate resources fairly and properly. We need genuine opposition to google, not this.
I dont know if it happens only to me, but after the update, Firefox doesnt have the option to send the active tab to your desktop Firefox through Android’s Share feature.
if you are in another app, let’s say Chrome and you try to share with Firefox the active tab, then you got the options to send it either to your Firefox in your Android phone or to your desktop Firefox.
After the update, if you click the Firefox in the Share menu, it immediately sends your active tab to Android Firefox.
If you want to alienate your userbase, this is the way to do it…
You forgot to mention that on tablets, they took away the tabs for that awful sub menu like you’re on a small screen.
I got too used to change tabs on the fly but now I cant… even Brave still have tabs on tablets!
Every day, Mozilla never ceases to disappoint.
@Thaumiel:
It’s dreadful, isn’t it? Drives me mad.
It has been a long time Mozilla started to act like a subsidiary of Google but only succeed at losing more and more market share.
Mozilla needs a leadership change. It is high time to bring this company to trial.
You know, I don’t mind the phone version, it’s pretty snappy, but to ignore the tablet users is absolutely preposterous! Goddamn it mozilla, always one step forward and two steps backwards, are your lead developers a bunch of hipsters or what !?
@Timi
“If even Eric–who heads Mozilla’s marketing team–uses Chrome every day as he mentioned in the first sentence, it’s not surprising that almost 65% of desktop users are doing the same.”
source: https://andreasgal.com/2017/05/25/chrome-won/
Not having about:config is INFURIATING for me. I solve a lot of problems with it.
Nowadays it seems that all have tu be dumbed down to please the masses…
Jeez! about:config is synonym of giving some level of freedom of choice to the user, something that was great about Firefox and the add-ons.
They made a great work by hurting both capabilities in last update. I’m tired on be force on how I need to use MY device and the software on it with critical private information. And if I can’t customize the way I want it, is out of my preference.
I’m with Bromite now. Bye bye Firefox. It was a great ride all this years until you changed to be like everyone else.
Take a look at GNU IceCat
https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/
It’s the GNU version of Firefox.
It’s available on fdroid. Some propietary shit replaced, telemetry off by default (as far as I remember), you can install any FF add-ons, it still has the old UI, etc.
First used the old version and liked it. But it wasn’t getting any update so tried the new version. It doesn’t support 99.99% add-ons, doesn’t let users access about:config and it’s full of bugs. It is probably now the worst mainstream browser on Android.
If Mozilla thinks they can replicate Chrome’s success by restricting users freedom and privacy then they’re wrong. Chrome is used by people who either doesn’t think about or understand the importance of privacy. They value usability over anything else and Chrome is/has to be best at this. I think Firefox will just end up losing it’s existing users base on mobile.
I think Mozilla have stopped the rollout via Google Play for the time being. In the UK it’s currently on the old 68.x version in the app store.
How can you stop Web RTC leaks without being able to use about:config and don’t get me started on the loss of tabbed browsing – this new version of Firefox is a nightmare.
@Riverbure
uBlock Origin has a setting for that in its dashboard.
Without about:config how can you change the sync server from Mozilla to a local one. (identity.sync.tokenserver.uri)
A key privacy feature for me, if Mozilla want firefox to be truly are a privacy respecting browser.
@simpfeld
You can’t. Firefox isn’t privacy-respecting without about:config, because as you say, without it it’s impossible to change some key settings.
The old version is still available on the F-Droid store (search for “Fennec F-Droid”).
In the latest update, I lost the possibility to set a startpage/homepage. Nack and forward buttons are gone. Saved passwords require that I type the entire username/mailaddress. Is it faster? Wow.
Now the dark option in the Reader View isn’t visible either
Although as a whole a somehow agree with lack of some not so popular addons, i should correct that why someone should use password manager addon in android?!
First all password managers have native android app (i say all because even most of those that have few users also have android app)
Second, using many addons on mobile will certainly affect the whole performance of browser because mobiles have far lower memory than desktop systems.
Also about about:config page, i don’t agree with it.
If someone is advanced user enough so know that how fix about:config misuse problems, then they should use beta or nightly version.
I only have beta and nightly versions installed and they are stable enough for someone with many tweaked setting.
Best Regards.
Personally the new version is a car crash.
Just to say I did not get given the option to upgrade or not. Bad Firefox!
The core problem is that browsing used to require just two frequent actions – tapping on links or tap and hold to ask them to open in new tabs, and selecting tabs from a clear page of thumbnails. This simple, intuitive approach has been ‘borked’, especially with making the tab view harder to get to, showing fewer tabs and more awkward to manage. With modern phones supporting more and more gestures, many from the base of the screen the new default bar is in the worst possible place (for my way of holding and reading). Also, despite this things like back arrows still appear at the top of the screen.
It doesn’t support adblock plus which is a showstopper for many ordinary users.
The original home screen which gave me easy access to my go-to sites has disappeared.
Many one step navigations are now multi-step.
The simple tabbed browsing with thumbnails has been replaced with lists that show fewer pages.
Pages seem to open in new tabs unexpectedly, or something odd is going on when you go ‘back’.
A quick scan of a hundred or so reviews on Google Play shows most are 1 star, with some 2 and a few 3 star. The one five star review I found was still critical in the text.
Google Chrome must be thinking “ALL YOUR BASE ARE OURS!”
I’ve been a sole user of FF since it’s inception.
The new UI and lack of about:config has unfortunately forced me to leave.
Sad to see the reply from the Dev team like Emily Kager is just giving users the finger.
I think actually this finger was the worst. They don’t even seem to reflect their views and just name us haters. Firefox for android is doing so many things wrong, it’s just stupidity to be that arrogant.
I’m surprised that the horrible new tab and bookmark handling is not mentioned here.
If you are a person like me with many bookmarks who was used to just going back and opening the next bookmark you are in for a horrible treat. New tab page only has colextions and no often used or bookmarked sites anymore.
Opening a bookmark now means: Click addressbar -> click plus on the opposite end of the screen -> click menu button -> click bookmark -> go through folder structure and search for bookmark. The opening and searching bookmark has to be done everytime and itdoes not remember where you were last time.
Also the new tab overview is generally gottwn worse. the way it now changes position depending which tab you are on and not showing scrolling makes it very annoying for users with many tabs.
Just when you thought browser makers had finally understood that imposing obnoxious redesigns with vast amounts of functionality missing might in fact lose large numbers of customers..
.Point 1: preventing “update” on FF *android*: you can uninstall FF 79 and then install (from Mozilla) FF 68.. but it will update automatically. Going about:config you find there is no entry “app.update.auto”. However, you can add this entry yourself and I just did, setting to false. We’ll see whether that works.
.Point 2. Using an old version is not a sustainable solution. Given that FF is (I believe) FOSS, and that many other browsers are forks, maybe designers of other FF-based browsers will reject this redesign. For Mozilla this could be a textbook example of suicide by obnoxiously imposed redesign.
@mike
You can still get the prior version without having to worry for automatic updates. Set up the F-Droid Store on your device, search for „Fennec F-Droid“ there.
Ps afterthought: re FF-based browsers: Pale Moon and Waterfox may be good candidates…
uninstall is a good choise…
The option to save web page as PDF is also missing.
How to roll back to prior version
@G
Allow installation of apps from other sources in the Android settings, download the F-Droid Store, search for „Fennec F-Droid“ within the F-Droid Store and download it.
Y’all should check out Adam Novak’s fork of Fenix: Iceweasel: https://github.com/interfect/fenix/releases
It adds HEAPS of extensions. A few don’t work like Video Download Helper and Open Video Externally. Adam’s looking for some contributors!
–
Fenix was a complete disappointment. It’s alpha quality and feels like a proof of concept. Fennec was so much better, and that’s not saying much. I wish Firefox for Android were great.
Ya…pure trash. No add ons, the lay out sucks, and it is totally sub par to the prior version. Nothing about this format is convenient. Imagine a completely stripped down 80% worthless browser. That’s pretty much what you hav with this dumpster fire. Thanks for ruining FF
Everyone has pretty much expressed my thoughts on Firefox for Android 79.0.5 :-( I have a galaxy s3 tablet. I’d like to keep my bookmarks, but Android hasn’t allowed access for a while now without being rooted (currently not). Firefox doesn’t provide a backup/export to a SD Card. I do not want a Firefox or Samsung account. My main app that I use is termux, which gives me ssh, rsync but again Android Security locks me out of backing up my data to my SD card or remotely. I’ve decided to go with Waterfox at this moment, on my desktop too. I already had F-Droid installed. I went to apkmirror.com to download the apk. This worked nicely. I can also install FF 68.11.0 from apkmirror, but I think I have to uninstall first because I get a message from F-Droid, “App not installed”. No reason why. I get one shot at keeping my bookmarks here. I know others have expressed a desire to keep their bookmarks. I feel your pain. If I used adb from my desktop to uninstall FF, without -k, and then installed FF 68.11.0 from apkmirror, what chance do you think I’ll have in keeping my bookmarks?
You know what works make this article not completely pointless? VERSION NUMBERS. I know previous versions are what I need, yay, but if you don’t TELL US WHICH ONES the article is garbage.
guarantee they did this for iOS 14 so they can see how many users would rather use FF on iOS.
HEY mozilla, No one is gonna want Firefox as their default browser on iOS 14 if it’s NOT Firefox anymore!
I genuinely believed that I could always leave automatic updates when it came to MY browser. The only app that I have been able to trust for going on 15 years. I stuck with you during the 4.0 update even though things broke, it was making more better. The user experience and control was so great that when Quantum (57) was released I jumped in head first. Knowing this change is for the betterment of us users. It’s been great & each version made it work just a little better on my android devices. So today is my first chance to use the new update, I figured it’d be on par with my past experiences. For a few minutes nothing was bothering me everything seemed to work. Then I needed to print a receipt. (1) PRINT is gone from the menu! 🤬 wtf.. Then I wanted my navbar back (immersion doesn’t do well for the entire web) (2) Disable fullscreen browsing option is gone 😤 (3) I’ll just get an add-on to fix that. NOPE! (4) Extensions are DISABLED! 🤔 (5) All right enough is enough, time to about:config this problem. It’s.. gone.. WAIT This can’t be right🕑🧐🕔 No. NO! It’s gone… 😭
I hoped for this to be a bug or temporary thing. But apparently mozilla’s price is Apple. Say what you will about needing to be like something else. There is no way Apple would allow that amount of fine grained tuning and control on iOS. Google saved mozilla till 2023. (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) But they might as well start digging their own grave with this behavior. This move will certainly hurt user donations, which they didn’t need to happen.
Mozilla you broke my heart. 💔
@EchoSeven
No browser on iOS (and iPadOS) is something other than a Safari reskin. Browsers on iOS are not allowed to use anything but WebKit (the rendering engine Safari uses), as per the App Store’s policies.
On iOS, it’s best to stick with Safari (unless there is a fundamental usability reason not to), turn Apple’s tracking protection on, and use it in conjunction with a content blocker like Wipr or 1Blocker X. Cheers.
WHERE IN THE HELL IS THE ABOUT:CONFIG? You fuckin morons. I have to change my user agent for a kisosk project and now I can’t because some idiot at Mozila is going to decide how everything here happens here now . Thank a lot for ruining firefox.
FF for android @V68 was great, but FF is NOT the same browser today @V80. In V68, everything was so convenient. The tab bar had “x”/close on every tab and a “+” at the end to quickly open a new tab. The address bar had forward, backward, refresh, bookmark, and the menu. You could arrange tabs and quickly open and close tabs. I think what they are calling Collections now, are just bookmarks. My bookmarks are everything in a browser and they are/were well organized (but not backed up or exported because that function did not exist). V79 blew bookmarks up. You cannot move them. My organization is gone. Keywords are also gone. I lost everything. I use to be able to open several bookmarks with a long-click. The site would open in a new tab, but I remained positioned in the bookmarks, and when done I’d click on the first tab, close it, second tab close. Now I open a bookmark and it immediately takes me to the page, so I have to go back to the bookmarks, and scroll to get in position and click the next. What I could do in seconds all on the same page, takes me minutes now and I lose focus. noScript is a menu deeper. As far as V80X being “faster”, I’m just not seeing it.
EchoSeven I might have a PRINT work around for you. Install the mobile app Xodo. It’s for editing, printing, and creating PDF’s and is absolutely awesome. So in FF V79/V80, when you are on a page that you need to print, select the SHARE icon. In the list will be “Convert to PDF”. Once you select it, XODO will open up and you can select their menu and Print. Be patience. It took me a little while to learn the powerful menu. A short-tap will bring up the outer frame with the 3-dot menu. A long-tap, brings up a floating Tool menu. If you go to the web site, click on Support and read the Getting Started and other knowledge base items. You might already have an App on your mobile device that can do something similar. But look at Share instead of Print and see what that buys you for now.
Anonymous, yeah about:config is dead, at least for now. I wish I would have read this article earlier.
When I didn’t know about new Firefox, I switched to Microsoft Edge, because it has dark theme, and is faster than old Firefox. But I’ll keep using Edge. I think it’s more intuitive.
So far since August until now, September 5, 5pm (GMT+7), I like the new Firefox’s UX. Regardless some Unavailable addons (uMatrix, User Agent switch, and Grease/Tamper Monkeys).Well I thought “The About:Config is still there” until the actual try of typing it, its gone… So, can I just install the previous Stable firefox Android? Or The stable versions are not ‘about:config’-able, which means, the only way out is going for Unstable ones?
You can’t uninstall and go back to the old version, pity. The new one will not synch (says the password is incorrect, which it is not) with my desktop version and so is useless on my Android tab. Looks like I’ll be switching to another browser that works.
Just another confirmation of what I’ve been thinking for 3+ years now: the best thing about Firefox are its forks. Try forks (I’m using IceCat for example) before you jump ship to Google Chlamydia
Mozilla has been claiming for 15 years that if there is an obscure setting in about:config users have no reason to protest absurd privacy-crushing defaults and no or misleading interface to change them.
So, what did they do now, again?
LMAO
You could tell we would get to this point when Firefox 1.0 came out
Okay, maybe I’m just not good enough to understand this. However, the new Firefox bar only functions as a SEARCH bar instead of an ADDRESS bar. Why would I want to search for a website that I already know the address of, and that I have been to before? Did I just somehow miss how to type in the address and go there directly without going through a search engine? It’s ridiculous.