Mozilla launches Lockbox and Notes for iOS and Android
Test Pilot projects have been available for desktop versions of the Firefox web browser until now; this changes with the release of Notes by Firefox for Android and Firefox Lockbox for iOS.
Regular visitors of Ghacks may know the two new experiments for Firefox Mobile already has they have been available on the desktop for a while.
We reviewed Firefox Lockbox back in 2017 when Mozilla released a first alpha version of the password manager (revealed it in October 2017 for the first time). What made Lockbox interesting on the desktop was that it replaced the decade-old Firefox password manager.
An alpha version is good enough to get a first impression of a new feature but it should not be used to give a final verdict. Lockbox was very basic in its initial state as it did not support the importing or exporting of passwords. It required an Firefox Account for protection, and lacked must-have features such as automatic sign-ins or auto-completion of user data in login forms.
Mozilla launched Firefox Notes as a Test Pilot project in July 2017 for Firefox on the desktop. It added basic note taking functionality to the browser. The organization published an update in April 2018 that added multi-notes support and other new features to Notes.
Lockbox and Notes are launched as standalone apps for iOS and Android, and not as browser extensions.
Firefox Lockbox for iOS
Lockbox is the first Test Pilot experiment for Firefox on Apple iOS devices. Lockbox syncs passwords with desktop versions of Firefox, and supports Face ID and Fingerprint touch to unlock the application.
Firefox Lockbox requires an Firefox Account. It is a standalone application, not an extension for Firefox. Note that it is only available in select countries currently including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Mozilla is working on an Android version of the application. I don't have access to an iOS device and cannot test the functionality. If you do, let me know about it in the comment section below.
Notes for Firefox on Android
Notes comes as an application for devices running Google Android. Users can download and install Notes from the official store to keep their notes in sync between other Firefox installations and the Android device.
Notes can be used as a standalone application to take notes but one of its main advantages is that it syncs notes between Firefox installations.
You can create notes on Android and have them synced to your desktop Firefox installations, or read notes on Android that you jotted down on the desktop.
Notes does not appear to be restricted to certain geographical regions.
How to get the experiments?
Head over to the official Firefox Test Pilot website. Firefox Lockbox and Notes are listed on the page and you see who was involved in the creation and get download links.
You may want to check the "your privacy" section as it lists data collected specifically by that experiment. Mozilla uses experiments to test features that may one day be integrated into Firefox natively.
Firefox Lockbox is offered as an application for iOS that you can install from the Apple Store whereas Notes by Firefox: A Secure Notepad App is available on Google Play instead.
Both require a Firefox Account and Firefox Sync. The apps may be built into Firefox one day but there is no guarantee for that.
Now You: What's your take on Lockbox and Notes for mobile devices?
Positive on that, Mr. Fenderson. For facebook you can find the original facebook dot com on the internet archive.
For Google you can find the original academic research and, most notably, its funders. It’s a personal conception, based on available information. Sure, not openly debated, but…
“Mozilla is perhaps one of the best companies around”
Mozilla’s not a company, it’s a creepy Cult.
Wouldn’t be surprised if an M Meter’s not on the way.
How funny, one is available on iOS and the other on Android. Hopefully both will be available on both mobile platforms soon!
Yep, sure Mr. Fenderson. But your point refers to Mozilla community that is 7 feets under, there’s a Mozilla Corporation now, in league with google (a NSA funded enterprise). Mozilla has been co-oped, while google microsoft and facebook started as NSA projects.
@RMS
Well, you’re stating opinion here as if it were fact. That’s fair, but seems worth pointing out. Unless, of course, you have something like actual evidence to back up your assertion.
To all the “don’t trust Mozilla with your data” commenters:
While I am in the “don’t trust anybody with your data unless you have to” camp, and so I agree with the sentiment insofar as Mozilla is included in the group of “anybody”, singling Mozilla out as a particular threat is mistaken.
Mozilla is far more open and above-board, not only about what their software does but also about the decision-making process itself, than pretty much any other company. In terms of “trustworthiness”, Mozilla is perhaps one of the best companies around (although the bar is admittedly very low).
In light of that, I hope that if you are particularly concerned about Mozilla, then you are already avoiding Chrome, Windows, Facebook, smartphones and their apps, and so forth. Because if you’re not, then your position is simply irrational as any of those are a greater risk vector.
I think there are a lot of legitimate things that Mozilla (and Firefox) can be criticized for, but being irresponsible about handling your data isn’t one of them.
Five Eyes! Anyone stupid enough to give their facial ID or finger print to Mozilla without thinking about how that data will be used deserves what they get.
“United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.”
They could of atlest a country not part of the five eyes.
They could of at lest added a country not part of the five eyes.
Yea thats what I was trying to say. doh
This is totally data harvesting. Who falls into Mozilla anymore?
An excellent use of time and resources, Mozilla, instead of fixing the ancient long-running bugs in your stupid browser.
I am on firefox nightly 63.0 a1 and it works perfectly. You are the stupid one not the browser.
Listen, you twat (if we’ve resorted to name-calling), there are several battery-eating bugs in Firefox for Mac – acknowledged on Bugzilla for many months but still not fixed as they are very complicated – which prevent thousands of users from using Firefox on their laptops as they should. So instead of launching ad hominems, think before you type.
“What’s your take on Lockbox and Notes for mobile devices?”
Personally, I prefer to avoid getting locked into a specific app for things like password management (I prefer to use a standalone password manager so it can manage all my passwords rather than just the ones related to web sites). I also prefer to avoid the cloud. I’m not the target audience for these, so my opinion doesn’t matter. But they sound fine for people who are into such things!
I downloaded the note app right away! sync between firefox and my android device, I was waiting for it!
A note taking program sounds nice, I’ve been looking for a good one for a while, and..
>it syncs notes between
Uhm, yeah, thanks, but no, just no.
I would generally agree. Mozzila’s sync in Firefox is secure as it is e2e and servers never see the password or the information. If the same mechanism is in use for notes it’s not a bad thing.
On the other hand I’m not a fan of needing to fire up the browser just to see the notes (especially since Firefox is such a PITA when trying to fire up two different profiles at the same time).