Here is what is new and changed in Firefox 76.0
Firefox 76.0 is the latest stable version of Mozilla's Firefox web browser. The release date of the web browser is May 5, 2020. Previous Firefox Stable releases, including Firefox 75.0, will be upgraded to the new version automatically on systems with automatic updates.
All Firefox channels are upgraded to new versions at the same time. Firefox Beta and Developer versions of Firefox are moved to 77.0, Firefox Nightly jumps to 78.0, and Firefox ESR is upgraded to 68.8.
Firefox for Android, the soon to be replaced version of Firefox for the mobile operating system, follows the Firefox ESR versioning and is also upgraded to 68.8.
The next stable release of Firefox, Firefox 77.0, is scheduled for a June 2, 2020 release.
Executive Summary
- Firefox 76.0 improves the built-in password manager in several meaningful ways.
- WebRender continues to be rolled out.
Firefox 76.0 download and update
Mozilla will release Firefox 76.0 officially on May 5, 2020. Note that the new release may not yet be available at the time of publication.
Firefox 76.0 will be available via the web browser's automatic updating functionality as well as direct downloads. You may select Menu > Help > About Firefox to run a check for updates.
The following pages list direct downloads for supported Firefox channels (will be available later on May 5, 2020)
Firefox 76.0 Changes
Firefox Password Manager (Lockwise) improvements
Mozilla improved the built-in password manager of the Firefox web browser in several ways in Firefox 76.0.
- Breach alerts inform users in the password manager when sites with saved credentials have been breached.
- If a breached account password is used on other sites, Firefox will prompt users to update the password on these sites as well to stay secure.
- Password generation extended to cover more sites on the Internet. Firefox will suggest a secure complex password when you select the password field.
- Firefox protects saved passwords against local snooping if no master password has been set by prompting for the user account password on Windows and Macintosh systems before revealing passwords.
Other changes
- Picture-in-Picture mode got a new double-click option to switch between fullscreen mode and default size.
- Support for Audio Worklets allows Firefox users to join Zoom calls on Firefox directly; additional components don't need to be downloaded anymore.
- WebRender rollout expands to modern Intel laptops with screen resolutions lower than 1920x1200.
- Minor changes to the address bar:
- address bar field shadow is reduced in with when new tabs are opened.
- bookmarks toolbar size expanded slightly (for touchscreen users).
Firefox for Android
Mozilla lists "various stability and security fixes" without providing details.
Developer Changes
- Deferred scripts will be run after stylesheets are loaded.
- Firefox supports CSS4 system colors.
- Firefox supports audio worklets by default.
- Attempts to navigate to an unknown protocol using methods such as location.href are now blocked.
- double-click on table headers in the network requests table resizes columns to fit the width of the content.
Known Issues
- Audio playback is not working if 32-bit versions of Firefox are run from a network drive.
Security updates / fixes
Security updates are revealed after the official release of the web browser. You find the information published here.
Additional information / sources
- Firefox 76 release notes
- Add-on compatibility for Firefox 76
- Firefox 76 for Developers
- Site compatibility for Firefox 76
- Firefox Security Advisories
- Firefox Release Schedule
> If a breached account password is used on other sites, Firefox will prompt users to update the password on these sites as well to stay secure.
Hmm, does someone please know how do i disable such “feature” so that my login/email/password(s) aren’t sent anywhere to check for this?
Thank you.
Firefox does not send passwords to Mozilla, it merely checks hashes. I just checked in Nightly, you can turn off “show alerts about passwords for breached sites” under Logins and Passwords on this page: about:preferences#privacy
I’m not 100% sure if this covers the password manager checks though, maybe someone else can verify?
Hi Martin, thanks for the prompt reply.
I thought Firefox may was now sending login details to a third party service such as https://haveibeenpwned.com/ not to Mozilla itself, either way will be concerning to me though.
If it does merely check hashes, does that involves sending such hashes somewhere? because those might be brute-forced i think (?)
Thanks!
Firefox 75 on Linux Mint 19.3 and if I’m using FF about 7 minutes after 12 midnight and my Hard Drive activity lights up and stays lit and no flickering jut lit solid. So I wondering what’s up with that and I have to reboot to get that Drive Access stopped. And sometimes it will happen in the morning when I first start Firefox and begin browsing the web.
As a Linux (Fedora) user, biggest news for me is VA-API acceleration for all video codecs in Wayland. Finally!!
A custom NewTab page has been removed from Firefox a long time ago but until now I managed to set my own with a dedicated userChrome.js workaround :
‘Custom New Tab’ at [https://luke-baker.github.io/chrome/NewTab_custom-page.uc.js]
Though the developer mentions that “userChrome.js is obsolete in Firefox 72″ [https://luke-baker.github.io/] there’s been another userChrome.js implementation developed by by xiaoxiaoflood
[https://github.com/xiaoxiaoflood/firefox-scripts] which works just great but no longer for Luke Baker’s ”Custom New Tab’ …
I’m complaining about this new restriction applied to what seems to be a Mozilla’s strong determination to forbid by all means the establishment of a user’s custom new tab url : Homepage is what you want, NewTab page is either Firefox’s Homepage or a blank page. Why?! Why such stubbornness to refuse to users that they decide by themselves of what the NewTab opens?
My will regarding Firefox has always been to be able to choose its Homepage : done, and its NewTab : nops. Moreover I prefer that Homepage and Newtab be the same. No longer possible with Firefox 76.0, even with a dedicated userChrome.js (unless I find one as I’m eagerly searching for).
For the time being I use ‘Perfect Home’ a dedicated, well built Firefox extension which provides the possibility to have one page (that of the extension) serving both HomePage and NewTab with moreover a well thought Dial feature (which serves HomePage and NewTab). It’s well done but I still regret my own Home/NewTab page, and beyond all, once again : not being authorized to have my own NewTab deeply annoys me. Mozilla is deeply anchored on their own pages, especially the NewTab one… a pain, ladies & gentlemen, a true pain.
I’ve found what had changed in Firefox 76 by digging into [Firefox Install Folder]\browser\omni.ja
In Luke Baker’s above mentioned userScript.js,
Replace aboutNewTabService.newTabURL with AboutNewTab.newTabURL
That fixes the issue I mentioned, provided of course that the userScript environment has been installed by means of above referenced xiaoxiaoflood’s implementation.
the Scheduled Telemetry task i deleted, seems back.
I like the download arrow between the Nav and Search bars, like them around the same width.
Looks like any button between them sets the SB to a much narrower default size.
Without buttons the ‘drag between’ still works fine and the width’s stick as usual.
(Same in Safe Mode)
Here’s what i needed to know. What if i don’t use a Windows Password? What does Firefox do? if you try to view passwords on the old microsoft edge, it tells you to go to Manage Web Credentials and it won’t let me view them or edit them unless i enter the Windows Password, you know, the Windows Password that i DON’T USE.
But i found this and it won’t prompt you – https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/lockwise-password-authentication-prompt
I’m on ESR 68.8; nothing here I’d use. The changes are so minor, releasing a new version is odd.
What Mozilla is calling PIP isn’t really PIP, since the window isn’t in anything, rather it’s on everything. It’s a floating always on top window, FAOTW. They could call it FAT, maybe.
Unless I’m misunderstanding how it works, the English in this could be better:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-picture-picture-firefox
As far as i can remember ur passwords are stored in logins.json and key4.db maybe also key3db. Copy these files from on profile to another an u have a copy of ur passwords.
Is there any way to export passwords in firefox.?
https://github.com/kspearrin/ff-password-exporter
developed by bitwarden’s developer
Does this new Password Manager change mean that passwords will be tied to the local machine somehow and you could not use them in a portable installation in another machine (like how Chrome/Chromium deletes your passwords if you try to use it in a machine that is different than the original)?
The best secured “site” for a password is the owner’s brain, just my two cents, of course. :/
@John G. – Yeah, i agree. But for me it’s about convenience.
Also, one thing i’ve always thought about is that, what if you say, get in a car accident, wake up out of a coma and have some amnesia? Not total amnesia, but some, that does happen. Now imagine the amnesia affected all of your passwords, even your security questions, that would be awful and there’s nothing you’d be able to do about it, only wish your memory comes back.
Passwords saved in a browser could be like a lifesaver. So could having them written down on paper and hiding them in a safe place, that is if you remember where you hid it… lol.
No. Your passwords keep being synchronized between Firefox installations on devices, through your Firefox Account, and can also be transferred using backup & restore. Just the View and Edit buttons in the Password Manager now ask for OS authentication.
I don’t use Firefox Account. I sometimes use Portable Firefox and synchronize it manually.
I thought a secure password also included symbols, in the securely generated password example shown above there is only letters and numbers.
https://xkcd.com/936/
Exactly my thoughts. Also there isn’t any manual generation available in lockwise. I keep using Bitwarden.
I still have no idea what they were thinking when they created this expanding addressbar/megabar. It makes the UI look plain stupid. And I really know where it is located.
Then you’ll really love Firefox 77 – where you can no longer disable this innovation through about:config and must use a userChrome.css file…