Three Reasons not to upgrade to the new Firefox for Android browser right now

Martin Brinkmann
Aug 7, 2020
Firefox
|
149

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:

Reason 1: Add-ons support

firefox android addons

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.

Reason 2: No about:config

firefox android no about config

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.

Reason 3: Adding search provides is possible but difficult

firefox android search

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.

Closing Words

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?

Summary
Three Reasons not to upgrade to the new Firefox for Android browser right now
Article Name
Three Reasons not to upgrade to the new Firefox for Android browser right now
Description
Three reasons why Firefox for Android users may not want their browser upgraded to the redesigned version of Firefox for Android that Mozilla is rolling out currently.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Rummy wealth said on June 7, 2023 at 3:14 pm
    Reply

    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.

  2. Alexanderjulia said on June 7, 2023 at 3:13 pm
    Reply

    I used to be an Opera user for years now. Well on Android that is. Mainly because usability reasons. And because Firefox was to slow and less convenient.

    I discovered that Opera has been bought by a Chinese company couple of years ago…. I had missed that apparently.

    As I do not trust that company, I am trying Firefox again. And I am happy! The new version is fast and useable.
    I am totally fine they set the default search engine. I change that once. That is not too annoying, and Mozilla must make money somehow.

    The only thing I miss is a second bar. I would like to have a search bar on top and a extra bar on the bottom with tabs button, bookmark button, etc.

  3. Steven said on October 22, 2022 at 8:26 pm
    Reply

    I used to be an Opera user for years now. Well on Android that is. Mainly because usability reasons. And because Firefox was to slow and less convenient.

    I discovered that Opera has been bought by a Chinese company couple of years ago…. I had missed that apparently.

    As I do not trust that company, I am trying Firefox again. And I am happy! The new version is fast and useable.
    I am totally fine they set the default search engine. I change that once. That is not too annoying, and Mozilla must make money somehow.

    The only thing I miss is a second bar. I would like to have a search bar on top and a extra bar on the bottom with tabs button, bookmark button, etc.

    I am also trying Brave.
    It has some nice features like 2 bars. But it feels slow. And I find it to aggressive on notifications about what it has blocked, the wallet, being not the default browser, crypto coins, etc.
    I get it. They must make money but it is to annoying for me.

  4. Mike M said on September 6, 2022 at 6:23 am
    Reply

    I feel like I have been promoting a presidential candidate (Firefox) for years only to be fired from my position after discovering I’ve been supporting a corrupt candidate. I have been on board with firefox since the beginning and have turned so many people on to it. Almost every computer I have ever set up, repaired or even helped someone do something on has ended up with firefox installed and Internet Explorer disabled. And yet I am now considering using Microsofts abomination for its ability to use addons from any browser. SAMSUNG just needs a desktop version and they may be set. Firefox be aware that your opposition is touting the same platform as you without restrictions. They see your base support wavering and are attempting to lure us away. It doesn’t help when you are giving us a push towards them.

    1. Yash said on September 6, 2022 at 9:08 am
      Reply

      Shut up. Firefox for Android has come a long way. Granted add-ons are still few. For that download Fennec or Iceraven, add your own custom collection of add-ons you need. You have to spend five minutes to make it work. Your choice – either moan or do some work.

      1. owl said on September 6, 2022 at 11:26 am
        Reply

        @Yash,
        > “Shut up.”

        is a provocative phrase that can incite confrontational feelings and should not be used in a community (peers who share each other’s knowledge and experiences on a topic that can be shared, and exchange reflections and issues).

        If we simply read the contributor’s text without any back and forth context, it is no different than @Iron Heart’s behavior. It is important to read the “true intent” of the commenter and respond to a consultation (listen honestly, empathize, and offer hints) to their concerns.

        @Yash, you have enough knowledge and experience, as well as empirical research, to make your comments useful. However, I find that you sometimes become emotional and confrontational.

        Please try to add a friendly and sincere attitude, to your useful information.

        @Mike M,
        By the way, I am not an android user, so I am unable to respond for your comment.

      2. Yash said on September 6, 2022 at 12:11 pm
        Reply

        Yeah on reading that comment again it was daft to write it that way.

        I suppose my reaction was rude due to a user complaining about something for which a solution exists. But yeah it could’ve been said in a different way.

        Thanks @owl, sometimes what one may find acceptable can be pointed as not appropriate by another person. Nothing wrong with that.

  5. Al said on January 31, 2022 at 2:57 am
    Reply

    Same here still on 68, can’t even set new homepage to bookmarks, add-on support is a joke.

    1. owl said on January 31, 2022 at 4:25 am
      Reply

      @Al,

      Your topic itself is a joke.
      This topic is two years old. There is no point in rehashing it.

      1. Mike M said on September 6, 2022 at 6:27 am
        Reply

        The issue has not been resolved 2+ years later therefore rehashing is warranted.

  6. Dormancy said on November 9, 2021 at 5:59 pm
    Reply

    Year later and it’s the same bullshit browser as described in the article or worse. So I basically forced to use outdated and insecure 68 version on each of my devices as there are no viable alternatives except Kiwi maybe.

  7. Les said on August 1, 2021 at 2:56 pm
    Reply

    It has finally happened! I have finally got fed up enough with Firefox that I totally removed it from my phone. Here I am, I get Firefox customized to my liking with all the addons I like and my preferred settings and then Firefox comes along with what they consider to be an upgrade and it totally messes up everything I have done! I then try to revert back to an older version of Forefox and I’m unable to install that older verson. I have now switched to a browser based on Chrome called Bromite. I guess I’ll stay with this until Bromite decides to do something to piss me off.

    1. Anonymous said on November 9, 2021 at 6:07 pm
      Reply

      You can download APK from mozilla’s “ftp” archive and install it manually. Just disable update option in your store app ASAP.

  8. jolan said on July 19, 2021 at 5:55 pm
    Reply

    Over a year later and no change. Only a select few plugins available, and you absolutely cannot add anything from the desktop. Mozilla has gone the way of Apple, they tell you what you like, they tell you what you want.

  9. Zsolt said on April 30, 2021 at 2:44 pm
    Reply

    Hi!

    The one useful featue of the new Firefox is dark mode.
    Is there a way to get a dark theme for FF68 for Android?

  10. Gerd said on March 23, 2021 at 11:41 am
    Reply

    I am finally fed up with that new Firefox on Android as well, because:
    – no performance improvement at all
    – increased battery drain
    – option to save pages as PDF removed
    – add-on support crippled
    – about:config removed

    That’s why I did not install it on my tablet. But I thought I’d give it a chance on my mobile.

    But what really pisses me off is that you cannot configure how your downloads are handled! For some (PDF), the system’s Open With dialog appears (as it should), but others are opened by a fixed app (in my case,it was Readler).
    As Readler is not able to handle XLSX files, I had to uninstall it, only to encounter an “unable to open file” message, instead of the Open With dialog, in Firefox afterwards.

    So I finally reverted to Firefox 68.11.0 on my mobile as well
    – downloaded and installed 68.11.0 according to http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3063747
    – disabled auto update within Firefox
    – disabled auto update for Firefox in Google Play

    Indeed, it looks like 68.11.0 is the last Firefox that is usable on Android as the Mozilla Developers are convinced that their new version is the best invention since sliced bread, and do not bother bringing back any of 68.11.0’s features whatsoever :(

  11. anonymous-david said on March 10, 2021 at 7:06 am
    Reply

    Not a comment but a requrest: Can you please research + inquire info directly from Mozilla and then write an article about : WHY stupid Mozilla org does offer the Android version (APK) for (side) downloading from its site and instead FORCES users to go and download it from untrusty google ! Many users do not use google and most of those users are the less that 8% (from once 30%) who still use firefox. People who trust google and use the google store are 92% certain to download and use chrome instead. I ended up not downloading it at all (even though I know I can get a version from apkpure but that defeats the purpose). Mozilla org keep pushing even its few existing users away from Firefox.

    With those methods Mozilla executives in their demonstrated infinite stupidity and incompetence keep aggrevating the few users left and of course not attracting new ones. Practically they are shooting Firefox in the foot. This relates to the fact that Mozilla org is loaded with hundreds of millions of dollars from google but it turns out that 30% of yearly expenditures go for administrative purposes including fatty salaries to execs. Those execs do not work for mozilla but for google and something has to be done if Firefox is to survive in the next 3-5 years. See if you can address those issues in conjunction.

    One more topic if you interested: Firefox websites are a disfunctioning, childish, terribly designed mess requiring too much js enabled, too many clicks, lots of dead ends and cycling around.

    Enjoying your website and its efficient format.

  12. Speedyk said on November 28, 2020 at 6:17 pm
    Reply

    How to go back…

    1) use Sync to move your info to Firefox desktop browser. If you have an original profile it can be saved and replaced when this is done. I used a disposable email for the Mozilla account.
    Downside to this method is that you do upload your profile to Mozilla/Google servers when you sync.
    2) Download firefox 68.11 as an apk
    3) Delete current Firefox in Android Settings/Apps
    4)Install apk of 68.11
    5) Login and Sync to get your bookmarks back

    Your bookmarks will be there, the popular will be a mess and take time to re-establish.

    F-droid says that Fennec includes tracking by Google and Mozilla.

  13. Jan said on October 22, 2020 at 6:24 pm
    Reply

    This was forced on me after I innocently tapped on my phone’s notification for updating all apps.

    Now most of my tabs’ history – GONE.
    Proper tab display – GONE. I can only see three at a time.
    Ability to reorder tabs – GONE.
    Ability to put the cursor to the end of a line by tapping in the white space after the line’s end – GONE. Now it goes to either the line below, or above, but NEVER fucking EVER into the line you’re tapping on.
    Proper cursor movement – GONE. Most of the time I try to move the cursor up or down lines, it drags the whole page.
    All my extensions apart from ublock origin – GONE.
    And now I can’t even use ublock origin properly, as it’s hidden inside an extra ‘add-on’ menu. So accessing the element hider is now harder.

    They now took away about:config. They want to turn it into a walled and controlled fucking garden.

    It’s alleged to be faster, but for me it’s actually slower, it breaks EVERYTHING, and they are denying people the option to go back.

    This is the worst fucking thing the mozilla foundation has ever done.

  14. Ananda said on October 21, 2020 at 6:17 pm
    Reply

    I have been forced to completely abandon firefox android, and firefox desktop (windows and linux) after the huge breaking changes in the version 68 to version 79 rollout. The new browser is completely dysfunctional in its bookmark library features. I have hundreds of nested folders full of bookmarks in my collection, that are impossible to navigate / sort / find in version 79. Apparently i wasn’t the only one who was upset about the breaking changes in the new version 79. I’ve been closely watching their bug tracker and there are currently over 1300 open bugs in their project. i reported the issues that i had, and i’ve been following there releases, but 2 months after reporting the major usability issues, they haven’t fixed that problem. Maybe they have way too many other fires to put out after the rollout. they might not call it a beta but this new browser behaves like a beta it has this many bugs in it because it has 1300 bugs in it.

    https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues?q=is:open label:”🐞 bug” no:assignee

  15. Nitram said on October 14, 2020 at 1:20 pm
    Reply

    Agreed… FF is a dumpster fire that needed.WAY more work before it was released. For fun, leave a negative review on Play Store and watch the butt hurt devs get defensive.

  16. Dan said on September 30, 2020 at 3:35 pm
    Reply

    Have been a Firefox user for many years, but the new version is killing me. I just uninstalled it from my phone.

  17. DrHouse said on September 29, 2020 at 10:53 am
    Reply

    Worthy of a specific ghacks article ? It’s now no longer allowed to disable sending browsing data to Google with Safebrowsing on Firefox mobile.

    No way to disable Phishing and Malware Protection for users who are suspicious
    of Google and leaking browsing history to Google

    https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/14163

    Relevant content on the failure of anonymization:

    How safebrowsing fails to protect privacy:
    https://blog.trailofbits.com/2019/10/30/how-safe-browsing-fails-to-protect-user-privacy/

    A Privacy Analysis of Google and Yandex Safe Browsing
    https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01120186v4/document

    “Our experimental analysis estimates the rate of such collisions and shows
    that hashing and truncation fails to prevent re-identification when a user
    visits small-sized domains or certain URLs of larger domains. We further
    materialize this in the form of an algorithm that Google and Yandex could
    potentially employ to track users. We conclude this work by providing an
    analysis of the databases of Google and Yandex (Section 7). By crawling their
    databases, we detect a number of “suspicious” prefixes that we call orphans.
    Orphans trigger communication with the servers, but no full digest corresponds
    to them. We also observe several URLs which have multiples prefixes included in
    the blacklists. These provide concrete examples of URLs and domains that can be
    easily tracked by Google and Yandex.”

    https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/14163#issuecomment-680291892

    “Does it have the potential of sending full URL-s to Google? Yes, it does.
    From the page given by you:
    “Otherwise, send the binary file’s metadata to the remote application
    reputation server (browser.safebrowsing.downloads.remote.url) and block the
    download if the server indicates that the file isn’t safe.”
    with the link on “metadata” leading to parts of code where there is setting in
    request properties of origin URL. If I read code correctly –

    https://dxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/source/toolkit/components/reputationservice/ApplicationReputation.cpp#1306 – it is stripped from query params, but full hostname + path ARE included in this case.”

  18. Kirk said on September 14, 2020 at 7:44 pm
    Reply

    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.

  19. GB said on September 11, 2020 at 2:21 pm
    Reply

    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

  20. Eric said on September 6, 2020 at 6:13 am
    Reply

    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

  21. Edward Sager said on September 5, 2020 at 5:40 pm
    Reply

    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.

  22. Adim said on September 5, 2020 at 12:24 pm
    Reply

    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?

  23. rafal06 said on September 5, 2020 at 11:38 am
    Reply

    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.

  24. russell said on September 4, 2020 at 8:44 am
    Reply

    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.

  25. Anonymous said on September 2, 2020 at 2:41 pm
    Reply

    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.

  26. EchoSeven said on September 1, 2020 at 11:30 pm
    Reply

    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. 💔

    1. Iron Heart said on September 2, 2020 at 9:25 am
      Reply

      @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.

  27. Bob Bobbino said on September 1, 2020 at 8:13 am
    Reply

    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.

  28. russell said on August 30, 2020 at 8:30 am
    Reply

    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?

  29. steve said on August 30, 2020 at 2:18 am
    Reply

    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

  30. raccoon said on August 29, 2020 at 6:05 pm
    Reply

    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.

  31. G said on August 29, 2020 at 5:22 am
    Reply

    How to roll back to prior version

    1. Iron Heart said on August 29, 2020 at 7:46 am
      Reply

      @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.

  32. MKK said on August 28, 2020 at 10:36 am
    Reply

    uninstall is a good choise…

    1. Anonymous said on August 30, 2020 at 6:12 am
      Reply

      The option to save web page as PDF is also missing.

  33. mike said on August 28, 2020 at 7:25 am
    Reply

    Ps afterthought: re FF-based browsers: Pale Moon and Waterfox may be good candidates…

  34. mike said on August 28, 2020 at 7:17 am
    Reply

    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.

    1. Iron Heart said on August 29, 2020 at 6:06 am
      Reply

      @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.

  35. Moonwolf said on August 27, 2020 at 5:10 pm
    Reply

    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.

  36. Tom Bash said on August 26, 2020 at 2:27 pm
    Reply

    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.

    1. Matt said on September 6, 2020 at 12:56 am
      Reply

      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.

  37. Stub Mandrel said on August 26, 2020 at 12:38 pm
    Reply

    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!”

    1. ericzutter said on October 10, 2020 at 8:09 pm
      Reply

      uBlock Origin is better than Adblock Plus. If you block manually a Google ad with Adblock Plus then Adblock Plus will add the rule but will not execute it because Adblock Plus receives money from Google to not block Google ads. Even if you uncheck Allow Acceptable Ads, Adblock Plus will not execute rules that block Google ads. If you copy the same rule to Ublock Origin, then the rule will be executed with Ublock Origin and the Google ad will be blocked. Ublock Origin does NOT receive money from Google to not block Google ads.

  38. TI said on August 25, 2020 at 8:22 pm
    Reply

    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.

  39. Benson said on August 20, 2020 at 8:44 pm
    Reply

    Now the dark option in the Reader View isn’t visible either

  40. Bengt said on August 19, 2020 at 6:32 pm
    Reply

    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.

  41. simpfeld said on August 17, 2020 at 2:48 am
    Reply

    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.

    1. Iron Heart said on August 17, 2020 at 8:17 am
      Reply

      @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”).

  42. Riverbure said on August 11, 2020 at 3:42 pm
    Reply

    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.

    1. Iron Heart said on August 11, 2020 at 4:40 pm
      Reply

      @Riverbure

      uBlock Origin has a setting for that in its dashboard.

  43. ShintoPlasm said on August 11, 2020 at 2:37 pm
    Reply

    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.

  44. Abu Jihad said on August 11, 2020 at 10:57 am
    Reply

    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.

  45. Tejedor said on August 11, 2020 at 8:18 am
    Reply

    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.

  46. G. said on August 9, 2020 at 7:46 pm
    Reply

    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.

  47. Timi said on August 9, 2020 at 3:11 pm
    Reply

    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 !?

    1. Iron Heart said on August 9, 2020 at 4:12 pm
      Reply

      @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/

  48. Thaumiel said on August 9, 2020 at 9:43 am
    Reply

    Every day, Mozilla never ceases to disappoint.

    1. ShintoPlasm said on August 9, 2020 at 9:03 pm
      Reply

      @Thaumiel:

      It’s dreadful, isn’t it? Drives me mad.

      1. Gitlab said on August 11, 2020 at 11:13 am
        Reply

        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.

  49. Gridwin said on August 9, 2020 at 6:44 am
    Reply

    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!

  50. Anonymous said on August 8, 2020 at 10:42 pm
    Reply

    If you want to alienate your userbase, this is the way to do it…

  51. Anonymous said on August 8, 2020 at 5:42 pm
    Reply

    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.

  52. Stan said on August 8, 2020 at 5:07 pm
    Reply

    “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’.

    1. ok said on August 10, 2020 at 11:14 am
      Reply

      The CEO and upper levels need to stop looting Mozilla and allocate resources fairly and properly. We need genuine opposition to google, not this.

    2. swan said on August 8, 2020 at 10:10 pm
      Reply

      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

    3. Iron Heart said on August 8, 2020 at 8:17 pm
      Reply
      1. Anonymous said on August 11, 2020 at 4:44 am
        Reply

        @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

      2. Iron Heart said on August 11, 2020 at 6:48 am
        Reply

        @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).

      3. Anonymous said on August 11, 2020 at 8:02 pm
        Reply

        @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

      4. Stan said on August 10, 2020 at 4:12 am
        Reply

        Thanks mate, good ‘hands on’ instruction manual, bookmarked ! :)

  53. Marc said on August 8, 2020 at 2:12 pm
    Reply

    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

  54. martixy said on August 8, 2020 at 2:11 pm
    Reply

    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.

    1. Anona said on August 8, 2020 at 4:11 pm
      Reply

      Yandex and Kiwi support extensions to, and Brave is working on it as well

      1. martixy said on August 9, 2020 at 6:32 am
        Reply

        Oh, cool. I might check out Kiwi… looks reasonable.
        Thanks.

  55. This said on August 8, 2020 at 11:35 am
    Reply

    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.

    1. swan said on August 8, 2020 at 10:05 pm
      Reply

      I wish they would.
      I wouldn’t hold my breath, though.
      (*sigh!*)

  56. Benjamin said on August 8, 2020 at 10:32 am
    Reply

    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/

    1. This said on August 8, 2020 at 11:38 am
      Reply

      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.

      1. Benjamin said on August 8, 2020 at 6:40 pm
        Reply

        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.

      2. Iron Heart said on August 8, 2020 at 8:11 pm
        Reply

        @Benjamin

        > i am sure they understand that there is no viable choice left.

        There is always a choice aside from spyware.

    2. Benjamin said on August 8, 2020 at 10:40 am
      Reply

      …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.

  57. Liam said on August 7, 2020 at 10:56 pm
    Reply

    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.

  58. Yuliya said on August 7, 2020 at 9:12 pm
    Reply

    S

  59. kaskuser said on August 7, 2020 at 8:53 pm
    Reply

    Im still on 68.10.1..

  60. Ryan F said on August 7, 2020 at 8:28 pm
    Reply

    It has uBlock Origin. I’m good.

  61. Alex said on August 7, 2020 at 7:37 pm
    Reply

    Where can I get the 68.11.0 APK from?

      1. Bigus Dickus said on August 28, 2020 at 12:44 am
        Reply

        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…

      2. Iron Heart said on August 29, 2020 at 6:11 am
        Reply

        @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.

      3. swan said on August 8, 2020 at 10:01 pm
        Reply
    1. Iron Heart said on August 7, 2020 at 7:47 pm
      Reply

      @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/

  62. Samanto Hermes said on August 7, 2020 at 6:04 pm
    Reply

    Reason 4: No F-Droid build without Adjust, Google Analytics and Leanplum.

  63. Iron Heart said on August 7, 2020 at 5:26 pm
    Reply

    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.

  64. owl said on August 7, 2020 at 2:17 pm
    Reply

    Thank you Martin!
    Since it is very useful information, I quoted it immediately:
    https://forums.mozillazine.jp/viewforum.php?f=23

    1. owl said on August 7, 2020 at 4:41 pm
      Reply
      1. Abu Jihad said on August 11, 2020 at 10:53 am
        Reply

        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.

  65. Pedro said on August 7, 2020 at 1:18 pm
    Reply

    “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.

  66. Anonymous said on August 7, 2020 at 1:00 pm
    Reply

    Too late… Also disappeared:
    – Send to Other Devices from other apps share menu – you have to open in the browser first.

  67. Peter Hansen said on August 7, 2020 at 12:37 pm
    Reply

    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.

    1. Iron Heart said on August 7, 2020 at 5:14 pm
      Reply

      @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.

      1. GDeon said on August 13, 2020 at 9:16 pm
        Reply

        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.

      2. Abu Jihad said on August 11, 2020 at 11:27 am
        Reply

        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.

  68. Anonymous said on August 7, 2020 at 12:26 pm
    Reply

    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.

    1. Snoz said on May 22, 2021 at 7:52 pm
      Reply

      They got rid of the image blocker, this was the main reason I use Firefox, I wanted to block images on certain websites and now there doesn’t appear to be any browser which offers this feature. A major problem with the new version is it keeps crashing, this never happened with the old version. There have been many updates, but none of them have fixed this.

  69. Benjamin said on August 7, 2020 at 11:55 am
    Reply

    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…

  70. pd said on August 7, 2020 at 10:56 am
    Reply

    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?

    1. Conigi said on August 26, 2020 at 10:35 pm
      Reply

      Why would you need an equalizer in a browser?

  71. asd said on August 7, 2020 at 10:42 am
    Reply

    > 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.

  72. Niko said on August 7, 2020 at 10:08 am
    Reply

    “…The new browser offers better performance and web compatibility…”

    Sounds interesting, i’m going to check this out!

  73. Chris said on August 7, 2020 at 9:48 am
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    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.

    1. Iron Heart said on August 7, 2020 at 5:17 pm
      Reply

      @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.

    2. ULBoom said on August 7, 2020 at 1:32 pm
      Reply

      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.

  74. Shiro said on August 7, 2020 at 9:34 am
    Reply

    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?

    1. Sebas said on August 8, 2020 at 3:26 am
      Reply

      I you have a Samsung, the Samsung browser is not that bad if you combine it with Adguard. Samsung knows everything about you anyway.

    2. Iron Heart said on August 7, 2020 at 5:30 pm
      Reply

      @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.

      1. Anonymous said on August 8, 2020 at 11:50 pm
        Reply

        What about using FDroid to install and keep Bromite up to date? Is there a problem with this metthod?

      2. Conigi said on August 26, 2020 at 10:33 pm
        Reply

        Yes, the problem is: F-Droid.

      3. Iron Heart said on August 9, 2020 at 8:11 am
        Reply

        @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

    3. ULBoom said on August 7, 2020 at 1:43 pm
      Reply

      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. :) )

  75. ShintoPlasm said on August 7, 2020 at 9:24 am
    Reply

    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…)

    1. SpywareFan said on August 7, 2020 at 11:39 am
      Reply

      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.

      1. ShintoPlasm said on August 7, 2020 at 2:18 pm
        Reply

        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!

      2. Wouter said on August 20, 2020 at 11:39 pm
        Reply

        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.

      3. Iron Heart said on August 7, 2020 at 5:33 pm
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        @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.

      4. ShintoPlasm said on August 7, 2020 at 6:29 pm
        Reply

        @Iron Heart:

        You know what? I never believed they’d dare to ditch such a core feature. Foolish of me, I guess…

      5. Iron Heart said on August 14, 2020 at 11:32 am
        Reply

        @ShintoPlasm

        Well, Moz devs have a reaction to those complaining, apparently:

        https://twitter.com/EmilyKager/status/1289308930972278789

        Says it all.

      6. Uday said on September 1, 2020 at 5:52 pm
        Reply

        How to see downloads in this new one. I have I can’t see button or menu.

      7. karl said on August 30, 2020 at 6:43 am
        Reply

        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.

  76. Stv said on August 7, 2020 at 9:20 am
    Reply

    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.

    1. endlessquest said on September 25, 2020 at 2:40 pm
      Reply

      that’d be 80+. Currently 81.1.1 (updated yesterday).
      It is true it’s lacking a number of features and add-ons but, at the same time, I find it twice as fast as it was before, faster than chrome, and way more stable, too, so it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
      Besides, they’re improving it at every updated.
      For instance a “limited” download manager has been restored in the latest version, which was completely missing in the previous, so they ARE working on it…
      It’ll take some time and a bit of patience but sooner or later they’ll come out with a release containing all the stuff we’re used to have in the old version.
      I disagree with the defeatist attitude shown in some reviews.
      This version IS better than it was, it’s faster and stable, it “work’s” better, period.

      1. endlessquest said on September 25, 2020 at 2:50 pm
        Reply

        Updated yesterday to ver 81.1.1.
        It is true it’s lacking a number of features and add-ons, some of which I really miss, but, at the same time, I find it twice as fast as it was before, faster than chrome, and way more stable, too, so it’s a price I’m willing to pay.
        Besides, they’re improving it at every updated.
        For instance a “limited” download manager has been restored in the latest version, which was completely missing in the previous, so they ARE working on it…
        It’ll take a while and a bit of patience but sooner or later they’ll come out with a release containing all the stuff we’re used to have in the old version, so let’s giv’em some time.
        I disagree with the defeatist attitude shown in some reviews: it happened the same with its predecessors, when they were newly released.
        In the end, this version IS better than it was before, it’s faster and stable, it “work’s” better, period.

  77. Neil said on August 7, 2020 at 9:18 am
    Reply

    -No Tabs Queue
    -No tabs preview

  78. Henk said on August 7, 2020 at 9:04 am
    Reply

    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?

    1. Ted Sternberg said on September 1, 2020 at 5:59 am
      Reply

      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.

      1. Higor said on September 12, 2020 at 2:28 am
        Reply

        Didn’t test but, can’t you install your self made adds on beta version?

    2. ShintoPlasm said on August 7, 2020 at 10:09 am
      Reply

      @Henk: 68.11.0 is likely the last version of the ‘old’ Firefox, and I think the ‘new’ one is 79.0

      1. Juraj M. said on August 7, 2020 at 10:45 am
        Reply

        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?!?!

      2. NeonRobot said on August 7, 2020 at 12:55 pm
        Reply

        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.

      3. highandhappy said on March 31, 2022 at 10:51 pm
        Reply

        Yeah, hit the nail right on the head there mate

      4. jupiter said on June 21, 2022 at 6:00 pm
        Reply

        They Are crazy, before or during the Time you install and or download they Never talk about that the user Will lost every internet page recorded,every page Who reload automaticaly with Each session. We have lost 3 years of activ research,with the last update of firefoxe.

      5. Jan said on October 22, 2020 at 6:03 pm
        Reply

        I get what you’re trying to say, but resorting to the ‘housewives’ stereotype is also a disrespect, to women.
        But yes, chrome is primitive, and blatantly commercialist by banning adblockers.

      6. Iron Heart said on August 7, 2020 at 5:28 pm
        Reply

        @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.

      7. ShintoPlasm said on August 7, 2020 at 5:42 pm
        Reply

        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).

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