Mozilla has released new versions of its Firefox web browser for desktop and Android users.

Firefox 74 for desktop includes improvements to the password and add-ons managers and a feature that helps keep Facebook from tracking you as you browse the web. And Firefox 68.6.0 for Android packs some stability and security fixes. But there’s also a new Firefox Preview v4.0 build for Android that brings more new features and bug fixes to the upcoming new version of Mozilla’s mobile web browser.

Here’s a run-down of some of the new versions for desktop and mobile users:

Firefox 74 for Desktop

  • Facebook Container keeps the social network from tracking your logins, likes, and comments when you’re visiting non-Facebook sites, although there’s an option to add exceptions for custom sites if you want to enable Facebook tracking.
  • You can use the Add-ons Manager to remove third-party add-ons installed by external applications.
  • Firefox offers a privacy enhancement when making voice or video calls over the web by hiding your computer’s IP address and using a random ID in some cases when making calls using WebRTC.
  • It’s easier to import bookmarks and history from the new Microsoft Edge web browser.
  • You can sort your logins by reverse alphabetical order in the Logins and Passwords settings menu.
  • TLS 1.0 and 1.1 have been disabled, and you’ll see an error page when visiting sites that don’t support TLS 1.2.
  • Mozilla has outlined other security enhancements in a blog post.

Firefox Preview v4.0 for Android

  • Top Sites are displayed on the new tab page.
  • A login/password manager has been added, and it can synchronize with your Firefox account to share passwords across desktop and mobile devices.
  • There’s an in-app language chooser.
  • Initial support for the uBlock Origin ad-blocker extension has been added.

Both new browsers also feature a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements. And if you want to get ahead of the curve, you can also take the new Firefox 75.0 beta for desktop for a spin. Among other things, it has new address bar features and improved HTTPS compatibility with misconfigured web servers.

You can find Firefox download links at Mozilla.org, or grab the latest Firefox Preview for Android from the Google Play Store or github.

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5 replies on “Firefox 74 for desktop released (and Firefox Preview v4.0 for Android too)”

  1. Is Firefox still horribly slow on Android? Nothing beats Opera atm in that regard but their constant adding of ad bookmarks every week makes me want to switch so bad to an altrernative, yet FF on Android is just a POS.

    1. Preview/focus is supposed to be faster but for those, they replaced the engine with a (supposedly) mobile-optimized version called geckoview (I’m not totally sure what the differences are between this and the current desktop engine).
      I just use fennec with UBO. Seems fine to me, but I don’t do much browsing on my phone, and I only really care about framerates when it gets down to 10 frames a second.
      You could also try Bromite, or Kiwi for slightly-less-googled chrome reskins (kiwi has ublock origin available for now), or Lightning/bromite webview for a lightweight wrapper for android system webview (which can still block ads to a degree but there’s no cosmetic filtering).

  2. initial support for ublock origin on mobile? I’m using it right now in fennec (installed via fdroid).

    fennec, firefox, clear, Firefox 4 preview. .. what the Firefox

    1. I have been using ublock origin on Android phones for at least 5 years now. It’s only recently that it has become somewhat broken on my S10+ by showing the boxes where the ads are supposed to be. Not sure if it’s an issue with my specific installation or a general one, though.

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