7 things to know (and love) about the new Firefox for Android
The newly redesigned Firefox browser for Android is here! The Firefox app has been overhauled and redesigned from the ground up for Android fans, with more speed, customization and privacy than before. There are a ton of great reasons to love the new Firefox for Android app. Here are some of our favorites.
1. Go fast, see more
Right out of your pocket, Firefox for Android comes with blazing speed to get you where you want to go online. The clean, sharp interface loads instantly, and the overhauled engine powers you quickly to every corner of the web. And, Enhanced Tracking Protection stops many tagalong trackers from dragging down your speed, too. More about that next.
2. Shields up for privacy
Enhanced Tracking Protection has long been a celebrated feature of the Firefox browser for your computer, and it’s now built into your phone browser, too. Enhanced Tracking Protection shields you from many annoying ad and analytics trackers as well as invasive cryptomining and fingerprinting trackers. When you visit a web page where trackers are hiding, a shield icon appears in the address bar to let you know that Firefox is actively blocking them. Tap the shield to see what Firefox is blocking.
3. One tap to private mode
Private browsing mode is good for all kinds of things, like looking up random stuff that you just don’t need to be reminded about again. Private browsing tells Firefox not to save any of your browsing history or cache after you end the session, which keeps that information from being discovered or retrieved at a later date by other users. Switching to private browsing mode on your Android is as easy as tapping the mask icon. When the screen background turns purple, you’re in private mode.
Once you’ve switched to private browsing mode, you can open as many tabs as you like, then close one or all of them. It’s a simple tap between your private and regular browsing tabs, so you can keep some tabs open in regular browsing and some open in private browsing. Once you close those private browsing tabs, your associated history disappears with it. Poof!
4. Collections, the ultimate organizer
You know the drill. Have a thought? Whip out your phone to act on it. Our phones have quickly become central organizers to everything we think about, like cooking the best one pot meals, should you get a dog right now, and what’s your work from home wardrobe plan. Firefox makes it easy to organize browser tabs into any grouping you want with collections. Tap the three dots at the bottom of an open tab to start a collection, name it and add tabs to it. You can also send tab collections to Firefox on your computer and share them with other people.
5. Top or bottom, URL your way
We’re not even sure how it came to pass that toolbars on mobile browsers got stuck at the top of the window, out of thumb’s reach, but if, in a one-handed typing fiasco, you’ve dropped your phone or sprained your thumb, those days are over. Move the URL bar to the bottom or drag it back to the top — your choice.
Will moving the toolbar fix everything wrong with the internet? No. But it will make things a little easier on your thumbs. And that’s something. 👍
6. Dark mode, light mode, easy on your eyes mode
Sometimes a bright screen is what you want, but dark mode is handy if your eyes need a break. Browsing in dark mode or light mode is a tap away in Firefox, or you can set it to follow your device mode schedule.
Reader mode also cuts the visual clutter from your screen by stripping away images, ads, videos, buttons and menus from a web page, so you can focus on reading crisp clean text. Plus, it’s customizable so you can also adjust the font and size or change the background color.
7. From a company that puts people before profit
Firefox is an independent browser, backed by Mozilla, the not-for-profit tech company. We believe you should be able to decide who sees your personal info, not just among your friends, but with advertisers and companies on the internet — including us. In contrast to other major tech companies, Firefox products don’t harvest, sell or monetize your personal data. So you do you online. We’re here for it.
Originally published at The Firefox Frontier.