#FIREFOX FOR ANDROID ANDROID#

The new Firefox has some interesting extension potential. JRР”Р„nd there's one more noteworthy possibility that ties into that same front. In addition to the built-in tracker blocker we were just talking about - which you can configure to suit your own preferences, by the way, with a thorough set of options for how heavy-handed its blocking should be - the preview app has Focus-like features such as the ability to automatically delete any or all of your browsing data every time you exit the app (something Focus does fully by default). While that app still exists and remains quite commendable, though, its same capabilities are built right into the new Firefox Preview app (and the plan seems to be for Focus to eventually be phased out in its favor).

#FIREFOX FOR ANDROID ANDROID#

The Firefox Android app has built-in tools for privacy protection.Р”Р‡or a while now, I've been suggesting Mozilla's Firefox Focus Android app as the easiest and most effective way to crank up your privacy for phone-based web browsing. It's immediately noticeable, and once you get used to the Firefox fast lane on your phone, it's a teensy bit tough to go back.Р”Р„nd on a related note. Scrolling through such sites in Chrome and then doing the same in Firefox is a night and day difference. By default, the new Firebox Android app blocks a whole host of web-based trackers - which makes web pages load meaningfully faster, especially on sites ( cough, cough) that are rather bloated with over-the-top scripts and ads ( awkward eye darting). Well, guess what? In Firefox, they're built right in. On the mobile front, though, most of those possibilities aren't present. On the desktop front, there are simple steps you can take to speed up Chrome and make it more efficient. Here, specifically, are six reasons I'm enjoying the new Firefox Android experience - and why I'd suggest you give it a whirl as well and consider it as an occasional Chrome supplement, if not something more: 1.

The 'new' version of Firefox, though, is currently called Firefox Preview, and it's the one you want to try out for the moment if you're looking to get a relatively stable yet reasonably current view of what's in the works.Р”В®ventually, all the new elements from that app will make their way into the main Firefox Android app, and it'll become advisable to switch to that - but for now, the preview version is the place to go for the good stuff.Р”В«ut enough big-picture yimmer-yammer. Right now, Mozilla - the parent organization behind Firefox - has way too many overlapping versions of its Android browser, and it's practically impossible to figure out which is what. And the more I use Firefox, the more I find myself enjoying the experience. But on Android, at least, I'm finding myself going back and forth more and more between it and Firefox. Chrome is constantly evolving, and I'm heavily invested in the ecosystem around it. Now, mind you, I'm not giving up on Google's browser yet. And in many ways, it makes Chrome feel like the rusty old relic that Firefox once became. I've been spending some time using the latest preview build of Firefox's long-under-development revamped Android app, and lemme tell ya: It's pretty darn good. The Firefox of today is a very different beast from that browser of yesteryear, though, and on Android in particular, it's rapidly evolving into something quite intriguing. I'm talking about Firefox, a browser I knew inside and out long before Chrome came along as the hot young thang and enticed me away many moons ago. It works so incredibly well for me - and yet, I can't help but feel the lure of another suitor, one that's both comfortingly familiar and tantalizingly new. The browser serves as a bridge between my various devices, both computers and phones, and makes it easy as can be for me to send text and links between 'em and find anything I've opened anywhere, anytime. Chrome is where I spend most of my days, during the week, at least - keeping up with all the latest tech info, using web-based apps like Trello, Docs, and Gmail, and watching the occasional video over on the Ye Ol' YouTubes (always strictly work-related, of course).Р”Р„t this point, I've got Chrome set up just the way I like it - with all sorts of custom shortcuts, crafty settings, and a carefully refined set of environment-enhancing extensions.

With all due respect to the physical abode around me, I practically live inside Google's Chrome browser.

Firefox for android