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How to Firefox

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Re: How to Firefox

#431

Post by kevincox »

lucumo wrote: post #414
kevincox wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bookmarks definitely sync with Firefox sync. I have the same bookmarks on all of my devices. Extension settings can sync, I don't know exactly if it is opt-in or opt-out but some extensions do sync on desktop. The mobile situation is definitely different, mobile doesn't sync to desktop. I don't know if different mobile devices sync with each other (I only have one).

> Bookmarks definitely sync Yeah, I meant search engines. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44647014 > Extension settings can sync, I don't know exactly if it is opt-in or opt-out but some extensions do sync on desktop. I mostly tried with uBO. Couldn't get it to work.

Yeah, search engines don't which is annoying and confusing. However on desktop you can use keyword bookmarks which offer basically the same functionality and do sync.

uBlock Origin does it's own weird thing where you need to trigger the sync in the settings interface. I don't think you can blame Firefox for this UX choice.

Re: How to Firefox

#432

Post by neobrain »

hypertexthero wrote: post #333
nuker wrote: post #323

- June 2024. Mozilla acquires Anonym, an ad metrics firm. - July 2024. Mozilla adds Privacy-Preserving Attribution (PPA), feature is enabled by default. Developed in cooperation with Meta (Facebook). - Feb 2025. Mozilla updates its Privacy FAQ and TOS. "does not sell data about you." becomes "... in the way that most people think about it".

Here’s how to disable PPA: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/privacy-preserving-attr...

Also worth noting it's automatically disabled if telemetry ("Send technical and interaction data to Mozilla") is disabled.

Though even without disabling it, PPA is currently in limited rollout and only visible to Mozilla websites in the first place, so it would hardly cause any harm for now.

[1] https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/2024/08/22/ppa-update/

Re: How to Firefox

#433

Post by BrenBarn »

The "customizability" argument took a huge hit years ago when Firefox broke a vast number of extensions not long after promising they would not do so.

These days I use Waterfox with a collection of a dozen or so extensions, update it as infrequently as possible, and pray when I do. I also have Vivaldi for those sites that have issues with Waterfox, and out of habit I also use it for some sites that used to have issues with Waterfox.

The problem with Firefox is the same as the problem with Chrome that is leading people to move to Firefox: browsers keep breaking things. I find it sadly ironic how everyone talks about the web being this platform with unshakable backward compatibility, when in fact from a user perspective it's become quite precarious. If you're a site author and you put something up in an HTML file they'll bend over backwards to support it until kingdom come, but if you're a person using a program on your own computer, be ready to have your workflow come crashing down at any moment when Google or Mozilla decides it's time for a refactor.

With that rant aside, I will say I've overall been quite happy with Waterfox for many years now. The key feature for me in a browser is the ability to support thousands of open tabs. (I know I'm insane, but I gotta be me.) This is achievable in Waterfox with Tab Mix Plus and Auto Tab Discard. Another ace feature is built into (Fire|Water)fox: the box you can uncheck for "let pages override my fonts". This way I see every page in my chosen font. The nearest alternative in Chromium-based browsers is Stylus, which is far less effective.

Overall for me the Waterfox experience is much better than Vivaldi. I just have to cross my fingers and cast myself on the mercy of the cosmos when it comes time to upgrade.

Re: How to Firefox

#434

Post by user070223 »

ReadCarlBarks wrote: post #285
user070223 wrote: post #167

I would also advise people to use user.js such as arkenfox / betterfox. Also available on mobile https://github.com/yokoffing/Betterfox/issues/240

These so-called "hardening scripts" cause a lot of issues and volunteers have to waste their time helping clueless users who copied them without understanding what they do.

I see you're quite active regarding FF. Nevertheless I'm not sure what you're talking about. I've installed Betterfox ESR on Windows, Linux and Android with no apparent issues.

Re: How to Firefox

#435

Post by skotobaza »

adithyassekhar wrote: post #429
skotobaza wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I can't get the tone of the article or how I'm supposed to feel about it It's a tech article. What do you expect to feel while reading it?

The author uses a really excited tone and frequent questions like You know what? Guess what? Wow! Boom! Exaggeration obviously, but I like to connect emotionally with the author of whatever I am reading. You can understand a lot more that way than words can convey. I was not able to keep up with such an enthusiastic post that's all.

I suppose the author was expecting that people who read the article already knew what it's all about (i.e. the context) - switching browsers because of manifest version changes made by Google, and some "concerns" that people have about Firefox compared to Chrome. But that part is conveyed in the first two sentences of the article.

In the end, he is just "excited" to help people switch to Firefox, that's all.

Re: How to Firefox

#436

Post by ohmyblock »

BrenBarn wrote: post #433

The "customizability" argument took a huge hit years ago when Firefox broke a vast number of extensions not long after promising they would not do so. These days I use Waterfox with a collection of a dozen or so extensions, update it as infrequently as possible, and pray when I do. I also have Vivaldi for those sites that have issues with Waterfox, and out of habit I also use it for some sites that used to have issue…

I had never heard of the 'font override' option and was using Stylus in Firefox. That option together with minimum font size are a game changer for me. You've made my day, thanks!

Re: How to Firefox

#437

Post by FeepingCreature »

ReadCarlBarks wrote: post #274
FeepingCreature wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still no multi-row tab bars or API support for hiding the main tab bar, as was explicitly promised when they killed TabMixPlus.

Power users interested in this niche feature can use a script: https://old.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/1m594nv/multi_tab_...

I think with UserChromeJS you can run TabMixPlus too. I don't remember if it needs anything else. (Or a fork like Waterfox, of course.)

But like, if we're turning signature checking and sandboxing off, we're getting pretty far from stock Firefox. And of course, they can (and often will) break it on every update.

Re: How to Firefox

#438

Post by BrenBarn »

ohmyblock wrote: post #436
BrenBarn wrote: post #433

The "customizability" argument took a huge hit years ago when Firefox broke a vast number of extensions not long after promising they would not do so. These days I use Waterfox with a collection of a dozen or so extensions, update it as infrequently as possible, and pray when I do. I also have Vivaldi for those sites that have issues with Waterfox, and out of habit I also use it for some sites that used to have issue…

I had never heard of the 'font override' option and was using Stylus in Firefox. That option together with minimum font size are a game changer for me. You've made my day, thanks!

I love it when a plan comes together! :-)

Re: How to Firefox

#439

Post by Cthulhu_ »

bool3max wrote: post #85
eclecticfrank wrote: post #80

Lots of Firefox hate here, but little discussion about the articles kicker, which is the exclusion of uBlock Origin from Chrome. I hope this will mean that in the long run Firefox (and other secondary browsers) will gain more users again. For me, Firefox is a solid piece of software. Works well in strict privacy mode, with uBlock Origin and Multi-Account Containers.

In the long run Alphabet will find a way to bar non-vetted browsers from accessing the Internet.

They will try, but anti-trust laws and -lawsuits should compel them otherwise. Microsoft had to pay hundreds of millions in fines to the EU for not complying with a previous browser choice order [0], following previous lawsuits in the US about their tight coupling of Internet Explorer [1] in which they settled for $1 billion. Google has to pay a fine in excess of 4 billion (!) to the EU for anti-competitive practices in Android [2].

[0] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_13_...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Cor....

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitrust_cases_against_Google...

Re: How to Firefox

#440

Post by aheckler »

ReadCarlBarks wrote: post #270
aheckler wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No custom filters, so no element picker which allows you to point and zap > No per-site switches These aren't accurate. My version of uBOL in Chrome (2025.718.1921) has these features.

You're either not using uBlock Origin Lite or do not know what the "per-site switches" are: https://github.com/gorhill/ublock/wiki/Per-site-switches

Ah, so uBOL does have the ability to adjust the blocking level on a per-site basis, which is what I assumed "per-site switches" meant. I see now that the original uBO has/had a more granular level of configuration available. (Which I suspect most folks never used, but still... my bad there.)
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