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Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#141

Post by st3fan »

zapu wrote: post #113
st3fan wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is complicated. Here is the story of two WebView implementations in iOS: Firefox is based on the WKWebView. Modern and Fast, but has a very poor (thin) API. It has zero options for interacting with the network stack, which is a requirement for content blocking. Bugs have been open since iOS 8, Apple does not seem to be interested or does not have the resources to surface more API. All the APIs are in WKWebView, ju…

Is either able to use JIT for JavaScript engine or is it only enabled for Apple's "blessed-process" iOS Safari?

Only the WKWebView gets fast JavaScript. Any app that uses it will inherit that functionality.

For example, Firefox for iOS ranks exactly the same as Safari in speed benchmarks.

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#142

Post by LeoPanthera »

AaronMT wrote: post #11
DemiGuru wrote: post #9

Would you please elaborate how this is different from using Safari in Private Browsing mode? If I am not mistaken Firefox Focus on iOS would still use WebKit under the hood. Edit: I'm not being facetious or sarcastic.

Private Browsing (regardless of browser) does not prevent online tracking. By removing trackers and ads, web pages may require less data and load faster.

It helps with preventing online tracking, since private browsing windows/tabs do not have access to your cookies.

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#143

Post by ryanpollock »

guygurari wrote: post #130
ryanpollock wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand antitrust law, it is legal for a monopoly in one market to expand into an adjacent market. However, if that monopoly stifles competition in the adjacent market in a way that harms consumers, that monopolist’s acts are illegal. By virtue of Apple integrating the operating system with hardware, iOS has a defacto 100% monopoly on devices compatible with Apple's Ax series chips (e.g. A9 in iPhone 6s). The…

> iOS has a defacto 100% monopoly on devices compatible with Apple's Ax series chips Sure, and equivalently Apple has a 100% monopoly on Apple devices. How does that make sense? One problem with anti-trust laws is that the market is not well-defined. Is the relevant market Apple phones? Smartphones above some price point? Smartphones at a price point? All smartphones? We can always pick and choose to make it seem lik…

I think markets can be defined in a bunch of ways. I think the litmus test is whether a market is large - and whether people are adversely affected. Hopefully more to come here https://medium.com/@ryanpollock/

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#145

Post by frenchy »

paganel wrote: post #81

How abut fixing the numerous FF issues for the MacOSX? But I guess that doesn't attract eyeballs nor does it bring in new google money. I've spent more time swearing at my screen in desperation during the last 6 months-1 year than I used to do back when IE6 was ruling the web, all of this "thanks" to FF and Chrome. How can such nice products (they were nice in the not so distant past) could turn into such memory-hogg…

Perhaps they don't want to prioritize a platform that Apple themselves don't even work on too much.

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#146

Post by nachtigall »

imagist wrote: post #31

Is there any word on this being released for Android at some point?

The Nightly branch of Firefox for Android (which I personally use day by day and find very stable) has an option for "Tracking Protection". Works like https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/tracking-protection-fir... but also in non-private mode.

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#147

Post by rconti »

diminish wrote: post #115
mikeash wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine so, but it's hard to be in a position like that when you have less than 20% of the market.

But Apple had 90% of profits, isnt that a better metric of monopoly?

Not at all.

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#148

Post by wmccullough »

tedmiston wrote: post #131
er0l wrote: post #82

defaults to yahoo search without the ability to change does not feel private to me

I wonder why not DuckDuckGo. Perhaps Mozilla has a sponsorship from Yahoo.

No, they admitted they ran out of time and just went with defaults of a few things. They have a ticket open to solve this issue already.

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#149

Post by phn »

planetjones wrote: post #85

Why can't someone take Apple to court and argue that developers should be able to build native web browser apps without relying on the Web View component? We have st3fan saying "Firefox Focus" is not ideal because he's had to use the older and slower WKWebView to implement it. Isn't this similar to Microsoft when they were forced to allow a choice of browser, or do Apple get away with it because they allow alternativ…

A much more productive question would be: Why don't they allow it?

They cite performance and security control, and really, can you blame them?

The web is quite the wild west nowadays, and the WebViews they provide, while not ideal, cover most of the cases while offering a decent level of protection.

And I think that somewhere down the road Apple will open up, when the system is ready.

Re: Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS

#150

Post by dblohm7 »

paganel wrote: post #86
AaronMT wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Different teams work on different things.

I'm aware of that, but I also know that management can re-allocate resources according to the company's needs. I'm just frustrated that said "company needs" seem to never fall in line with what most of the existing FF users want.

You're assuming that your needs are representative of most users.
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