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Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#201

Post by bgdam »

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #118
hexo wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> Because of stage 2.5 - i.e. User abuse by company. Not everything fits into the framework of enshitification. This is about the transition to ff/android supporting the full range of extensions. Its a transitional measure.

But Firefox for Android originally did support the entire breadth of the addon ecosystem. When Mozilla made the quantum update they removed support for addons, and then brought back a very tiny subset. How is that not enshittification?

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#202

Post by lemper »

prmoustache wrote: post #158
lemper wrote: post #48

even though i am an exclusively firefox user both on desktop and mobile, i don't even know what kind of desktop version's extension that i would use on mobile. currently, i only use adblock and so far my experience is quite stellar. though it should be noted that i use browser on phone just to consume text. no video, no audio, and even picture is rarely the focus. so, what do i miss?

> so, what do i miss? multi-containers. How do you want to separate cookies/identities without that?

I don't. there's only a handful of sites that I regularly visit.

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#203

Post by unmole »

prmoustache wrote: post #160
heap_perms wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. They have too much authority with the marketplace. Does someone know if it is feasible to build Fenix from source, fork it and then add a startup function that sideloads any extension the user chooses, not just the blessed ones? I'm considerung doing this, but don't want to spend a lot of time doing something impossible.

Fennec allows you to install extensions you want afaik, even xpi files in your phone storage.

Fennec is dead. The current project is Fenix which has a lot of functionality missing.

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#204

Post by Macha »

ReadCarlBarks wrote: post #199
Macha wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the same - sites will then take your not opting out of "legitimate interest" as consent. Not valid under GDPR really, but I'm not interested in giving them any argument to stand on.

* The laws specify that it must be opt-in. If a site doesn't respect this, you can't expect it to respect any of your choices anyway. * You can now also use uBlock Origin to set cookies and LocalStorage entries automatically. The annoyance lists already set opt-out cookies for sites like Google and Youtube * Firefox has actually been isolating third-party cookies and other site data (e.g. LocalStorage) for over a yea…

Client side data is only part of the problem, and it's a common myopic argument to GDPR for opponents of GDPR to say people should just use their browser's cookie controls. Server side fingerprinting is as much as a problem, something the ad industry has adopted since Safari added ITP and are accelerating since Chrome has been making noises about following Safari and Firefox for a few years now. I suspect as soon as Google figures out how to do it without disrupting their own ad business it'll come into effect.

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#205

Post by OfSanguineFire »

probably_wrong wrote: post #176
asu_thomas wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why?

I believe that the Mozilla execs have no faith in Firefox and instead are using whatever branding remains to position themselves as champions of digital rights. And I mean sure, it's not a bad goal, but they are letting Firefox die in the process. And once you lost your place at the standards negotiating table, then what? They already capitulated when Google decided that browsers needed DRM, and I don't see them stop…

> I believe that the Mozilla execs have no faith in Firefox and instead are using whatever branding remains to position themselves as champions of digital rights.

That’s a charitable interpretation. An uncharitable one would be that, due to flaws in American 501c3 legislation, at least some people involved in Mozilla view their job as a sinecure. Capture of a non-profit for personal benefit is a longstanding phenomenon in the USA.

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#206

Post by mst »

the_gipsy wrote: post #149
drozycki wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven’t seen ads on mobile Safari for as long as I can remember. Whether you choose to believe that is up to you. Can you point to an example where an extension like AdGuard would let an ad slip through? Precompiled declarative blocking is more performant and power efficient than running a content script in a JS VM at page load, which matters on a CPU and battery constrained device. I was responding to a comment cl…

> Can you point to an example where an extension like AdGuard would let an ad slip through? Yes, see Twitter. I have AdGuard installed on iOS and I do see ads. I do not see them when opening on Firefox desktop with uBlock Origin. If I disable uBlock then I do see them like on Safari. As I said, precompiled declarative blocking only works for the weakest of blatant ads. Of course it's "more performant and power effici…

Note that you've been able to use custom collections to get extra extensions on FF-for-Android for a while provided you put the browser into developer mode first.

It's a pain in the arse and certainly doesn't count as 'released' by any means but it's been at least just about possible for a while.

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#207

Post by lapcat »

the_gipsy wrote: post #192
lapcat wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yes, see Twitter. Safari content blockers aside, Safari web extensions are capable of blocking Twitter ads.

AdBlock does not, so which one does?

Well... my own Safari extension Tweaks for Twitter does, but I recently discontinued it because I got sick of Twitter's shenanigans such as the strict usage limits, and I have no interest in supporting X, the so-called "everything app".

There may be other extensions, I don't know. In any case, the technical capability of the API is there.

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#208

Post by gmerc »

iakov wrote: post #191
gmerc wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So basically you want them to fund the top end engineers working on it … how?

Do you think that the funds go to the top end engineers? I'd say that most of it goes to the bloated management structure and C-level employees.

The top end engineers are currently paid competitively. That’s a fact.

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#209

Post by hexo »

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #118
hexo wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> Because of stage 2.5 - i.e. User abuse by company. Not everything fits into the framework of enshitification. This is about the transition to ff/android supporting the full range of extensions. Its a transitional measure.

OK. And how does requiring user account to install extension fit into this transition? Why? Do they bake me my own APK with batteries included and send it to me via email?

Re: Firefox desktop extensions coming soon for the upcoming Android release

#210

Post by knallfrosch »

oracle2025 wrote: post #195

Looking forward to finally have the i-dont-care-about-cookies add-on for my phone.

I was scratching my head why I'd want addons at all (running DNS66 on the phone, so no need for an adblocker.) but this is honestly a great idea. God how I hate the cookie banners.
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