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

535 points by st3fan 10y ago

st3fan 10y ago
Code at https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus - feel free to file issues/bugs/questions on Github. We primarily use Bugzilla for this project, but happy to move bugs around.
- midgetjones 10y ago
  This looks really good! Not sure if this is worth opening an issue over, but are you planning on supporting search engines other than google?
  - doytch 10y ago
    +1 Seems like Duck Duck Go would fit well with what seems to be your mission with this project.
  - Sk1pp 10y ago
    I only see it supporting yahoo. I didn't try very hard but in the settings there is no way to change it from yahoo, which is really frustrating. Did I overlook something?
    - cpeterso 10y ago
      For now, the search engine depends on your locale. Mozilla has partnerships with different search engines in different geographies. https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/49bda35aa3b9b9b6cd28be3ee45934f10f984311/Search/list.json https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/49bda35aa3b9b9b...
      - Sk1pp 10y ago
        oh wow, thanks.
  - st3fan 10y ago
    Due to time constraints we could not go beyond the defaults that we currently have. We have a bug open to allow people to select an alternative search engine: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359
- lmedinas 10y ago
  Why having a separate application with these features instead of adding them to Firefox for iOS ? Is it planned to have content blockers support in Firefox for iOS ?
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - st3fan 10y ago
    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, just private. Focus uses the older UIWebView. Slow, but better ability to interact with the network layer. Not ideal, but at least it is possible. So to answer your question: We would have to replace WKWebView in Firefox for UIWebView. We've been very close to doing this in some form. But it is is big compromise in terms of functionality and stability. So I am not sure when and in what form that will happen. Stuck between a rock and a private API.
    - gosukiwi 10y ago
      That's pretty ridiculous for Apple, I understand they make it for safety purposes but they can't deny it also gives them an unfair software advantage. Kind of like old Microsoft and it's private undocumented APIs.
    - atarashi 10y ago
      There is a way to interact with the network latyer even when using WKWebView. Since iOS9 there are the Network Extension APIs which allow you to access (and modify/filter) raw packet data. For example: https://developer.apple.com/reference/networkextension/neappproxyprovider https://developer.apple.com/reference/networkextension/neapp...
      - 10y ago
- untog 10y ago
  The submission describes an app, yet the readme here describes a content blocker. Is this the correct repo?
  - joosters 10y ago
    The app works as both, providing a blocker for Safari, and a browser when you open it directly.
  - st3fan 10y ago
    Yes, we did not update the README yet. Our focus (ha ha) was on code. Will do soon. You got the right repo though. Contributions are always welcome.
petetnt 10y ago
Works really well! First I joked about how it's the perfect browser for watching adult content on the go (which it is :P) but it's rather impressive. The execution is really smooth, there's just enough options and it's really fast; there's even an option for blocking web fonts. Great work!
- dbg31415 10y ago
  What he said. I came expecting to be disappointed in the feature set or performance (hello, Brave I'm talking to you), and instead it's got everything I can think of and it all seems to work perfectly. Well, I mean... it doesn't integrate with my password manager... yet. (=
- Veen 10y ago
  Certainly less clunky than iCab, which is also pretty good when you're "looking for an engagement ring" and other such sensitive browsing.
  - ribs 10y ago
    Yes, I'd never heard it called that before
- kimshibal 10y ago
  On android, you can enjoy better experience with Firefox + ublock origin.
walterbell 10y ago
Is this targeted at Brendan Eich's https://brave.com https://brave.com?
- elcapitan 10y ago
  Thanks for the info, didn't know that one, will check it out.
- eriknstr 10y ago
  Speaking of Brave, how does it perform in terms of web standards compliance, amount of trackers and ads blocked, and RAM and CPU usage compared to Firefox + uBlock Origin and/or uMatrix? --- Edit: I decided to do a quick test using panopticlick. Here are the results. - Firefox with uBlock Origin and uMatrix: fingerprint appears to be unique. fingerprint conveys at least 17.47 bits of identifying information. - Brave: fingerprint appears to be unique. fingerprint conveys at least 17.47 bits of identifying information. - Chromium (plain): fingerprint appears to be unique. fingerprint conveys at least 17.47 bits of identifying information. - Tor Browser Bundle: one in 77.02 browsers have the same fingerprint. fingerprint conveys 6.27 bits of identifying information.
  - gbuk2013 10y ago
    Brave performs better in terms of blocking ads - I tried it today vs Focus and have switched to it now.
DemiGuru 10y ago
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.
- aoro 10y ago
  "Firefox Focus continues to operate as a Safari content blocker on iOS, and users will be able to take advantage of Tracking Protection on both Safari and Firefox Focus." Goes beyond just a browser.
  - yoz-y 10y ago
    I have not used these APIs but I wonder whether it is faster to use Safari in private mode with Focus as a blocker, or using focus directly. Afaik Safari compiles the blocker rules into some binary representation and is thus able to apply them really fast. Do Webkit applications have access to similar functionality?
    - st3fan 10y ago
      I'm sure it is measurably faster. I doubt it is noticeably faster.
    - eridius 10y ago
      Safari will be faster. Focus uses UIWebView, which is markedly slower than WKWebView (UIWebView executes in-process and cannot JIT, WKWebView executes out-of-process and can JIT and is as fast as Safari).
  - oblio 10y ago
    I wonder if it's possible to use this as a content blocker for Chrome on iOS.
    - esseti 10y ago
      i think only safari allows that. google lives on ads
headmelted 10y ago
I'm not an iPhone user, so I can't give this a hands-on test, but it looks rather nice. One omission that jumps out though is that this doesn't look like it has TOR integration/support, unless it comes with it's own onion routing and I'm missing it. I'm not advocating for TOR by the way, it just strikes me that the instances where you would want a private browser are very likely the same instances where you don't want network intermediaries viewing your communications, no?
cyxxon 10y ago
Not (yet?) available in Germany, it seems.
- lorenzhs 10y ago
  It's called "Klar by Firefox" in Germany due to the naming conflict with Focus, the magazine. I haven't seen the update in the app store yet, though. Probably still rolling out.
  - dvdgsng 10y ago
    Rather weird name. Would 'Firefox Fokus' have caused conflicts as well?
    - untog 10y ago
      "Klar" in German translates to "Clear" in English. Sounds like a good name to me. Maybe even better than Focus.
    - lorenzhs 10y ago
      It kinda makes sense in German, probably meant to refer to something like "klarer Blick auf die Dinge". But yeah, it's still slightly odd. Then again, naming things is really hard :)
  - lorenzhs 10y ago
    Update: I can see the Update to "Focus by Firefox" in the App Store (the logo changed), but due to the rebranding in Germany I can no longer access the details page of that in the App Store. The German version, "Klar by Firefox", hasn't updated yet. Likely someone needs to build the rebranded version explicitly and just hasn't done so yet.
bowlofstew 10y ago
Awesome work over at the Mozilla team! This is way better than what I would expect after using Opera, Brave, and others on iOS.
semistrophe 10y ago
The opposite of privacy: every address you type in Firefox Focus gets sent, live, to Yahoo/Verizon, complete with a User-Agent identifying the request as coming from Focus, indicating an unusual desire for privacy.
- dictum 10y ago
  Can you confirm that? If true, is it at least opt-out?
- semistrophe 10y ago
  Upon further inspection, typing suggests from a hardcoded list: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzilla/topdomains.txt https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzil... Gee, thanks for assistance in getting to breitbart.com. WTF??? But if you accidentally press search, yeah, Yahoo/Verizon get it. And there's no opt-out or alternative search engines.
- untog 10y ago
  Since this user's response to their own comment was killed (not sure why) I'll repeat: this is incorrect. Domains are chosen from a hard-coded list: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzilla/topdomains.txt https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzil...
  - semistrophe 10y ago
    Thanks for that. Not sure why my original reply was killed. Further info: 1) Appears the Brave browser uses the same hardcoded suggestions list. Why have such a list?! 2) If you are really concerned about privacy this is still a bad option because accidental hit of Go/Search/Enter sends an incomplete address to Verizon/Yahoo -- with no choices to disable this or chose another destination.
naoquesece 10y ago
The question is: they block ad's?
- codezero 10y ago
  Yes
  - naoquesece 10y ago
    Cool, installing them.
Humdeee 10y ago
Looks awesome, can't wait to play around with this. On a separate note, I'm a sucker for great UI. I love the waveform on the landing page. Browsing through the repo, I had no clue this was available in the form of a pod. Needed something like this for a current project.
deanclatworthy 10y ago
Yes, yes, yes. Even if this doesn't work out in the long-run. This is what I want Mozilla to be focusing on: privacy-first browsing experiences.
- forgotpwtomain 10y ago
  It seems like too small of a market segment though, especially since it's hard to make money from browsers altogether.
antihero 10y ago
Is there a whitelist? For some reason they're blocking API access to reddit entirely which is annoying as I want to browse certain sites that rely on this API. Why would the reddit API be on these lists?
- AaronMT 10y ago
  This uses Disconnect.me https://services.disconnect.me/disconnect-plaintext.json https://services.disconnect.me/disconnect-plaintext.json
- st3fan 10y ago
  I filed https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318367 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318367 - but this may be more difficult than it seems. Let us know if the Reddit API is incorrectly on a list. We can investigate if we have a little more info.
deleted 10y ago
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scrrr 10y ago
Will universal links and app banners and handover to desktop still work?
- AaronMT 10y ago
  Doesn't look like. I filed a bug. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318377 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318377
schlagetown 10y ago
"Cannot download. This app is not compatible with your device." Um…what? I'm on an iPhone 5! Not that ancient!
- HappyTypist 10y ago
  Content blockers require a 64 bit CPU. This is an Apple requirement
  - dictum 10y ago
    I expected that, but that's an unfortunate side effect of coupling the new browser app with the previous content blocker app. (Just found out that it's not compatible with my iPad 4)
    - st3fan 10y ago
      Yes this is unfortunate. I will check if we can somehow release the app for all devices. But I am afraid that will result in a difficult to message situation. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363
- HappyTypist 10y ago
  Content blockers require a 64 bit CPU. This is an Apple requirement
- tedmiston 10y ago
  Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is Apple's ecosystem. 2 years is the very real artificial lifespan of "current" whether we like it or not. Fun fact: I still have an iPad Mini 1 running some very ancient version of iOS that I use once in a while for single-page browsing. It gets the job done for very short sessions. I'm amazed the battery is still good.
ben174 10y ago
This appears to be an update to a content blocker that has existed for quite some time. I've had this app installed for a long time, but the integrated browser is new.
- jamesgeck0 10y ago
  Yeah; it's frustrating. Perviously, I only opened the app to turn it off if a website was broken. Now I have to tap another button before I can toggle the settings. Some Google AMP sites don't load with all the privacy toggles on.
imagist 10y ago
Is there any word on this being released for Android at some point?
- icebraining 10y ago
  Why not use Private Browsing in Firefox for Android?
  - LamaOfRuin 10y ago
    That was my first thought (and what I think the path would be for getting this browser experience on Android). It's basically Firefox for Android, private browsing mode with tracking protection enabled, but it doesn't seem to be possible to set private browsing as the default. Thus any link from other applications will automatically open in a tracking friendly context first.
    - LamaOfRuin 10y ago
      Scratch that. I was looking for the wrong about:config value. While you can't have private browsing mode be the default, it is in fact possible to enable tracking protection outside private browsing mode, so you can get these same benefits (privacy.trackingprotection.enabled in about:config). Wish this would be exposed in the UI settings.
- nachtigall 10y ago
  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-firefox-android https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/tracking-protection-fir... but also in non-private mode.
codezero 10y ago
It says we look forward to your feedback - anyone know where I should send feedback? They the button in the bottom right opens the current URL immediately in Firefox (separate app) without a prompt or warning seems against the private browsing expectation I have. Edit: also it appears swiping doesn't go "back" :/
- st3fan 10y ago
  There a bunch of places where we take feedback: * https://input.mozilla.org/feedback/focus * https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/issues * https://mzl.la/2g23JeE (Bugzilla) (You can login to Bugzilla with a Github account.) We have a bug on file for swiping: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1316949 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1316949
hollander 10y ago
Does it still use the Safari engine, or is it allowed to use a different one?
- AaronMT 10y ago
  Safari WebKit, yes.
vasaulys 10y ago
Any reason why this is incompatible with the iPhone 5c?
- vuanotino 10y ago
  It requires a 64-bit CPU, which was introduced with the iPhone 5s.
rubiquity 10y ago
Add prevention/detection for those annoying modals to collect emails after 15 seconds on a page and I'll marry you.
- Drdrdrq 10y ago
  He might do it if you don't threaten him. :)
- jasonkostempski 10y ago
  Noscript
zymhan 10y ago
It is interesting that they're making it seem like a new app, when they're actually augmenting an existing (and seemingly forgotten) app. I was a little confused about the app/update at first, given that I'd had Mozilla Focus installed already. It was an adblocker/privacy plugin for Safari only, though. It appears they just took the Private Browsing component of Firefox for iOS and integrated it into the old privacy plugin Focus app, and renamed it Firefox Focus. In any case, it has the same features it did before, so I'm okay with it. It does duplicates my Firefox app's functionality some, but oh well.
- ryanolsonx 10y ago
  Well, the key here is that the functionality of the extension 'Firefox Focus' only works for Safari in iOS. They weren't able to make it work for Firefox for iOS. So this is a way to use it outside of Safari.
newscracker 10y ago
Test driving it now with this comment. This is perfect for my "search and browse" needs where I need to use Google (because neither Startpage nor DuckDuckGo are adequate for that query). I can also use this without worrying about mix ups that I sometimes end up with in other browsers where I use both private and non-private tabs. Edit: Seems a bit slow. Need to use it more to get better measurements.
johnydepp 10y ago
Good to see Mozilla making so much progress lately. Earlier I gave up on Firefox as the Chrome was faster and better, but now its shiny and solid again! Kudos to the team!
broguinn 10y ago
Is there a good reason the app is not compatible with the iPhone 5C but it is with the 5S? I was really looking forward to trying this browser and wonder what the hardware limitation is.
- deleted 10y ago
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- deleted 10y ago
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- st3fan 10y ago
  See https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363
- cosenal 10y ago
  See comments below: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12978192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12978192 Content Blocker extensions only run on 64-bit devices and iPhone 5C is 32-bit.
johnnymonster 10y ago
seems like another way for firefox to push their integration with yahoo search.
emehrkay 10y ago
Oh so they just used an update to Focus app to put a whole new web browser on my phone, like a Trojan Horse. Interesting approach
- scott_karana 10y ago
  If it helps, it's just a Safari wrapper, so it shouldn't take much more space.
  - emehrkay 10y ago
    I'm not complaining, I like the Focus app and will probably frequently use the browser mode. It is interesting to me that Apple with their, sometimes too, tight control over apps in the app store would be okay with an app changing its purpose like this.
    - st3fan 10y ago
      There is no App Store rule that says that you cannot introduce new functionality in an existing application. Why would you think that?
  - st3fan 10y ago
    Actually, it is a UIWebView wrapper. Safari is a complete application that does a ton of stuff not appropriate for Firefoc Focus. UIWebView is just a UIKit component to render web pages in a rectangular area on screen.
    - scott_karana 10y ago
      I'm aware of the distinction, but wasn't sure how technical the person I was addressing was. ;)
dxxvi 10y ago
Is there any counterpart on Android? Or is Firefox for Android good enough? Of course ... not. I wish it would support greasemonkey or something similar.
darrenkopp 10y ago
Did this replace another browser they had? I woke up this morning and it was already installed on my iPhone, so I must have had something else already installed if this was just launched today.
- Caerus 10y ago
  It looks like the Focus adblocker they launched last year [1] has been updated to a full browser. 1) https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/12/08/announcing-focus-by-firefox-a-content-blocker-for-ios/ https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/12/08/announcin...
boynamedsue 10y ago
Firefox Focus: a privacy-focused browser that sends anonymous usage data by default.
- past 10y ago
  Anonymous data is by definition not privacy-invasive. That's why it's called anonymous.
spinningarrow 10y ago
Impressively fast. Any plans to support multiple tabs in the future?
shmerl 10y ago
Does it support free codecs for video / audio?
- AaronMT 10y ago
  It uses what Safari uses
  - shmerl 10y ago
    I expected that. That's too bad.
paganel 10y ago
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-hoggers in such a short amount of time?
- AaronMT 10y ago
  Different teams work on different things.
  - paganel 10y ago
    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.
    - dblohm7 10y ago
      You're assuming that your needs are representative of most users.
      - paganel 10y ago
        I'm making that assumption based on me reading on other forums about users complaining about said FF memory issues. And, then again, trying to make a better product (one which uses less memory, for example) should also be on a software-maker's list of things to always have under consideration (it's like a restaurant always having to make sure that their toilets are clean). But I agree that it's difficult to ask for even fundamental things like "give your users less memory-hungry programs" in times like these, when a chat client like Slack does almost nothing when other users complain about it using 1GB memory almost for nothing. We live in sadder times than I imagined 10 years ago, programming-wise.
- 10y ago
er0l 10y ago
defaults to yahoo search without the ability to change does not feel private to me
- tedmiston 10y ago
  I wonder why not DuckDuckGo. Perhaps Mozilla has a sponsorship from Yahoo.
  - wmccullough 10y ago
    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.
    - er0l 10y ago
      Oh awesome news, it's wicked fast and will definitely be my default mobile browser once they solve the yahoo problem.
    - NeutronBoy 10y ago
      For reference the bug is here https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359
  - er0l 10y ago
    https://blog.mozilla.org/press/2014/11/yahoo-and-mozilla-form-strategic-partnership/ https://blog.mozilla.org/press/2014/11/yahoo-and-mozilla-for... "strategic partnership"
- yborg 10y ago
  Ran an identical search in the "new" Focus and in Safari with 1Blocker and set to use DuckDuckGo. Focus with Yahoo search page leads off with 2 sponsored search results, aka ads, which take up most of the screen on my 5s. Safari with DDG has none. Focus deleted from device.
planetjones 10y ago
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 alternative web browsers provided they use the iOS rendering system to actually display pages?
- tdkl 10y ago
  While it sucks, Apple doesn't have the majority of the market.
  - module0000 10y ago
    This! Without a majority, the concept of antitrust isn't applicable or even on the US justice dept's radar.
- roadnottaken 10y ago
  I don't think you can argue that Apple has a monopoly on smart-phone OSes, so it's not really an anti-trust issue like it was with MSFT. If you don't like it, get a different phone.
  - Jtsummers 10y ago
    That was also only one part of the anti-trust case against Microsoft. They, at the time, had a very aggressive policy towards competitors and potential competitors. Going so far as, among other things, threatening to charge OEM PC manufacturers (IIRC, HP in particular) more for their Windows licenses (versus the discounted rate they got, eating into their margins or pushing their prices up) if they sold PCs with non-Windows OSes (such as BeOS, in particular). They bought out competitors, shutdown development on products afterwards, things of that nature. Apple's lock on their iDevices is certainly an issue, but they haven't hit half the checkboxes MS pulled off at the time of the anti-trust case.
youdounderstand 10y ago
A little shady that they added an entire browser to the existing content blocker "app".
cpeterso 10y ago
Having tested Firefox Focus for a week already, I'm more aware of little browsing I do that actually requires a "logged in" browser. Having easy, ephemeral browsing sessions by default is pretty nice. I hope we can get similar functionality on Firefox desktop using tab containers.
cpeterso 10y ago
If Firefox Focus is a privacy browser, it should bundle something like HTTPS Everywhere.
- st3fan 10y ago
  It does use an extensive HSTS preload list. So if you go to for example http://Bugzilla.mozilla.org http://Bugzilla.mozilla.org it will actually never hit http and go straight to https. Same list as in Firefox and Chrome. (iOS feature, all apps get this for free)
joesmo 10y ago
This is a huge step forward as I assume those trackers they're talking about include all ads by definition (anyone know of any ads that don't track?). If that is indeed the case, this seems to be the first browser from a major vendor to include ad blocking by default (AFAIK). That is huge news. We are looking at the future of browsers here with regards to such protection and likely a changing of the guard as Chrome falls out of favor due to Google's pro-ad (and therefore pro-malware/anti-privacy) stance ... albeit I'm sure someone will fork Chromium and add such features in at some point. This seems to be a good first step for Mozilla / Firefox in this direction and I truly hope that they continue this trend for all their other products. I'm pretty sure there is no need to explain why having this as the default (as opposed to plugins that have been available for well over a decade) is a huge deal.
kdamken 10y ago
Seems cool, but would be better if they included an option for tab functionality. Can't replace safari without that.
lazyjones 10y ago
It works well, but unsurprisingly, they screwed up privacy once again by sending data to some company (https://www.adjust.com https://www.adjust.com) in the background: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/17/mozilla_launches_privacy_edition_firefox_for_ios/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/17/mozilla_launches_pri... Doesn't seem to be possible to turn it off (the instructions at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-data-firefox-mobile-devices#mobile::m50&ios: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-da...: do not work, there is no such settings menu for "Klar by Firefox"?). Perhaps I'm getting an old version from my local App Store though.
- mintplant 10y ago
  "screwed up privacy once again by sending data to some company" makes it sound like they're accidentally transmitting browsing history or something. It's stats on how often the app is opened and how may times three main UI elements are tapped. > For a new install, the application sends an anonymous "attribution" request to the adjust servers. This request describes how the application was downloaded, for example, whether it was downloaded directly via the App Store or through a marketing campaign link. The data includes an advertising ID, IP address, timestamp, country, language/locale, operating system and app version. > Firefox for iOS, Firefox Focus, Firefox Klar and Android will also occasionally send anonymous summaries about how often the application has been used. These summaries only include information regarding whether the app has been in active use recently and when. > Additionally, Firefox Focus and Firefox Klar will also report what features of the application are being used. It will send an anonymous report containing the specific filters being selected and count how many times the search, browse and erase button is pressed. (also from https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-data-firefox-mobile-devices https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-da...) Per the instructions at the bottom: "If you are in the browser you may have to hit the Erase button first" - did you do this when looking for the settings?
- st3fan 10y ago
  If you use Klar then you have not yet received the 2.0 update. We hope to send it out pretty soon. Sorry the German market is unfortunately a little different in this case. Same product but with a different name. Silly reasons.
EugeneOZ 10y ago
Next time please mention in what countries it's available. Bye, have a nice day, great teaser.
deleted 10y ago
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camboyero1992 10y ago
Tangent: I try to only use Firefox on my Android (for the same privacy reasons) - but it crashes so often... especially Medium articles seem to deterministically crash Firefox/Android.
hhygjgfft 10y ago
Seems great, I'd suggest making the front page search input box larger (it's too vertically narrow)
etherfuse 10y ago
Brave is great! I feel like you guys are 1-2 steps behind Brave lately.
winteriscoming 10y ago
This is good news. I always wanted something like this in browsers on desktop. I know this one is for iOS, but at least I can use it on my mobile. Anyone know why this isn't available on Android or desktop (Linux)? Technical reasons or is it due to not enough developer bandwidth to implement it (which is reasonable too)
greatsage 10y ago
Is there an audit document for this?

535 points by st3fan 10y ago

Code at https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus - feel free to file issues/bugs/questions on Github. We primarily use Bugzilla for this project, but happy to move bugs around.

midgetjones 10y ago
This looks really good! Not sure if this is worth opening an issue over, but are you planning on supporting search engines other than google?
- doytch 10y ago
  +1 Seems like Duck Duck Go would fit well with what seems to be your mission with this project.
- Sk1pp 10y ago
  I only see it supporting yahoo. I didn't try very hard but in the settings there is no way to change it from yahoo, which is really frustrating. Did I overlook something?
  - cpeterso 10y ago
    For now, the search engine depends on your locale. Mozilla has partnerships with different search engines in different geographies. https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/49bda35aa3b9b9b6cd28be3ee45934f10f984311/Search/list.json https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/49bda35aa3b9b9b...
    - Sk1pp 10y ago
      oh wow, thanks.
- st3fan 10y ago
  Due to time constraints we could not go beyond the defaults that we currently have. We have a bug open to allow people to select an alternative search engine: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359
lmedinas 10y ago
Why having a separate application with these features instead of adding them to Firefox for iOS ? Is it planned to have content blockers support in Firefox for iOS ?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- st3fan 10y ago
  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, just private. Focus uses the older UIWebView. Slow, but better ability to interact with the network layer. Not ideal, but at least it is possible. So to answer your question: We would have to replace WKWebView in Firefox for UIWebView. We've been very close to doing this in some form. But it is is big compromise in terms of functionality and stability. So I am not sure when and in what form that will happen. Stuck between a rock and a private API.
  - gosukiwi 10y ago
    That's pretty ridiculous for Apple, I understand they make it for safety purposes but they can't deny it also gives them an unfair software advantage. Kind of like old Microsoft and it's private undocumented APIs.
  - atarashi 10y ago
    There is a way to interact with the network latyer even when using WKWebView. Since iOS9 there are the Network Extension APIs which allow you to access (and modify/filter) raw packet data. For example: https://developer.apple.com/reference/networkextension/neappproxyprovider https://developer.apple.com/reference/networkextension/neapp...
    - 10y ago
untog 10y ago
The submission describes an app, yet the readme here describes a content blocker. Is this the correct repo?
- joosters 10y ago
  The app works as both, providing a blocker for Safari, and a browser when you open it directly.
- st3fan 10y ago
  Yes, we did not update the README yet. Our focus (ha ha) was on code. Will do soon. You got the right repo though. Contributions are always welcome.

petetnt 10y ago

Works really well! First I joked about how it's the perfect browser for watching adult content on the go (which it is :P) but it's rather impressive. The execution is really smooth, there's just enough options and it's really fast; there's even an option for blocking web fonts. Great work!

dbg31415 10y ago
What he said. I came expecting to be disappointed in the feature set or performance (hello, Brave I'm talking to you), and instead it's got everything I can think of and it all seems to work perfectly. Well, I mean... it doesn't integrate with my password manager... yet. (=
Veen 10y ago
Certainly less clunky than iCab, which is also pretty good when you're "looking for an engagement ring" and other such sensitive browsing.
- ribs 10y ago
  Yes, I'd never heard it called that before
kimshibal 10y ago
On android, you can enjoy better experience with Firefox + ublock origin.

walterbell 10y ago

Is this targeted at Brendan Eich's https://brave.com https://brave.com?

elcapitan 10y ago
Thanks for the info, didn't know that one, will check it out.
eriknstr 10y ago
Speaking of Brave, how does it perform in terms of web standards compliance, amount of trackers and ads blocked, and RAM and CPU usage compared to Firefox + uBlock Origin and/or uMatrix? --- Edit: I decided to do a quick test using panopticlick. Here are the results. - Firefox with uBlock Origin and uMatrix: fingerprint appears to be unique. fingerprint conveys at least 17.47 bits of identifying information. - Brave: fingerprint appears to be unique. fingerprint conveys at least 17.47 bits of identifying information. - Chromium (plain): fingerprint appears to be unique. fingerprint conveys at least 17.47 bits of identifying information. - Tor Browser Bundle: one in 77.02 browsers have the same fingerprint. fingerprint conveys 6.27 bits of identifying information.
- gbuk2013 10y ago
  Brave performs better in terms of blocking ads - I tried it today vs Focus and have switched to it now.

DemiGuru 10y ago

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.

aoro 10y ago
"Firefox Focus continues to operate as a Safari content blocker on iOS, and users will be able to take advantage of Tracking Protection on both Safari and Firefox Focus." Goes beyond just a browser.
- yoz-y 10y ago
  I have not used these APIs but I wonder whether it is faster to use Safari in private mode with Focus as a blocker, or using focus directly. Afaik Safari compiles the blocker rules into some binary representation and is thus able to apply them really fast. Do Webkit applications have access to similar functionality?
  - st3fan 10y ago
    I'm sure it is measurably faster. I doubt it is noticeably faster.
  - eridius 10y ago
    Safari will be faster. Focus uses UIWebView, which is markedly slower than WKWebView (UIWebView executes in-process and cannot JIT, WKWebView executes out-of-process and can JIT and is as fast as Safari).
- oblio 10y ago
  I wonder if it's possible to use this as a content blocker for Chrome on iOS.
  - esseti 10y ago
    i think only safari allows that. google lives on ads

headmelted 10y ago

I'm not an iPhone user, so I can't give this a hands-on test, but it looks rather nice. One omission that jumps out though is that this doesn't look like it has TOR integration/support, unless it comes with it's own onion routing and I'm missing it. I'm not advocating for TOR by the way, it just strikes me that the instances where you would want a private browser are very likely the same instances where you don't want network intermediaries viewing your communications, no?

cyxxon 10y ago

Not (yet?) available in Germany, it seems.

lorenzhs 10y ago
It's called "Klar by Firefox" in Germany due to the naming conflict with Focus, the magazine. I haven't seen the update in the app store yet, though. Probably still rolling out.
- dvdgsng 10y ago
  Rather weird name. Would 'Firefox Fokus' have caused conflicts as well?
  - untog 10y ago
    "Klar" in German translates to "Clear" in English. Sounds like a good name to me. Maybe even better than Focus.
  - lorenzhs 10y ago
    It kinda makes sense in German, probably meant to refer to something like "klarer Blick auf die Dinge". But yeah, it's still slightly odd. Then again, naming things is really hard :)
- lorenzhs 10y ago
  Update: I can see the Update to "Focus by Firefox" in the App Store (the logo changed), but due to the rebranding in Germany I can no longer access the details page of that in the App Store. The German version, "Klar by Firefox", hasn't updated yet. Likely someone needs to build the rebranded version explicitly and just hasn't done so yet.

bowlofstew 10y ago

Awesome work over at the Mozilla team! This is way better than what I would expect after using Opera, Brave, and others on iOS.

semistrophe 10y ago

The opposite of privacy: every address you type in Firefox Focus gets sent, live, to Yahoo/Verizon, complete with a User-Agent identifying the request as coming from Focus, indicating an unusual desire for privacy.

dictum 10y ago
Can you confirm that? If true, is it at least opt-out?
semistrophe 10y ago
Upon further inspection, typing suggests from a hardcoded list: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzilla/topdomains.txt https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzil... Gee, thanks for assistance in getting to breitbart.com. WTF??? But if you accidentally press search, yeah, Yahoo/Verizon get it. And there's no opt-out or alternative search engines.
untog 10y ago
Since this user's response to their own comment was killed (not sure why) I'll repeat: this is incorrect. Domains are chosen from a hard-coded list: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzilla/topdomains.txt https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/blob/master/Blockzil...
- semistrophe 10y ago
  Thanks for that. Not sure why my original reply was killed. Further info: 1) Appears the Brave browser uses the same hardcoded suggestions list. Why have such a list?! 2) If you are really concerned about privacy this is still a bad option because accidental hit of Go/Search/Enter sends an incomplete address to Verizon/Yahoo -- with no choices to disable this or chose another destination.

naoquesece 10y ago

The question is: they block ad's?

codezero 10y ago
Yes
- naoquesece 10y ago
  Cool, installing them.

Humdeee 10y ago

Looks awesome, can't wait to play around with this. On a separate note, I'm a sucker for great UI. I love the waveform on the landing page. Browsing through the repo, I had no clue this was available in the form of a pod. Needed something like this for a current project.

deanclatworthy 10y ago

Yes, yes, yes. Even if this doesn't work out in the long-run. This is what I want Mozilla to be focusing on: privacy-first browsing experiences.

forgotpwtomain 10y ago
It seems like too small of a market segment though, especially since it's hard to make money from browsers altogether.

antihero 10y ago

Is there a whitelist? For some reason they're blocking API access to reddit entirely which is annoying as I want to browse certain sites that rely on this API. Why would the reddit API be on these lists?

AaronMT 10y ago
This uses Disconnect.me https://services.disconnect.me/disconnect-plaintext.json https://services.disconnect.me/disconnect-plaintext.json
st3fan 10y ago
I filed https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318367 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318367 - but this may be more difficult than it seems. Let us know if the Reddit API is incorrectly on a list. We can investigate if we have a little more info.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

scrrr 10y ago

Will universal links and app banners and handover to desktop still work?

AaronMT 10y ago
Doesn't look like. I filed a bug. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318377 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318377

schlagetown 10y ago

"Cannot download. This app is not compatible with your device." Um…what? I'm on an iPhone 5! Not that ancient!

HappyTypist 10y ago
Content blockers require a 64 bit CPU. This is an Apple requirement
- dictum 10y ago
  I expected that, but that's an unfortunate side effect of coupling the new browser app with the previous content blocker app. (Just found out that it's not compatible with my iPad 4)
  - st3fan 10y ago
    Yes this is unfortunate. I will check if we can somehow release the app for all devices. But I am afraid that will result in a difficult to message situation. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363
HappyTypist 10y ago
Content blockers require a 64 bit CPU. This is an Apple requirement
tedmiston 10y ago
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is Apple's ecosystem. 2 years is the very real artificial lifespan of "current" whether we like it or not. Fun fact: I still have an iPad Mini 1 running some very ancient version of iOS that I use once in a while for single-page browsing. It gets the job done for very short sessions. I'm amazed the battery is still good.

ben174 10y ago

This appears to be an update to a content blocker that has existed for quite some time. I've had this app installed for a long time, but the integrated browser is new.

jamesgeck0 10y ago
Yeah; it's frustrating. Perviously, I only opened the app to turn it off if a website was broken. Now I have to tap another button before I can toggle the settings. Some Google AMP sites don't load with all the privacy toggles on.

imagist 10y ago

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

icebraining 10y ago
Why not use Private Browsing in Firefox for Android?
- LamaOfRuin 10y ago
  That was my first thought (and what I think the path would be for getting this browser experience on Android). It's basically Firefox for Android, private browsing mode with tracking protection enabled, but it doesn't seem to be possible to set private browsing as the default. Thus any link from other applications will automatically open in a tracking friendly context first.
  - LamaOfRuin 10y ago
    Scratch that. I was looking for the wrong about:config value. While you can't have private browsing mode be the default, it is in fact possible to enable tracking protection outside private browsing mode, so you can get these same benefits (privacy.trackingprotection.enabled in about:config). Wish this would be exposed in the UI settings.
nachtigall 10y ago
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-firefox-android https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/tracking-protection-fir... but also in non-private mode.

codezero 10y ago

It says we look forward to your feedback - anyone know where I should send feedback? They the button in the bottom right opens the current URL immediately in Firefox (separate app) without a prompt or warning seems against the private browsing expectation I have. Edit: also it appears swiping doesn't go "back" :/

st3fan 10y ago
There a bunch of places where we take feedback: * https://input.mozilla.org/feedback/focus * https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus/issues * https://mzl.la/2g23JeE (Bugzilla) (You can login to Bugzilla with a Github account.) We have a bug on file for swiping: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1316949 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1316949

hollander 10y ago

Does it still use the Safari engine, or is it allowed to use a different one?

AaronMT 10y ago
Safari WebKit, yes.

vasaulys 10y ago

Any reason why this is incompatible with the iPhone 5c?

vuanotino 10y ago
It requires a 64-bit CPU, which was introduced with the iPhone 5s.

rubiquity 10y ago

Add prevention/detection for those annoying modals to collect emails after 15 seconds on a page and I'll marry you.

Drdrdrq 10y ago
He might do it if you don't threaten him. :)
jasonkostempski 10y ago
Noscript

zymhan 10y ago

It is interesting that they're making it seem like a new app, when they're actually augmenting an existing (and seemingly forgotten) app. I was a little confused about the app/update at first, given that I'd had Mozilla Focus installed already. It was an adblocker/privacy plugin for Safari only, though. It appears they just took the Private Browsing component of Firefox for iOS and integrated it into the old privacy plugin Focus app, and renamed it Firefox Focus. In any case, it has the same features it did before, so I'm okay with it. It does duplicates my Firefox app's functionality some, but oh well.

ryanolsonx 10y ago
Well, the key here is that the functionality of the extension 'Firefox Focus' only works for Safari in iOS. They weren't able to make it work for Firefox for iOS. So this is a way to use it outside of Safari.

newscracker 10y ago

Test driving it now with this comment. This is perfect for my "search and browse" needs where I need to use Google (because neither Startpage nor DuckDuckGo are adequate for that query). I can also use this without worrying about mix ups that I sometimes end up with in other browsers where I use both private and non-private tabs. Edit: Seems a bit slow. Need to use it more to get better measurements.

johnydepp 10y ago

Good to see Mozilla making so much progress lately. Earlier I gave up on Firefox as the Chrome was faster and better, but now its shiny and solid again! Kudos to the team!

broguinn 10y ago

Is there a good reason the app is not compatible with the iPhone 5C but it is with the 5S? I was really looking forward to trying this browser and wonder what the hardware limitation is.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
deleted 10y ago
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st3fan 10y ago
See https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318363
cosenal 10y ago
See comments below: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12978192 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12978192 Content Blocker extensions only run on 64-bit devices and iPhone 5C is 32-bit.

johnnymonster 10y ago

seems like another way for firefox to push their integration with yahoo search.

emehrkay 10y ago

Oh so they just used an update to Focus app to put a whole new web browser on my phone, like a Trojan Horse. Interesting approach

scott_karana 10y ago
If it helps, it's just a Safari wrapper, so it shouldn't take much more space.
- emehrkay 10y ago
  I'm not complaining, I like the Focus app and will probably frequently use the browser mode. It is interesting to me that Apple with their, sometimes too, tight control over apps in the app store would be okay with an app changing its purpose like this.
  - st3fan 10y ago
    There is no App Store rule that says that you cannot introduce new functionality in an existing application. Why would you think that?
- st3fan 10y ago
  Actually, it is a UIWebView wrapper. Safari is a complete application that does a ton of stuff not appropriate for Firefoc Focus. UIWebView is just a UIKit component to render web pages in a rectangular area on screen.
  - scott_karana 10y ago
    I'm aware of the distinction, but wasn't sure how technical the person I was addressing was. ;)

dxxvi 10y ago

Is there any counterpart on Android? Or is Firefox for Android good enough? Of course ... not. I wish it would support greasemonkey or something similar.

darrenkopp 10y ago

Did this replace another browser they had? I woke up this morning and it was already installed on my iPhone, so I must have had something else already installed if this was just launched today.

Caerus 10y ago
It looks like the Focus adblocker they launched last year [1] has been updated to a full browser. 1) https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/12/08/announcing-focus-by-firefox-a-content-blocker-for-ios/ https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/12/08/announcin...

boynamedsue 10y ago

Firefox Focus: a privacy-focused browser that sends anonymous usage data by default.

past 10y ago
Anonymous data is by definition not privacy-invasive. That's why it's called anonymous.

spinningarrow 10y ago

Impressively fast. Any plans to support multiple tabs in the future?

shmerl 10y ago

Does it support free codecs for video / audio?

AaronMT 10y ago
It uses what Safari uses
- shmerl 10y ago
  I expected that. That's too bad.

paganel 10y ago

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-hoggers in such a short amount of time?

AaronMT 10y ago
Different teams work on different things.
- paganel 10y ago
  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.
  - dblohm7 10y ago
    You're assuming that your needs are representative of most users.
    - paganel 10y ago
      I'm making that assumption based on me reading on other forums about users complaining about said FF memory issues. And, then again, trying to make a better product (one which uses less memory, for example) should also be on a software-maker's list of things to always have under consideration (it's like a restaurant always having to make sure that their toilets are clean). But I agree that it's difficult to ask for even fundamental things like "give your users less memory-hungry programs" in times like these, when a chat client like Slack does almost nothing when other users complain about it using 1GB memory almost for nothing. We live in sadder times than I imagined 10 years ago, programming-wise.
10y ago

er0l 10y ago

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

tedmiston 10y ago
I wonder why not DuckDuckGo. Perhaps Mozilla has a sponsorship from Yahoo.
- wmccullough 10y ago
  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.
  - er0l 10y ago
    Oh awesome news, it's wicked fast and will definitely be my default mobile browser once they solve the yahoo problem.
  - NeutronBoy 10y ago
    For reference the bug is here https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1318359
- er0l 10y ago
  https://blog.mozilla.org/press/2014/11/yahoo-and-mozilla-form-strategic-partnership/ https://blog.mozilla.org/press/2014/11/yahoo-and-mozilla-for... "strategic partnership"
yborg 10y ago
Ran an identical search in the "new" Focus and in Safari with 1Blocker and set to use DuckDuckGo. Focus with Yahoo search page leads off with 2 sponsored search results, aka ads, which take up most of the screen on my 5s. Safari with DDG has none. Focus deleted from device.

planetjones 10y ago

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 alternative web browsers provided they use the iOS rendering system to actually display pages?

tdkl 10y ago
While it sucks, Apple doesn't have the majority of the market.
- module0000 10y ago
  This! Without a majority, the concept of antitrust isn't applicable or even on the US justice dept's radar.
roadnottaken 10y ago
I don't think you can argue that Apple has a monopoly on smart-phone OSes, so it's not really an anti-trust issue like it was with MSFT. If you don't like it, get a different phone.
- Jtsummers 10y ago
  That was also only one part of the anti-trust case against Microsoft. They, at the time, had a very aggressive policy towards competitors and potential competitors. Going so far as, among other things, threatening to charge OEM PC manufacturers (IIRC, HP in particular) more for their Windows licenses (versus the discounted rate they got, eating into their margins or pushing their prices up) if they sold PCs with non-Windows OSes (such as BeOS, in particular). They bought out competitors, shutdown development on products afterwards, things of that nature. Apple's lock on their iDevices is certainly an issue, but they haven't hit half the checkboxes MS pulled off at the time of the anti-trust case.

youdounderstand 10y ago

A little shady that they added an entire browser to the existing content blocker "app".

cpeterso 10y ago

Having tested Firefox Focus for a week already, I'm more aware of little browsing I do that actually requires a "logged in" browser. Having easy, ephemeral browsing sessions by default is pretty nice. I hope we can get similar functionality on Firefox desktop using tab containers.

cpeterso 10y ago

If Firefox Focus is a privacy browser, it should bundle something like HTTPS Everywhere.

st3fan 10y ago
It does use an extensive HSTS preload list. So if you go to for example http://Bugzilla.mozilla.org http://Bugzilla.mozilla.org it will actually never hit http and go straight to https. Same list as in Firefox and Chrome. (iOS feature, all apps get this for free)

joesmo 10y ago

This is a huge step forward as I assume those trackers they're talking about include all ads by definition (anyone know of any ads that don't track?). If that is indeed the case, this seems to be the first browser from a major vendor to include ad blocking by default (AFAIK). That is huge news. We are looking at the future of browsers here with regards to such protection and likely a changing of the guard as Chrome falls out of favor due to Google's pro-ad (and therefore pro-malware/anti-privacy) stance ... albeit I'm sure someone will fork Chromium and add such features in at some point. This seems to be a good first step for Mozilla / Firefox in this direction and I truly hope that they continue this trend for all their other products. I'm pretty sure there is no need to explain why having this as the default (as opposed to plugins that have been available for well over a decade) is a huge deal.

kdamken 10y ago

Seems cool, but would be better if they included an option for tab functionality. Can't replace safari without that.

lazyjones 10y ago

It works well, but unsurprisingly, they screwed up privacy once again by sending data to some company (https://www.adjust.com https://www.adjust.com) in the background: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/17/mozilla_launches_privacy_edition_firefox_for_ios/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/17/mozilla_launches_pri... Doesn't seem to be possible to turn it off (the instructions at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-data-firefox-mobile-devices#mobile::m50&ios: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-da...: do not work, there is no such settings menu for "Klar by Firefox"?). Perhaps I'm getting an old version from my local App Store though.

mintplant 10y ago
"screwed up privacy once again by sending data to some company" makes it sound like they're accidentally transmitting browsing history or something. It's stats on how often the app is opened and how may times three main UI elements are tapped. > For a new install, the application sends an anonymous "attribution" request to the adjust servers. This request describes how the application was downloaded, for example, whether it was downloaded directly via the App Store or through a marketing campaign link. The data includes an advertising ID, IP address, timestamp, country, language/locale, operating system and app version. > Firefox for iOS, Firefox Focus, Firefox Klar and Android will also occasionally send anonymous summaries about how often the application has been used. These summaries only include information regarding whether the app has been in active use recently and when. > Additionally, Firefox Focus and Firefox Klar will also report what features of the application are being used. It will send an anonymous report containing the specific filters being selected and count how many times the search, browse and erase button is pressed. (also from https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-data-firefox-mobile-devices https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/send-anonymous-usage-da...) Per the instructions at the bottom: "If you are in the browser you may have to hit the Erase button first" - did you do this when looking for the settings?
st3fan 10y ago
If you use Klar then you have not yet received the 2.0 update. We hope to send it out pretty soon. Sorry the German market is unfortunately a little different in this case. Same product but with a different name. Silly reasons.

EugeneOZ 10y ago

Next time please mention in what countries it's available. Bye, have a nice day, great teaser.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

camboyero1992 10y ago

Tangent: I try to only use Firefox on my Android (for the same privacy reasons) - but it crashes so often... especially Medium articles seem to deterministically crash Firefox/Android.

hhygjgfft 10y ago

Seems great, I'd suggest making the front page search input box larger (it's too vertically narrow)

etherfuse 10y ago

Brave is great! I feel like you guys are 1-2 steps behind Brave lately.

winteriscoming 10y ago

This is good news. I always wanted something like this in browsers on desktop. I know this one is for iOS, but at least I can use it on my mobile. Anyone know why this isn't available on Android or desktop (Linux)? Technical reasons or is it due to not enough developer bandwidth to implement it (which is reasonable too)

greatsage 10y ago

Is there an audit document for this?