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Firefox Focus – A new private browser for iOS and Android

684 points by happy-go-lucky 9y ago

ghh 9y ago
Focus does not seem to erase your history in a way you may expect. Try this on Android: - Erase your history. - Go to HN, click any link you haven't clicked before. - Wait for it to load. - Erase your history. Make sure you see the notification "Your browsing history has been erased". - Go to HN again, and see the link you've just clicked still highlighted as 'visited'.
- cyphar 9y ago
  It's likely that's because it currently uses the built-in Android WebView (which may store its own pseudo-history). That is a problem, but I believe their plans to replace WebView with Gecko will likely solve this problem. https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/13 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/13
- crtasm 9y ago
  That's concerning, I tested further and found that if you quit the app from task switcher it clears the visited highlight. I'll check if there's an issue filed for this tomorrow.
SHAKEDECADE 9y ago
Meh. It's been on my iphone for about a year and I've used it maybe a dozen times. It would be nice to be able to open a link from another browser (eg. Endless) but the option isn't available. So it goes by the wayside.
- boek 9y ago
  I think you will like our next build :)
abawany 9y ago
I have really come to appreciate this browser even though I have been using it for just about a month. It is fast and clean. Clicking links from email and knowing they will open in effectively a private browser instance is a great feeling. I missed the multi-tab feature for a little bit but have now adjusted.
- agumonkey 9y ago
  People were displeased at first, but you and this article made me try. I like the limited feeling very much; also the interface and theme is slick. Kudos firefox. ps: it's a potential modern dillo.
- y2bd 9y ago
  Did it use to support multiple tabs?
  - moosingin3space 9y ago
    No, it doesn't -- I think the GP is stating that they were used to multiple tabs in a browser before they switched to Focus.
    - abawany 9y ago
      That is correct. I use Firefox as my normal mobile browser and opening new tabs for links was what I was familiar with. I haven't missed this too much with Firefox Focus (I actually use Firefox Klar from F-Droid, which is the German variant of Focus without GA libraries) and have come to love its speed and cleanliness. EDIT: clarifying my complicated and confusing initial sentence.
bllguo 9y ago
I've been loving focus. Fastest mobile browser I've used. Appreciate the privacy features also. I set it to my default browser and keep chrome handy on the side.
manaskarekar 9y ago
There's also the duckduckgo app, which seems similar to this, although not sure how they differ. https://duckduckgo.com/app https://duckduckgo.com/app
- moosingin3space 9y ago
  On Android, Focus appears to use the Gecko renderer. My guess is that the DDG app uses the system webview.
  - feikname 9y ago
    It uses Android WebView componenent (in 1.2.1, I am not sure about future releases.) You can install the Gecko version if you compile the code yourself for now. Although I believe they will probably switch to Servo instead of Gecko once it is ready.
noncoml 9y ago
Looks awesome and fast. Exactly what’s needed and expected from Mozilla. Thank you! Can we have something similar for desktop as well?
- jokoon 9y ago
  I guess not, because it might have several features that could potentially make some websites not work. I don't know if it's entirely w3c proof or not. I think this browser is rather smartphone oriented, and might "clean up" some pages to make them lighter. I don't know.
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  You could, until mozilla decided to drop support for extensions that made this possible that is. Alternatively there is waterfox + ublock origins. Waterfox is firefox without the mozilla crap: Disabled Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) Disabled Web Runtime (deprecated as of 2015) Removed Pocket Removed Telemetry Removed data collection Removed startup profiling Allow running of all 64-Bit NPAPI plugins Allow running of unsigned extensions Removal of Sponsored Tiles on New Tab Page Addition of Duplicate Tab option Locale selector in about:preferences > General
  - cyphar 9y ago
    GNU IceCat does many of the same things. And you can get it on FDroid as IceCatMobile.
  - 482794793792894 9y ago
    Adding a bunch of legacy extensions to your Firefox is going to do the opposite of making it a fast, lightweight browser.
progval 9y ago
According to F-Droid [1], it contains `com.google.android.gms:play-services-analytics`. [1]: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/issues/171#note_30410376 https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/issues/171#note_30410376
- lol768 9y ago
  This is odd because https://f-droid.org/wiki/page/org.mozilla.klar https://f-droid.org/wiki/page/org.mozilla.klar is already part of F-Droid and appears exactly the same .. but with a different name.
  - moosingin3space 9y ago
    Looks to me like that app patches out the Gecko webview.
    - lol768 9y ago
      Oh, it uses Webkit? Huh
      - r00fus 9y ago
        Required for iOS or Apple won't allow it on the store.
        vfclists 9y ago
        Why hasn't the EU charged Apple for abusing the monopoly position? Didn't they do that to Microsoft, or has Apple sweetened them up in some other way?
        moosingin3space 9y ago
        Technically, Apple does not have a monopoly, unless you want to argue they are the monopolist of the market for iOS devices. They don't even have a majority market share of smartphones in most jurisdictions. That being said, I still believe it is an abuse of market position, and I'm not sure how we can fight it.
lol768 9y ago
Have been using this a while, it's really nice as the default browser to open links in. Having the floating button to clear everything is neat and I like the UI desing. It's also really fast. I'd like to see better support for getting SSL/TLS info - why can't I tap on the padlock and get the certificate info (EV, OV, DV?), cipher suite, HSTS etc?
- j0hnml 9y ago
  Yeah that would be cool. Do you know of any iOS apps that currently support this?
- boek 9y ago
  You should request that feature! https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios (ios/android)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
st0le 9y ago
Hasn't it been available for a while now?
- JohnTHaller 9y ago
  Yes, it has.
  - zymhan 9y ago
    Portable Apps Man!!! Also, why the blog post then? I've had this app on my phone for many months now.
    - JohnTHaller 9y ago
      I think it's in conjunction with the 1.1 release which adds a few things.
sweep3r 9y ago
New? How come I've been using it for years?
- senthilmpro 9y ago
  It seems OP is just now discovering this. I have been using it for a while too.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- feikname 9y ago
  Aren't you mistaken for Firefox? This is Firefox Focus, a completely different product. Although I'm not sure when the first iOS version was released.
  - acdha 9y ago
    The iOS version has been out since 2015: https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9870860/mozilla-focus-ad-blocker-ios-app-store-download https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9870860/mozilla-focus-ad-...
- 482794793792894 9y ago
  The iOS version has been out for a long time, the Android version was released like a month ago or so. I'm guessing, Mozilla is just trying to promote this some more and judging by how many people here did not know of it, that seems like it was a good idea.
moosingin3space 9y ago
I like this app a lot -- very fast and convenient. Could this someday integrate Tor, making it sort of an amnesiac Tor Browser for mobile?
- feikname 9y ago
  It is already planned to be implemented into the Ebony milestone, which itself is planned to be released on October 12 of this year. This is the relevant issue on their GitHub repo: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/66 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/66 edit: Please note that this is for the Android version only.
  - moosingin3space 9y ago
    Wonder if they could embed the Tor proxy into the apk, that way it would be completely transparent -- no need to download Orbot whatsoever. This might also work for iOS I like and use Orbot, but requiring it isn't the greatest UX.
dgranda 9y ago
I have tried to set normal Firefox (55) for Android browser to open links by default in private mode but unfortunately I don't know how. Why "browser.privatebrowsing.autostart" set to "true" does not work on Android version? PS: I know I can clear everything (cookies, history, etc.) on exit.
- atc 9y ago
  Just set Firefox Focus as the default, and if you want to keep the link open, use Menu -> Open with Firefox. That way you can vet links with privacy on by default.
rcthompson 9y ago
This is useful to use as your default browser. It has a quick way to open the same link in another browser, so you can use it as a sort of quarantine to vet unknown links before exposing your main browser and all its juicy user data to a new website.
- apeace 9y ago
  If only it were possible to set a default browser on iOS.
  - gardnr 9y ago
    Wasn't there a huge anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft for preventing other browsers on their platform? How does Apple get away with it when MS couldn't?
    - teddyfrozevelt 9y ago
      Probably a mix of Apple not having a monopoly in the mobile space and other browsers till being allowed on the app store.
      - eli 9y ago
        Allowing other browsers to be installed didn't stop Microsoft from losing an anti-trust suit.
      - gardnr 9y ago
        I am not up to date. I didn't realize they allow other browsers now. When I was building iOS apps Apple had specific wording which prevented apps in the app store which duplicated functionality already available in iOS. That meant things like the AdBlock Firefox build could not be published in the App Store. It was, in great part, their legal team and strategy that pushed me away from Apple.
        jeroenhd 9y ago
hprotagonist 9y ago
I installed Firefox Focus for iOS simply for its content blocker. I still prefer using mobile safari, but augmented with three content blockers: - Firefox Focus, which blocks all sorts of stuff - 1Blocker, which blocks all sorts of stuff - Unobstruct, which blocks Medium's "dickbar" popups.
- mch82 9y ago
  Made me laugh to see that Gruber's term is catching on
  - tksb 9y ago
    Same. Used dickbar in conversation recently to almost pure silence. Very apt.
    - agumonkey 9y ago
      to see or not to see https://twitter.com/search?q=%23dickbar https://twitter.com/search?q=%23dickbar that is the question
- kristianp 9y ago
  I just looked up Unobstruct, and surprisingly the author's article about it is on Medium: https://medium.com/@tgaul/introducing-unobstruct-230e4e95cf5e https://medium.com/@tgaul/introducing-unobstruct-230e4e95cf5...
  - dabber 9y ago
    Well, I guess if I sold sunscreen I'd do it at the beach.
- mi_lk 9y ago
  Does this work in embedded browser? More often than not I don't open links within Twitter/Reddit mobile app bc I can't stand some intrusive ads.
JepZ 9y ago
I wouldn't consider tabs 'every beta bell and whistle' :-/ If you can live without tabs, try it, it's great.
- 482794793792894 9y ago
  Focus was initially intended for users who are concerned about privacy, but in no way short of helpless in actually trying to get it. The type of user that has trouble finding or even understanding Private Browsing in Firefox. (Focus does not actually protect privacy more than Firefox's Private Browsing mode either.) Launching a separate app on the other hand is a familiar concept and does also explain quite nicely that browsing history won't be saved, as it's normal that data does not get shared between apps, whereas Private Browsing is a separate concept that needs understanding. And this in effect had implications on the design. Not having tabs was a deliberate design choice, because this type of casual user does generally not understand those either. That it would get so much adoption in the tech world was very much unexpected. So, tabs are being worked on, Tor integration is coming, this sort of stuff. Tabs might take a little while still, though: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/960 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/960
  - JepZ 9y ago
    Thanks for the background information, I am looking forward to Focus 3.0 now :-)
AdmiralAsshat 9y ago
Hmm. Just visited a few of the pages I normally visit on my phone in Firefox for Android, and immediately got several pop-ups and banners that don't normally get through. So I'd say its adblocking is still less effective than regular Firefox for Android + uBlock Origin add-on. It does feel quite speedy, though. Could possibly be what I start using in the future to read HN articles.
webdevatwork 9y ago
Firefox Focus is great. It's amazing how much better web readability and performance gets when you block most of the adtech garbage.
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  What exactly is great about firefox focus ? What does it have over installing ublock origins in any other browser ?
  - CaptSpify 9y ago
    Not OP but I find the ad-blocking not to be great, and I'd love to have a JS blocker built in. Focus is nice to have as a "default to privacy mode" option, but I definitely end up missing my addons.
  - fiatjaf 9y ago
    Read the article.
  - wnevets 9y ago
    how do you install ublock on android chrome?
linkmotif 9y ago
Been using this for a while on iOS. Very convenient!
cpeterso 9y ago
Since I started using Firefox Focus for one-off searches, I'm surprised at how infrequently I really need to be logged into any websites to complete my task. Nice that Focus simply clears all those trackers and search history when I close it.
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  I'm wondering why this is not a simple setting on firefox. Are they trying to collect data on how many people have interest in privacy or something ? (another comment pointed that Firefox focus tracks users and reports to mozilla)
  - pavon 9y ago
    That was my initial reaction too, but I think it makes sense. Everyone has use for both full-featured browsing where you can stay logged in to frequent sites, retain history/bookmarks and such, as well as private browsing where you don't want any history kept. On the desktop the way the UI is currently setup, full-featured is the default and private is an extra step you have to take, and as such private is typically only used for special occasions. Focus reverses this dynamic by making private browsing easier, faster, and more streamlined than full-featured browsing, so people will start making private browser the default for most quick web tasks, and just go to the slower the full-featured browser when they need it. Having two different launcher icons for these two modes is more convenient for the user, and AFAIK it isn't possible for a single app to install multiple icons in iOS[1]. Besides, not everyone wants to use Firefox as their main mobile browser. So a separate app makes sense. [1] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10048541/multiple-icons-from-one-install https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10048541/multiple-icons-...
  - ams6110 9y ago
    It's not difficult. I have all my browsers set to clear cache, cookies, and history on exit, no 3rd party cookies, no password saving.
nkkollaw 9y ago
So, if I understand this correctly... It's a regular browser, but like you're always in private mode + it's got a built-in ad blocker? If I want to check Hacker News let's say 5 times throughout the day and feel like leaving a comment, I have to login again, without autocomplete..? Maybe I'm missing something.
- aembleton 9y ago
  Your assumptions are correct.
  - nkkollaw 9y ago
    Mh. It's amazing how far apart I got from every single one of Mozilla's visions, from using Firefox as my main browser 8 years ago. I love the fact that—as an example—as I travel Google shows me tools that I'll be interested in, like a currency converter, translate + word of the day in the local language, etc. etc. I would absolutely hate having my main browser constantly forget who I am. I feel almost blessed every time I visit a website that I can log in with one click (or I'm already logged in), and when I sign up or buy stuff I can autofill my name, email, address, and credit card without having to start from scratch. I'm not ready to give up extreme convenience and lots of time for the ideal of safeguarding my privacy with Google or Apple.
    - bigbugbag 9y ago
      I cannot agree more, it seems mozilla is out of touch with their users and advocates, don't listen to feedback and just do whatever will lose them the most marketshare and alienates their supporter so their flagship firefox will become irrelevant in the least time possible. It looks like they're scrambling to try to stay afloat and miss and miss again.
    - CaptSpify 9y ago
      I actually love this browser (been using it for a month or two), but it seems like your usage is just different. I prefer to stay anonymous, but use the "real" FF occasionally for stuff I need to be logged in for. Browsing links friends send me, or checking something with a quick google search is something that I'd rather stay anonymous for, so I prefer having it available.
ohsnapman 9y ago
I've been using this on Android for weeks. It's super fast, blocks a lot of annoying ads (think jumpy mobile overlays). No bookmarks or tabs, so if you're looking at a recipe for a dish you're making, there's always a chance it gets wiped. Just use Chrome for that. Highly recommend.
hkmurakami 9y ago
Imagine what the landscape would be like if FF had gone ahead with its adblocking efforts 5(?) years ago.
- 482794793792894 9y ago
  It would probably be dead. Why would webpage owners support it, if it blocks their revenue?
EpicEng 9y ago
After nearly a decade of using Chrome I decided to give FF another shot, having initially switched over due to slowness, an insatiable thirst for memory, and the single process model. I installed on both Windows (10 Pro) and Mac OS. Initial impressions were good; it seemed snappy, I liked the UI, and it was using less memory than Chrome with the same number of tabs open. A couple of days in things went downhill. On Mac OS I was getting short freezes every ~10 seconds. I found similar complaints ranging over a period of nearly five years, but no clear resolution. This morning I had FF lock up multiple times while editing Jira tickets. Since FF is still a single process, the entire browser was locked up and required a hard kill, which cost me work. So, no thanks mozilla, back to Chrome. I know this is one person with one experience, but man, this one experience was pretty off-putting. Maybe I'll try again in another decade.
- nod 9y ago
  This is not relevant to the subject of the article.
  - EpicEng 9y ago
    Yeah you're right, I suppose I saw an opportunity to rant on a recent experience
- Max_Mustermann 9y ago
  You probably used version 55. If you're willing to give it another try, it might work quite differently once is on version 57, Nov 14, from what I last read: massive changes are coming, but mainly starting from that version.
  - EpicEng 9y ago
    I did, I'll give it a try
- veeti 9y ago
  > Since FF is still a single process Multiprocess has been gradually rolled out since last year. Check about:support, you might have some ancient addon installed that isn't compatible.
api_or_ipa 9y ago
Why can Firefox build a browser with 16mb and yet every other app on my phone is 80+mb?
- 27182818284 9y ago
  It isn't a priority. Most people are fine with 80mb so it is better to optimize elsewhere.
  - itg 9y ago
    Considering how may people still have 8GB/16GB phones, I doubt it. On iOS sometimes you have to delete apps, especially ones that build up large caches like Facebook.
    - bigbugbag 9y ago
      wow those people are lucky and high on consumerism, my phone had 2GB.
      - JadeNB 9y ago
        > wow those people are lucky and high on consumerism, my phone had 2GB. How? Lollipop, the first Google hit for "Android OS size on phone" (https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/118896/how-much-disk-space-gb-does-android-5-0-os-take-up-is-system-memory-the-os#118983 https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/118896/how-much-...), seems to be about 5 GB. (Maybe you don't run Android, or maybe a very old version?)
        phrh8 9y ago
        What usually happens with these phones is they have something like 8GB or even 16GB, but they are poorly paritioned. It could be something like 5-6GB for /system (the OS) and they somehow only leave 2GB for the /data partition. I've seen a phone like this running Lollipop. The best part is when it decides to auto-update all the built-in (Google) apps, collectively consuming a total of 1-1.5GB of /data, at which point Google Play refuses to let you install any apps because you do not have enough free space available.
byproxy 9y ago
There is also the Brave browser, which I believe covers the same ground : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brave.browser https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brave.brow...
- goldenkey 9y ago
  Nice try Brave boy
- jquery 9y ago
  Brave goes further, it's https by default and even includes fingerprint blocking. It's been my default browser for while now and it's a joy to know I'm not feeding the beast.
hh2222 9y ago
Major bummer ... not compatible with iOS 9 on older devices.
bdz 9y ago
I wish open source projects publish the compiled .apk file not just the source code. If I want to install this on my Fire HD I either have to download the .apk from some dodgy mirror site or install Google Play with some workaround on the Fire HD. Cause Firefox Focus is not available in the Amazon App Store. I mean yeah I can do both in the end, not a big deal, but I just want the .apk nothing else.
- SubiculumCode 9y ago
  Agreed. Perhaps send them a note.
- zserge 9y ago
  You should be able to download such APKs from F-Droid or its fancier "frontend" - https://fossdroid.com/a/firefox-klar.html https://fossdroid.com/a/firefox-klar.html
- AaronMT 9y ago
  https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/releases https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/releases
  - Nexxxeh 9y ago
    In case anyone else didn't click through, AaronMT's succinct post is a link to the github release page for the Android version. It includes apk download links in addition to source code links and Google play store links. The thing GP was complaining Mozilla weren't doing.
  - bdz 9y ago
    Uh thanks... My fault!
- yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
  It's on Fdroid
- zeppelin101 9y ago
  You should absolutely install Google Play store on the Fire HD. It's not difficult.
gramakri 9y ago
Is there a reason why 'Bing' cannot be set as the default search engine?
- AaronMT 9y ago
  No idea. I’ll file an issue and look into it.
  - AaronMT 9y ago
    Filed as https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/334 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/334 for iOS
abhv 9y ago
All of the language seems to indicate that Focus only blocks "trackers." Does it also block ads?
wnevets 9y ago
I've been using it as my default browser for Android for a while and I like it. The only thing I don't love is the notification saying the browser is open, it triggers my "OCD" . I understand why it's there but I wish there was some way around it.
- JadeNB 9y ago
  > The only thing I don't love is the notification saying the browser is open, it triggers my "OCD" . Why not just turn off notifications for Firefox Focus? At least on Samsung-skinned Marshmallow, that seems to do the trick. (Grumble grumble, but it still reminds me that I'm running in power-saving mode, which is a vital notification that only applies whenever the phone's on. Thanks, Samsung!)
ukyrgf 9y ago
I love Focus. I wrote about it here[1], albeit poorly, but it just made me so happy to be able to use my phone again for web browsing. Sometimes I open Chrome and the tab that loads was something I was testing weeks prior... it's taken that big of a backseat to Firefox Focus. [1]: https://epatr.com/blog/2017/firefox-focus/ https://epatr.com/blog/2017/firefox-focus/
aidenn0 9y ago
So is this like an always-on incognito plus privacy badger?
- 482794793792894 9y ago
  Yeah, essentially. A more precise comparison would be always-on incognito plus Disconnect[1]. So, it uses a dumb tracker block list like it could also be enforced by uBlock Origin, and the list that Firefox uses is the list that the Disconnect devs put together. Then, again, it also depends on which browser's incognito mode you're talking about. Firefox's Private Browsing comes with Tracking Protection, which uses this same block list. So, privacy-wise this is actually identical to Firefox's Private Browsing mode. [1]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disconnect/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disconnect/
noja 9y ago
No tabs? Unusable. Great product otherwise.
endgame 9y ago
Is it just me, or does the article have a giant animated GIF of the word "simple"? Shouldn't it, y'know, have a picture of the browser or something useful?
- quickthrower2 9y ago
  Wow I didn't notice that the first time. Talk about ad blindness.
fiatjaf 9y ago
> For example, if you need to jump on the internet to look up Muddy Waters’ real name Best idea ever. That's the most common use case people have and one that's drastically underserved by current browsers. If people can't get their browser to quickly open a link to simple stuff, it means the web is failing. If the web is failing they'll quickly jump over to sending images over WhatsApp or fall into the trap of using the Facebook app for all their needs that could be otherwise served by the web.
- shurcooL 9y ago
  For example, if you need to jump on the internet to look up Muddy Waters’ real name, and instead of “McKinley Morganfield” you get pop-up ads, screen takeovers, “sponsored” content and other third-party advertising- driven distraction, then you know what browser overkill feels like. What? I don't understand how that's possible. If you just google search for Muddy Waters, it tells you his real name right on the search results screen. Even if it didn't, his Wikipedia page is one of the first results, and it doesn't have any pop-up ads, screen takeovers, etc. Am I missing something, or can someone explain what they're referring to?
  - ams6110 9y ago
    > Am I missing something I think you're taking the example a bit too literally. You know exactly what they're talking about. It's become almost impossible to use a phone browser for anything quick. They are slow to begin with, and with all the ads and other crap it's just not even worth it half the time.
    - moosingin3space 9y ago
      I once read that for this reason, many people send screenshots instead of links - so others don't have to reproduce the right sequence of closing ads, etc to show the content the user is interested in sharing.
  - prophesi 9y ago
    Sure, but then you're depending on Google search. And hoping that the information they bring to the top is actually correct. When you actually have to peruse the search list and click on a site, that's when the trouble begins. When I'm asked to look something up on my LG G2 budget phone, I usually just say "Can't, sorry" or "Sure, give me a few minutes".
gnicholas 9y ago
I love Focus and now use it for almost all of my mobile googling. One thing that would be nice is a share extension, so that when I'm in Safari and see a link I want to open I can share it to Firefox Focus. Right now I have to "share" it to [copy], open Focus, and paste it in. Not a huge hassle, but would be nice to streamline.
- st3fan 9y ago
  Share extension eh ... :-)
- my_ghola 9y ago
  Is there a good share to clipboard app? I tried the only one I found once and it tried to open google drive when I tried to use it. I'm not giving Google all the things I copypaste. Now I share to some notepad app and then copy from there.
  - JetSpiegel 9y ago
    > Is there a good share to clipboard app? There's the clipboard...
Xoros 9y ago
How is this news ? I installed it weeks ago on my IPhone. I don't understand why Mozilla just announced it now. Maybe it's a new version. On the browser itself, I launched it, navigate on a URI, closed it, relaunched it, type the firsts characters of my previous URI and it auto completed it. From my history I guess. So it's not like incognito mode on other browsers. (Haven't retested again)
- denzil_correa 9y ago
  I've been using it since months now. Focus started as ad blocker and now it has a private browser too since a few months.
- dabber 9y ago
  > news? They launched the android version not too long ago. This is probably just a push to get the word out to people who may not have heard. Fair enough in my opinion. > From my history I guess I don't think it's from your history. It seems like many common websites are preset to autocomplete; stackoverflow.com for example. Because it doesn't save history this seems like a nice way to reduce friction for users. I could be wrong though.
  - newscracker 9y ago
    >> From my history I guess > I don't think it's from your history. It seems like many common websites are preset to autocomplete; stackoverflow.com for example. Because it doesn't save history this seems like a nice way to reduce friction for users. I could be wrong though. In my experience, your statement is correct. Firefox Focus does not store history. It does have a long list of sites that it autocompletes. Whenever I visit HN, I actually type news.ycombinator.com into the address bar since Focus does not have bookmarking. But I don't mind that, and consider that as a feature.
    - brainfire 9y ago
      No in-app bookmarks, but you can use "add to home screen" to get a shortcut.
miguelrochefort 9y ago
Mozilla is targeting technophobes now? This whole privacy meme is getting out of hand. I struggle to relate with this community nowadays...
- 482794793792894 9y ago
  With this browser, yes, they are very much targetting technophobes. There's a huge number of people that would like to protect their privacy, but feel absolutely helpless at that. This is Mozilla trying to help these people. This does however not mean that Mozilla as a whole is now targetting technophobes. Also, Focus has surprisingly been adopted by tons of power users. As a result, Mozilla is now very much working on features for non-technophobes, like tabs, and power users, like Tor support.
exceptione 9y ago
As an alternative, you can install the regular Firefox (for android at least) and install the uBlock extension. If you don't like the telemetry, like myselves, you just type about:config in the address bar, and search telemetry (just by typing) -> disable done
hammock 9y ago
The headline in this submission fails to deliver the primary message of the actual op, which is that Firefox focus is a lightweight mobile browser. That it blocks third-party tracking by default is secondary
- zaphirplane 9y ago
  Just an FYI, by default it phones home to Mozilla.
  - hammock 9y ago
    Yeah that was kind of my point, this isn't intended to be a "private browser" and the headline misleads
computator 9y ago
This would have been perfect for iPad 2's and 3's on which Safari and the normal Firefox keep crashing under the weight of the current bloated web. But alas, the "simple and lightweight" Firefox Focus actually requires a heavyweight 64-bit processor: > Why aren't older Apple products supported? Safari Content Blockers (which include Firefox Focus) are only available on devices with an A7 processor (64-bit) or later. Only 64-bit processors can handle the extra load of content blocking, which insures optimal performance. For example, since the iPad 3 has an A5 processor, Firefox Focus is incompatible.[1] Come on, iPad 2's and 3's are less than 5 years old. There has to be some way to keep the iPad 2 or 3 alive if all you want to do browse the web. [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/focus https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/focus
- pls2halp 9y ago
  In terms of lightweight iOS browsers, I like iCab Mobile[1]. It's compatible with iOS 7 and up, which should include an updated iPad 2/3. It also natively supports Adblock lists(including EasyList by default). [1]https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icab-mobile-web-browser/id308111628 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icab-mobile-web-browser/id30...
- gardnr 9y ago
  The claims don't sound like they are based if fact so much as they probably ran into a build issues and they couldn't justify committing the resources to enable supporting older platforms which made up X number of devices. You could always try to build it yourself.
- jamesgeck0 9y ago
  This is an Apple restriction, not a Firefox restriction. Focus is a Safari webview, so Mozilla is limited by what features Apple allows them to use. They might have been able to get by without the 64bit requirement if it just blocked content in the webview, but it also blocks trackers in Safari.
x775 9y ago
I have been using this for a while on one of my phones (OnePlus 5, newest version of OxygenOS) and am fairly satisfied with its overall performance. It works seamlessly for casual browsing - i.e. opening pages from Reddit or similar. I however cannot help but feel as if the standard version with appropriate extensions (i.e. Disconnect, uBlock Origin and thus forth) remains a better alternative than Focus in solving the very issues Focus seeks to accommodate. I do very much love how closing the browser erases everything though. It is worth mentioning that the ability to install extensions is exclusive to Android for now, so Firefox Focus has become my go-to-browser for my iOS devices. If you have Android the above is worth considering though!
k2enemy 9y ago
Does Focus have a "HTTPS everywhere" feature? I didn't see mention of it on the site, so I'm guessing not. That is one thing that I'm sorely missing on iOS. Edit: It seems not: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/155 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/155
nfriedly 9y ago
Using Firefox on iOS is kind of frustrating - I can have either tabs or ad blocking, but not both. I want Firefox and Firefox Focus to merge on iOS.
- st3fan 9y ago
  Sign up for the beta at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/ios/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/ios/ - Firefox will get the same blocks lists as Focus pretty soon.
  - nfriedly 9y ago
    Awesome, signed up - Thanks!
speg 9y ago
This needs the ability to destroy pages when leaving the app. That way I can't accidentally leave my porn in a tab and have someone find it later
- tomfitz 9y ago
  Pressing "Erase browsing history" in the Android persistent notification bar seems to do this.
- kijin 9y ago
  Firefox Focus has no tabs and no history. Just close the active window and it's gone.
  - speg 9y ago
    But if I press the home button to exit the app because my boss is walking up to my desk and then go to show him something on my phone.. he could find some unmentionables. Closing the app could have the same action as closing the page.
    - st3fan 9y ago
      You have to hit the Erase button.
geokon 9y ago
What's the difference between this and Firefox Klar? It's what comes up on FDroid and sounds identical.. though FDroid strangely doesn't host Firefox (Vanilla)..
- lnrdgmz 9y ago
  >I can't find Firefox Focus in Germany, Austria or Switzerland >Klar by Firefox is the German-language version and only available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It includes the same features as the English-language app Focus by Firefox. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/difference-between-firefox-focus-and-firefox-klar https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/difference-between-fire...
- chungy 9y ago
  Firefox Klar is the same program, just the one Mozilla intends for Germany (another company there has a trademark for Focus). Regular Firefox is on F-Droid as "Fennec" -- I believe the justification in both cases is to avoid stepping on Mozilla trademarks.
geonnave 9y ago
Oh, I don't believe they missed the opportunity to name it Firefocus.
- quickthrower2 9y ago
  That's a terrible name
habosa 9y ago
First of all I want to say this is fantastic. A 2.5MB Android browser that's blazing fast and beautiful. However it seems to default to HTTP not HTTPS. That's a deal breaker.
- lern_too_spel 9y ago
  It's 2.5 MB because it's a thin UI on Chrome Web View, not that there's anything wrong with that.
desireco42 9y ago
It looks like someone is copying certain Brave browser :). Not a bad thing at all, copy from the best.
- desireco42 9y ago
  FWIW I tried it on my phone and it works fairly well. Glad we have one more option.
Abishek_Muthian 9y ago
Even if apps which don't include analytics package release via Google play store would be subject to collection of device identification metrics. Which could be prevented using module such as Xprivacy as shown here - https://imgur.com/a/AuARo https://imgur.com/a/AuARo
ourcat 9y ago
Does/will it support the getUserMedia requirements for WebRTC on iOS (since it's coming to iOS 11)?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
pvsukale3 9y ago
I use it to watch porn.
keyle 9y ago
Also check out Brave. I found Brave and I really like it. https://www.brave.com/ https://www.brave.com/
m-j-fox 9y ago
I like it. Really turns everything on its head. You're logged out. You can't post or comment. Lurking will be good for me.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
bprasanna 9y ago
Been using it for past couple of months. Its really good. Easy to use, pro-privacy and light weight. Thanks to Mozilla.
aorth 9y ago
I've been using this on and off for a few months since it came out. It's very smooth and enjoyable to use for looking things up quickly. But Samsung Internet Browser's[0] content blockers (AdBlock Fast, Disconnect) is also smooth and does a better job of blocking ads than Focus. Neither are as good as uBlock Origin, of course, but then you must use the "real" Firefox on Android which is not very smooth and feels very foreign on Android. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.sbrowser&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.androi...
makenova 9y ago
My favorite feature is that it blocks ads in safari. I'm surprised more people and Mozilla aren't mentioning it more.
jumsk_sdiei 9y ago
Panthers vs Titans Live Stream Free http://www.douglas-budget.com/calendar/event_ff8768ac-8509-11e7-95a5-308d99b28df7.html http://www.douglas-budget.com/calendar/event_ff8768ac-8509-1...
WhiteSource1 9y ago
Have you seen Ericom Shield - http://www.ericom.com/solutions/secure-browsing/ http://www.ericom.com/solutions/secure-browsing/
etherealG 9y ago
This is one of the few free ways to get adblocking on safari on ios. It's great!

ghh 9y ago

Focus does not seem to erase your history in a way you may expect. Try this on Android: - Erase your history. - Go to HN, click any link you haven't clicked before. - Wait for it to load. - Erase your history. Make sure you see the notification "Your browsing history has been erased". - Go to HN again, and see the link you've just clicked still highlighted as 'visited'.

cyphar 9y ago
It's likely that's because it currently uses the built-in Android WebView (which may store its own pseudo-history). That is a problem, but I believe their plans to replace WebView with Gecko will likely solve this problem. https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/13 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/13
crtasm 9y ago
That's concerning, I tested further and found that if you quit the app from task switcher it clears the visited highlight. I'll check if there's an issue filed for this tomorrow.

SHAKEDECADE 9y ago

Meh. It's been on my iphone for about a year and I've used it maybe a dozen times. It would be nice to be able to open a link from another browser (eg. Endless) but the option isn't available. So it goes by the wayside.

boek 9y ago
I think you will like our next build :)

abawany 9y ago

I have really come to appreciate this browser even though I have been using it for just about a month. It is fast and clean. Clicking links from email and knowing they will open in effectively a private browser instance is a great feeling. I missed the multi-tab feature for a little bit but have now adjusted.

agumonkey 9y ago
People were displeased at first, but you and this article made me try. I like the limited feeling very much; also the interface and theme is slick. Kudos firefox. ps: it's a potential modern dillo.
y2bd 9y ago
Did it use to support multiple tabs?
- moosingin3space 9y ago
  No, it doesn't -- I think the GP is stating that they were used to multiple tabs in a browser before they switched to Focus.
  - abawany 9y ago
    That is correct. I use Firefox as my normal mobile browser and opening new tabs for links was what I was familiar with. I haven't missed this too much with Firefox Focus (I actually use Firefox Klar from F-Droid, which is the German variant of Focus without GA libraries) and have come to love its speed and cleanliness. EDIT: clarifying my complicated and confusing initial sentence.

bllguo 9y ago

I've been loving focus. Fastest mobile browser I've used. Appreciate the privacy features also. I set it to my default browser and keep chrome handy on the side.

manaskarekar 9y ago

There's also the duckduckgo app, which seems similar to this, although not sure how they differ. https://duckduckgo.com/app https://duckduckgo.com/app

moosingin3space 9y ago
On Android, Focus appears to use the Gecko renderer. My guess is that the DDG app uses the system webview.
- feikname 9y ago
  It uses Android WebView componenent (in 1.2.1, I am not sure about future releases.) You can install the Gecko version if you compile the code yourself for now. Although I believe they will probably switch to Servo instead of Gecko once it is ready.

noncoml 9y ago

Looks awesome and fast. Exactly what’s needed and expected from Mozilla. Thank you! Can we have something similar for desktop as well?

jokoon 9y ago
I guess not, because it might have several features that could potentially make some websites not work. I don't know if it's entirely w3c proof or not. I think this browser is rather smartphone oriented, and might "clean up" some pages to make them lighter. I don't know.
bigbugbag 9y ago
You could, until mozilla decided to drop support for extensions that made this possible that is. Alternatively there is waterfox + ublock origins. Waterfox is firefox without the mozilla crap: Disabled Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) Disabled Web Runtime (deprecated as of 2015) Removed Pocket Removed Telemetry Removed data collection Removed startup profiling Allow running of all 64-Bit NPAPI plugins Allow running of unsigned extensions Removal of Sponsored Tiles on New Tab Page Addition of Duplicate Tab option Locale selector in about:preferences > General
- cyphar 9y ago
  GNU IceCat does many of the same things. And you can get it on FDroid as IceCatMobile.
- 482794793792894 9y ago
  Adding a bunch of legacy extensions to your Firefox is going to do the opposite of making it a fast, lightweight browser.

progval 9y ago

According to F-Droid [1], it contains `com.google.android.gms:play-services-analytics`. [1]: https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/issues/171#note_30410376 https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/issues/171#note_30410376

lol768 9y ago
This is odd because https://f-droid.org/wiki/page/org.mozilla.klar https://f-droid.org/wiki/page/org.mozilla.klar is already part of F-Droid and appears exactly the same .. but with a different name.
- moosingin3space 9y ago
  Looks to me like that app patches out the Gecko webview.
  - lol768 9y ago
    Oh, it uses Webkit? Huh
    - r00fus 9y ago
      Required for iOS or Apple won't allow it on the store.
      - vfclists 9y ago
        Why hasn't the EU charged Apple for abusing the monopoly position? Didn't they do that to Microsoft, or has Apple sweetened them up in some other way?
        moosingin3space 9y ago
        Technically, Apple does not have a monopoly, unless you want to argue they are the monopolist of the market for iOS devices. They don't even have a majority market share of smartphones in most jurisdictions. That being said, I still believe it is an abuse of market position, and I'm not sure how we can fight it.

lol768 9y ago

Have been using this a while, it's really nice as the default browser to open links in. Having the floating button to clear everything is neat and I like the UI desing. It's also really fast. I'd like to see better support for getting SSL/TLS info - why can't I tap on the padlock and get the certificate info (EV, OV, DV?), cipher suite, HSTS etc?

j0hnml 9y ago
Yeah that would be cool. Do you know of any iOS apps that currently support this?
boek 9y ago
You should request that feature! https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios (ios/android)
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

st0le 9y ago

Hasn't it been available for a while now?

JohnTHaller 9y ago
Yes, it has.
- zymhan 9y ago
  Portable Apps Man!!! Also, why the blog post then? I've had this app on my phone for many months now.
  - JohnTHaller 9y ago
    I think it's in conjunction with the 1.1 release which adds a few things.

sweep3r 9y ago

New? How come I've been using it for years?

senthilmpro 9y ago
It seems OP is just now discovering this. I have been using it for a while too.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
feikname 9y ago
Aren't you mistaken for Firefox? This is Firefox Focus, a completely different product. Although I'm not sure when the first iOS version was released.
- acdha 9y ago
  The iOS version has been out since 2015: https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9870860/mozilla-focus-ad-blocker-ios-app-store-download https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9870860/mozilla-focus-ad-...
482794793792894 9y ago
The iOS version has been out for a long time, the Android version was released like a month ago or so. I'm guessing, Mozilla is just trying to promote this some more and judging by how many people here did not know of it, that seems like it was a good idea.

moosingin3space 9y ago

I like this app a lot -- very fast and convenient. Could this someday integrate Tor, making it sort of an amnesiac Tor Browser for mobile?

feikname 9y ago
It is already planned to be implemented into the Ebony milestone, which itself is planned to be released on October 12 of this year. This is the relevant issue on their GitHub repo: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/66 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/66 edit: Please note that this is for the Android version only.
- moosingin3space 9y ago
  Wonder if they could embed the Tor proxy into the apk, that way it would be completely transparent -- no need to download Orbot whatsoever. This might also work for iOS I like and use Orbot, but requiring it isn't the greatest UX.

dgranda 9y ago

I have tried to set normal Firefox (55) for Android browser to open links by default in private mode but unfortunately I don't know how. Why "browser.privatebrowsing.autostart" set to "true" does not work on Android version? PS: I know I can clear everything (cookies, history, etc.) on exit.

atc 9y ago
Just set Firefox Focus as the default, and if you want to keep the link open, use Menu -> Open with Firefox. That way you can vet links with privacy on by default.

rcthompson 9y ago

This is useful to use as your default browser. It has a quick way to open the same link in another browser, so you can use it as a sort of quarantine to vet unknown links before exposing your main browser and all its juicy user data to a new website.

apeace 9y ago
If only it were possible to set a default browser on iOS.
- gardnr 9y ago
  Wasn't there a huge anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft for preventing other browsers on their platform? How does Apple get away with it when MS couldn't?
  - teddyfrozevelt 9y ago
    Probably a mix of Apple not having a monopoly in the mobile space and other browsers till being allowed on the app store.
    - eli 9y ago
      Allowing other browsers to be installed didn't stop Microsoft from losing an anti-trust suit.
    - gardnr 9y ago
      I am not up to date. I didn't realize they allow other browsers now. When I was building iOS apps Apple had specific wording which prevented apps in the app store which duplicated functionality already available in iOS. That meant things like the AdBlock Firefox build could not be published in the App Store. It was, in great part, their legal team and strategy that pushed me away from Apple.
      - jeroenhd 9y ago

hprotagonist 9y ago

I installed Firefox Focus for iOS simply for its content blocker. I still prefer using mobile safari, but augmented with three content blockers: - Firefox Focus, which blocks all sorts of stuff - 1Blocker, which blocks all sorts of stuff - Unobstruct, which blocks Medium's "dickbar" popups.

mch82 9y ago
Made me laugh to see that Gruber's term is catching on
- tksb 9y ago
  Same. Used dickbar in conversation recently to almost pure silence. Very apt.
  - agumonkey 9y ago
    to see or not to see https://twitter.com/search?q=%23dickbar https://twitter.com/search?q=%23dickbar that is the question
kristianp 9y ago
I just looked up Unobstruct, and surprisingly the author's article about it is on Medium: https://medium.com/@tgaul/introducing-unobstruct-230e4e95cf5e https://medium.com/@tgaul/introducing-unobstruct-230e4e95cf5...
- dabber 9y ago
  Well, I guess if I sold sunscreen I'd do it at the beach.
mi_lk 9y ago
Does this work in embedded browser? More often than not I don't open links within Twitter/Reddit mobile app bc I can't stand some intrusive ads.

JepZ 9y ago

I wouldn't consider tabs 'every beta bell and whistle' :-/ If you can live without tabs, try it, it's great.

482794793792894 9y ago
Focus was initially intended for users who are concerned about privacy, but in no way short of helpless in actually trying to get it. The type of user that has trouble finding or even understanding Private Browsing in Firefox. (Focus does not actually protect privacy more than Firefox's Private Browsing mode either.) Launching a separate app on the other hand is a familiar concept and does also explain quite nicely that browsing history won't be saved, as it's normal that data does not get shared between apps, whereas Private Browsing is a separate concept that needs understanding. And this in effect had implications on the design. Not having tabs was a deliberate design choice, because this type of casual user does generally not understand those either. That it would get so much adoption in the tech world was very much unexpected. So, tabs are being worked on, Tor integration is coming, this sort of stuff. Tabs might take a little while still, though: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/960 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/960
- JepZ 9y ago
  Thanks for the background information, I am looking forward to Focus 3.0 now :-)

AdmiralAsshat 9y ago

Hmm. Just visited a few of the pages I normally visit on my phone in Firefox for Android, and immediately got several pop-ups and banners that don't normally get through. So I'd say its adblocking is still less effective than regular Firefox for Android + uBlock Origin add-on. It does feel quite speedy, though. Could possibly be what I start using in the future to read HN articles.

webdevatwork 9y ago

Firefox Focus is great. It's amazing how much better web readability and performance gets when you block most of the adtech garbage.

bigbugbag 9y ago
What exactly is great about firefox focus ? What does it have over installing ublock origins in any other browser ?
- CaptSpify 9y ago
  Not OP but I find the ad-blocking not to be great, and I'd love to have a JS blocker built in. Focus is nice to have as a "default to privacy mode" option, but I definitely end up missing my addons.
- fiatjaf 9y ago
  Read the article.
- wnevets 9y ago
  how do you install ublock on android chrome?

linkmotif 9y ago

Been using this for a while on iOS. Very convenient!

cpeterso 9y ago

Since I started using Firefox Focus for one-off searches, I'm surprised at how infrequently I really need to be logged into any websites to complete my task. Nice that Focus simply clears all those trackers and search history when I close it.

bigbugbag 9y ago
I'm wondering why this is not a simple setting on firefox. Are they trying to collect data on how many people have interest in privacy or something ? (another comment pointed that Firefox focus tracks users and reports to mozilla)
- pavon 9y ago
  That was my initial reaction too, but I think it makes sense. Everyone has use for both full-featured browsing where you can stay logged in to frequent sites, retain history/bookmarks and such, as well as private browsing where you don't want any history kept. On the desktop the way the UI is currently setup, full-featured is the default and private is an extra step you have to take, and as such private is typically only used for special occasions. Focus reverses this dynamic by making private browsing easier, faster, and more streamlined than full-featured browsing, so people will start making private browser the default for most quick web tasks, and just go to the slower the full-featured browser when they need it. Having two different launcher icons for these two modes is more convenient for the user, and AFAIK it isn't possible for a single app to install multiple icons in iOS[1]. Besides, not everyone wants to use Firefox as their main mobile browser. So a separate app makes sense. [1] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10048541/multiple-icons-from-one-install https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10048541/multiple-icons-...
- ams6110 9y ago
  It's not difficult. I have all my browsers set to clear cache, cookies, and history on exit, no 3rd party cookies, no password saving.

nkkollaw 9y ago

So, if I understand this correctly... It's a regular browser, but like you're always in private mode + it's got a built-in ad blocker? If I want to check Hacker News let's say 5 times throughout the day and feel like leaving a comment, I have to login again, without autocomplete..? Maybe I'm missing something.

aembleton 9y ago
Your assumptions are correct.
- nkkollaw 9y ago
  Mh. It's amazing how far apart I got from every single one of Mozilla's visions, from using Firefox as my main browser 8 years ago. I love the fact that—as an example—as I travel Google shows me tools that I'll be interested in, like a currency converter, translate + word of the day in the local language, etc. etc. I would absolutely hate having my main browser constantly forget who I am. I feel almost blessed every time I visit a website that I can log in with one click (or I'm already logged in), and when I sign up or buy stuff I can autofill my name, email, address, and credit card without having to start from scratch. I'm not ready to give up extreme convenience and lots of time for the ideal of safeguarding my privacy with Google or Apple.
  - bigbugbag 9y ago
    I cannot agree more, it seems mozilla is out of touch with their users and advocates, don't listen to feedback and just do whatever will lose them the most marketshare and alienates their supporter so their flagship firefox will become irrelevant in the least time possible. It looks like they're scrambling to try to stay afloat and miss and miss again.
  - CaptSpify 9y ago
    I actually love this browser (been using it for a month or two), but it seems like your usage is just different. I prefer to stay anonymous, but use the "real" FF occasionally for stuff I need to be logged in for. Browsing links friends send me, or checking something with a quick google search is something that I'd rather stay anonymous for, so I prefer having it available.

ohsnapman 9y ago

I've been using this on Android for weeks. It's super fast, blocks a lot of annoying ads (think jumpy mobile overlays). No bookmarks or tabs, so if you're looking at a recipe for a dish you're making, there's always a chance it gets wiped. Just use Chrome for that. Highly recommend.

hkmurakami 9y ago

Imagine what the landscape would be like if FF had gone ahead with its adblocking efforts 5(?) years ago.

482794793792894 9y ago
It would probably be dead. Why would webpage owners support it, if it blocks their revenue?

EpicEng 9y ago

After nearly a decade of using Chrome I decided to give FF another shot, having initially switched over due to slowness, an insatiable thirst for memory, and the single process model. I installed on both Windows (10 Pro) and Mac OS. Initial impressions were good; it seemed snappy, I liked the UI, and it was using less memory than Chrome with the same number of tabs open. A couple of days in things went downhill. On Mac OS I was getting short freezes every ~10 seconds. I found similar complaints ranging over a period of nearly five years, but no clear resolution. This morning I had FF lock up multiple times while editing Jira tickets. Since FF is still a single process, the entire browser was locked up and required a hard kill, which cost me work. So, no thanks mozilla, back to Chrome. I know this is one person with one experience, but man, this one experience was pretty off-putting. Maybe I'll try again in another decade.

nod 9y ago
This is not relevant to the subject of the article.
- EpicEng 9y ago
  Yeah you're right, I suppose I saw an opportunity to rant on a recent experience
Max_Mustermann 9y ago
You probably used version 55. If you're willing to give it another try, it might work quite differently once is on version 57, Nov 14, from what I last read: massive changes are coming, but mainly starting from that version.
- EpicEng 9y ago
  I did, I'll give it a try
veeti 9y ago
> Since FF is still a single process Multiprocess has been gradually rolled out since last year. Check about:support, you might have some ancient addon installed that isn't compatible.

api_or_ipa 9y ago

Why can Firefox build a browser with 16mb and yet every other app on my phone is 80+mb?

27182818284 9y ago
It isn't a priority. Most people are fine with 80mb so it is better to optimize elsewhere.
- itg 9y ago
  Considering how may people still have 8GB/16GB phones, I doubt it. On iOS sometimes you have to delete apps, especially ones that build up large caches like Facebook.
  - bigbugbag 9y ago
    wow those people are lucky and high on consumerism, my phone had 2GB.
    - JadeNB 9y ago
      > wow those people are lucky and high on consumerism, my phone had 2GB. How? Lollipop, the first Google hit for "Android OS size on phone" (https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/118896/how-much-disk-space-gb-does-android-5-0-os-take-up-is-system-memory-the-os#118983 https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/118896/how-much-...), seems to be about 5 GB. (Maybe you don't run Android, or maybe a very old version?)
      - phrh8 9y ago
        What usually happens with these phones is they have something like 8GB or even 16GB, but they are poorly paritioned. It could be something like 5-6GB for /system (the OS) and they somehow only leave 2GB for the /data partition. I've seen a phone like this running Lollipop. The best part is when it decides to auto-update all the built-in (Google) apps, collectively consuming a total of 1-1.5GB of /data, at which point Google Play refuses to let you install any apps because you do not have enough free space available.

byproxy 9y ago

There is also the Brave browser, which I believe covers the same ground : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brave.browser https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brave.brow...

goldenkey 9y ago
Nice try Brave boy
jquery 9y ago
Brave goes further, it's https by default and even includes fingerprint blocking. It's been my default browser for while now and it's a joy to know I'm not feeding the beast.

hh2222 9y ago

Major bummer ... not compatible with iOS 9 on older devices.

bdz 9y ago

I wish open source projects publish the compiled .apk file not just the source code. If I want to install this on my Fire HD I either have to download the .apk from some dodgy mirror site or install Google Play with some workaround on the Fire HD. Cause Firefox Focus is not available in the Amazon App Store. I mean yeah I can do both in the end, not a big deal, but I just want the .apk nothing else.

SubiculumCode 9y ago
Agreed. Perhaps send them a note.
zserge 9y ago
You should be able to download such APKs from F-Droid or its fancier "frontend" - https://fossdroid.com/a/firefox-klar.html https://fossdroid.com/a/firefox-klar.html
AaronMT 9y ago
https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/releases https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/releases
- Nexxxeh 9y ago
  In case anyone else didn't click through, AaronMT's succinct post is a link to the github release page for the Android version. It includes apk download links in addition to source code links and Google play store links. The thing GP was complaining Mozilla weren't doing.
- bdz 9y ago
  Uh thanks... My fault!
yjftsjthsd-h 9y ago
It's on Fdroid
zeppelin101 9y ago
You should absolutely install Google Play store on the Fire HD. It's not difficult.

gramakri 9y ago

Is there a reason why 'Bing' cannot be set as the default search engine?

AaronMT 9y ago
No idea. I’ll file an issue and look into it.
- AaronMT 9y ago
  Filed as https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/334 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/334 for iOS

abhv 9y ago

All of the language seems to indicate that Focus only blocks "trackers." Does it also block ads?

wnevets 9y ago

I've been using it as my default browser for Android for a while and I like it. The only thing I don't love is the notification saying the browser is open, it triggers my "OCD" . I understand why it's there but I wish there was some way around it.

JadeNB 9y ago
> The only thing I don't love is the notification saying the browser is open, it triggers my "OCD" . Why not just turn off notifications for Firefox Focus? At least on Samsung-skinned Marshmallow, that seems to do the trick. (Grumble grumble, but it still reminds me that I'm running in power-saving mode, which is a vital notification that only applies whenever the phone's on. Thanks, Samsung!)

ukyrgf 9y ago

I love Focus. I wrote about it here[1], albeit poorly, but it just made me so happy to be able to use my phone again for web browsing. Sometimes I open Chrome and the tab that loads was something I was testing weeks prior... it's taken that big of a backseat to Firefox Focus. [1]: https://epatr.com/blog/2017/firefox-focus/ https://epatr.com/blog/2017/firefox-focus/

aidenn0 9y ago

So is this like an always-on incognito plus privacy badger?

482794793792894 9y ago
Yeah, essentially. A more precise comparison would be always-on incognito plus Disconnect[1]. So, it uses a dumb tracker block list like it could also be enforced by uBlock Origin, and the list that Firefox uses is the list that the Disconnect devs put together. Then, again, it also depends on which browser's incognito mode you're talking about. Firefox's Private Browsing comes with Tracking Protection, which uses this same block list. So, privacy-wise this is actually identical to Firefox's Private Browsing mode. [1]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disconnect/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disconnect/

noja 9y ago

No tabs? Unusable. Great product otherwise.

endgame 9y ago

Is it just me, or does the article have a giant animated GIF of the word "simple"? Shouldn't it, y'know, have a picture of the browser or something useful?

quickthrower2 9y ago
Wow I didn't notice that the first time. Talk about ad blindness.

fiatjaf 9y ago

> For example, if you need to jump on the internet to look up Muddy Waters’ real name Best idea ever. That's the most common use case people have and one that's drastically underserved by current browsers. If people can't get their browser to quickly open a link to simple stuff, it means the web is failing. If the web is failing they'll quickly jump over to sending images over WhatsApp or fall into the trap of using the Facebook app for all their needs that could be otherwise served by the web.

shurcooL 9y ago
For example, if you need to jump on the internet to look up Muddy Waters’ real name, and instead of “McKinley Morganfield” you get pop-up ads, screen takeovers, “sponsored” content and other third-party advertising- driven distraction, then you know what browser overkill feels like. What? I don't understand how that's possible. If you just google search for Muddy Waters, it tells you his real name right on the search results screen. Even if it didn't, his Wikipedia page is one of the first results, and it doesn't have any pop-up ads, screen takeovers, etc. Am I missing something, or can someone explain what they're referring to?
- ams6110 9y ago
  > Am I missing something I think you're taking the example a bit too literally. You know exactly what they're talking about. It's become almost impossible to use a phone browser for anything quick. They are slow to begin with, and with all the ads and other crap it's just not even worth it half the time.
  - moosingin3space 9y ago
    I once read that for this reason, many people send screenshots instead of links - so others don't have to reproduce the right sequence of closing ads, etc to show the content the user is interested in sharing.
- prophesi 9y ago
  Sure, but then you're depending on Google search. And hoping that the information they bring to the top is actually correct. When you actually have to peruse the search list and click on a site, that's when the trouble begins. When I'm asked to look something up on my LG G2 budget phone, I usually just say "Can't, sorry" or "Sure, give me a few minutes".

gnicholas 9y ago

I love Focus and now use it for almost all of my mobile googling. One thing that would be nice is a share extension, so that when I'm in Safari and see a link I want to open I can share it to Firefox Focus. Right now I have to "share" it to [copy], open Focus, and paste it in. Not a huge hassle, but would be nice to streamline.

st3fan 9y ago
Share extension eh ... :-)
my_ghola 9y ago
Is there a good share to clipboard app? I tried the only one I found once and it tried to open google drive when I tried to use it. I'm not giving Google all the things I copypaste. Now I share to some notepad app and then copy from there.
- JetSpiegel 9y ago
  > Is there a good share to clipboard app? There's the clipboard...

Xoros 9y ago

How is this news ? I installed it weeks ago on my IPhone. I don't understand why Mozilla just announced it now. Maybe it's a new version. On the browser itself, I launched it, navigate on a URI, closed it, relaunched it, type the firsts characters of my previous URI and it auto completed it. From my history I guess. So it's not like incognito mode on other browsers. (Haven't retested again)

denzil_correa 9y ago
I've been using it since months now. Focus started as ad blocker and now it has a private browser too since a few months.
dabber 9y ago
> news? They launched the android version not too long ago. This is probably just a push to get the word out to people who may not have heard. Fair enough in my opinion. > From my history I guess I don't think it's from your history. It seems like many common websites are preset to autocomplete; stackoverflow.com for example. Because it doesn't save history this seems like a nice way to reduce friction for users. I could be wrong though.
- newscracker 9y ago
  >> From my history I guess > I don't think it's from your history. It seems like many common websites are preset to autocomplete; stackoverflow.com for example. Because it doesn't save history this seems like a nice way to reduce friction for users. I could be wrong though. In my experience, your statement is correct. Firefox Focus does not store history. It does have a long list of sites that it autocompletes. Whenever I visit HN, I actually type news.ycombinator.com into the address bar since Focus does not have bookmarking. But I don't mind that, and consider that as a feature.
  - brainfire 9y ago
    No in-app bookmarks, but you can use "add to home screen" to get a shortcut.

miguelrochefort 9y ago

Mozilla is targeting technophobes now? This whole privacy meme is getting out of hand. I struggle to relate with this community nowadays...

482794793792894 9y ago
With this browser, yes, they are very much targetting technophobes. There's a huge number of people that would like to protect their privacy, but feel absolutely helpless at that. This is Mozilla trying to help these people. This does however not mean that Mozilla as a whole is now targetting technophobes. Also, Focus has surprisingly been adopted by tons of power users. As a result, Mozilla is now very much working on features for non-technophobes, like tabs, and power users, like Tor support.

exceptione 9y ago

As an alternative, you can install the regular Firefox (for android at least) and install the uBlock extension. If you don't like the telemetry, like myselves, you just type about:config in the address bar, and search telemetry (just by typing) -> disable done

hammock 9y ago

The headline in this submission fails to deliver the primary message of the actual op, which is that Firefox focus is a lightweight mobile browser. That it blocks third-party tracking by default is secondary

zaphirplane 9y ago
Just an FYI, by default it phones home to Mozilla.
- hammock 9y ago
  Yeah that was kind of my point, this isn't intended to be a "private browser" and the headline misleads

computator 9y ago

This would have been perfect for iPad 2's and 3's on which Safari and the normal Firefox keep crashing under the weight of the current bloated web. But alas, the "simple and lightweight" Firefox Focus actually requires a heavyweight 64-bit processor: > Why aren't older Apple products supported? Safari Content Blockers (which include Firefox Focus) are only available on devices with an A7 processor (64-bit) or later. Only 64-bit processors can handle the extra load of content blocking, which insures optimal performance. For example, since the iPad 3 has an A5 processor, Firefox Focus is incompatible.[1] Come on, iPad 2's and 3's are less than 5 years old. There has to be some way to keep the iPad 2 or 3 alive if all you want to do browse the web. [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/focus https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/focus

pls2halp 9y ago
In terms of lightweight iOS browsers, I like iCab Mobile[1]. It's compatible with iOS 7 and up, which should include an updated iPad 2/3. It also natively supports Adblock lists(including EasyList by default). [1]https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icab-mobile-web-browser/id308111628 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icab-mobile-web-browser/id30...
gardnr 9y ago
The claims don't sound like they are based if fact so much as they probably ran into a build issues and they couldn't justify committing the resources to enable supporting older platforms which made up X number of devices. You could always try to build it yourself.
jamesgeck0 9y ago
This is an Apple restriction, not a Firefox restriction. Focus is a Safari webview, so Mozilla is limited by what features Apple allows them to use. They might have been able to get by without the 64bit requirement if it just blocked content in the webview, but it also blocks trackers in Safari.

x775 9y ago

I have been using this for a while on one of my phones (OnePlus 5, newest version of OxygenOS) and am fairly satisfied with its overall performance. It works seamlessly for casual browsing - i.e. opening pages from Reddit or similar. I however cannot help but feel as if the standard version with appropriate extensions (i.e. Disconnect, uBlock Origin and thus forth) remains a better alternative than Focus in solving the very issues Focus seeks to accommodate. I do very much love how closing the browser erases everything though. It is worth mentioning that the ability to install extensions is exclusive to Android for now, so Firefox Focus has become my go-to-browser for my iOS devices. If you have Android the above is worth considering though!

k2enemy 9y ago

Does Focus have a "HTTPS everywhere" feature? I didn't see mention of it on the site, so I'm guessing not. That is one thing that I'm sorely missing on iOS. Edit: It seems not: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/155 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/155

nfriedly 9y ago

Using Firefox on iOS is kind of frustrating - I can have either tabs or ad blocking, but not both. I want Firefox and Firefox Focus to merge on iOS.

st3fan 9y ago
Sign up for the beta at https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/ios/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/ios/ - Firefox will get the same blocks lists as Focus pretty soon.
- nfriedly 9y ago
  Awesome, signed up - Thanks!

speg 9y ago

This needs the ability to destroy pages when leaving the app. That way I can't accidentally leave my porn in a tab and have someone find it later

tomfitz 9y ago
Pressing "Erase browsing history" in the Android persistent notification bar seems to do this.
kijin 9y ago
Firefox Focus has no tabs and no history. Just close the active window and it's gone.
- speg 9y ago
  But if I press the home button to exit the app because my boss is walking up to my desk and then go to show him something on my phone.. he could find some unmentionables. Closing the app could have the same action as closing the page.
  - st3fan 9y ago
    You have to hit the Erase button.

geokon 9y ago

What's the difference between this and Firefox Klar? It's what comes up on FDroid and sounds identical.. though FDroid strangely doesn't host Firefox (Vanilla)..

lnrdgmz 9y ago
>I can't find Firefox Focus in Germany, Austria or Switzerland >Klar by Firefox is the German-language version and only available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It includes the same features as the English-language app Focus by Firefox. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/difference-between-firefox-focus-and-firefox-klar https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/difference-between-fire...
chungy 9y ago
Firefox Klar is the same program, just the one Mozilla intends for Germany (another company there has a trademark for Focus). Regular Firefox is on F-Droid as "Fennec" -- I believe the justification in both cases is to avoid stepping on Mozilla trademarks.

geonnave 9y ago

Oh, I don't believe they missed the opportunity to name it Firefocus.

quickthrower2 9y ago
That's a terrible name

habosa 9y ago

First of all I want to say this is fantastic. A 2.5MB Android browser that's blazing fast and beautiful. However it seems to default to HTTP not HTTPS. That's a deal breaker.

lern_too_spel 9y ago
It's 2.5 MB because it's a thin UI on Chrome Web View, not that there's anything wrong with that.

desireco42 9y ago

It looks like someone is copying certain Brave browser :). Not a bad thing at all, copy from the best.

desireco42 9y ago
FWIW I tried it on my phone and it works fairly well. Glad we have one more option.

Abishek_Muthian 9y ago

Even if apps which don't include analytics package release via Google play store would be subject to collection of device identification metrics. Which could be prevented using module such as Xprivacy as shown here - https://imgur.com/a/AuARo https://imgur.com/a/AuARo

ourcat 9y ago

Does/will it support the getUserMedia requirements for WebRTC on iOS (since it's coming to iOS 11)?

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

pvsukale3 9y ago

I use it to watch porn.

keyle 9y ago

Also check out Brave. I found Brave and I really like it. https://www.brave.com/ https://www.brave.com/

m-j-fox 9y ago

I like it. Really turns everything on its head. You're logged out. You can't post or comment. Lurking will be good for me.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

bprasanna 9y ago

Been using it for past couple of months. Its really good. Easy to use, pro-privacy and light weight. Thanks to Mozilla.

aorth 9y ago

I've been using this on and off for a few months since it came out. It's very smooth and enjoyable to use for looking things up quickly. But Samsung Internet Browser's[0] content blockers (AdBlock Fast, Disconnect) is also smooth and does a better job of blocking ads than Focus. Neither are as good as uBlock Origin, of course, but then you must use the "real" Firefox on Android which is not very smooth and feels very foreign on Android. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.sbrowser&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.androi...

makenova 9y ago

My favorite feature is that it blocks ads in safari. I'm surprised more people and Mozilla aren't mentioning it more.

jumsk_sdiei 9y ago

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WhiteSource1 9y ago

Have you seen Ericom Shield - http://www.ericom.com/solutions/secure-browsing/ http://www.ericom.com/solutions/secure-browsing/

etherealG 9y ago

This is one of the few free ways to get adblocking on safari on ios. It's great!