6 ms·

I might switch from the current Firefox for Android (Fennec) when it supports uBlock Origin. I'm not giving up adblocking anymore. It would also help to have it

I might switch from the current Firefox for Android (Fennec) when it supports uBlock Origin. I'm not giving up adblocking anymore. It would also help to have it available on F-Droid.

silon42 7y ago
For me, it's uMatrix which I use more often as a general javascript blocker.
- vanderZwan 7y ago
  It's really ridiculous how much faster websites are with those two add-ons installed. Actually, faster isn't the right way to describe it, "how much dead weight the internet has these days" feels much more apt.
  - djsumdog 7y ago
    Oddly enough, I always ran into performance issues when running uMatrix. I'd turn off JavaScript by default though and only selectively enable it. That seems like it should speed things up, but I'd often experience the opposite, both on Vivaldi and Firefox.
    - vanderZwan 7y ago
      Did you also install the add-on to skip AMP sites? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html
    - jimbo1qaz 7y ago
      By default, uMatrix blocks Google Analytics, whereas uBlock Origin stubs it. If both are installed (in my case), uMatrix often wins out. If Google Analytics is blocked, many sites will spend 2 seconds on a white screen waiting for Google Analytics to load.
    - gorhill 7y ago
      uMatrix is very low overhead so my first suspicion would be artificial delays introduced when some JavaScript resources are blocked; [1] is an example of this. The artificial delay does not occur in uBlock Origin because it uses a replacement script for the blocked one causing the issue. [1] https://www.theverge.com/ https://www.theverge.com/
  - smt88 7y ago
    > dead weight That's a generous way to describe it. I'd describe it as "invaders inside the Trojan horse".
- coldpie 7y ago
  I use NoScript, but yeah, same idea. I absolutely cannot use a browser that doesn't have a good JS blocker. It's crazy how much more usable the web is with a JS blocker. Those fucking "give us your email address!" and "this site uses cookies!" pop-ups? Gone. Ad blocking isn't enough these days. Please don't kill my JS blocker, Firefox.
- slightwinder 7y ago
  uBlock can work that way with medium mode too. Though it's still a bit less specific in it's permission than uMatrix, because you can't choose the type of content.
yorwba 7y ago
Firefox Preview actually ships with a built-in adblocker. I'll still install uBlock Origin once it becomes available (e.g. I like zapping annoying elements), but browsing with Firefox Preview is already quite pleasant.
- Sphax 7y ago
  Are you talking about the tracking protection?
  - yorwba 7y ago
    They call it "tracking protection." As a side effect, it blocks ads. I guess they wouldn't block ads that don't track you, but those seem to be rare. Edit: Is my experience unusual? News websites that are normally encrusted with ads (e.g. using Firefox for Android without any add-ons) turn refreshingly ad-free in Firefox Preview.
    - fwn 7y ago
      You might get some accidental adblocking on some news sites through tracking protection, but with reader mode I probably wouldn't really notice. I mostly use ublock origin to block ads in search, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Reddit. AFAIK none of those are blocked by the current Firefox tracking protection.
      - yorwba 7y ago
        Ads on Google Search and YouTube aren't blocked. I didn't find any ads to test on Instagram or Facebook without logging in, and didn't feel like creating an account just to check out their ads. Ads on Reddit did get blocked. They're probably using third-party adtech, unlike the others. I guess my browsing habits are unusual, since the only website among these I've visited since switching to Firefox Preview is Reddit.
        dolessdrugs 7y ago
phreack 7y ago
I'd love to go into Firefox, but my deal breakers are ad blocking, having a bottom navigation bar, and intuitive and easy to use text reflow. It's getting there, but not quite yet, so I'm stuck with Opera for now which I don't fully trust but is 100% more convenient.
- Nagyman 7y ago
  The navigation (address bar) is at the bottom now.
- nolok 7y ago
  Funnny the seemingly small things we trip over. While still using Chrome on desktop, I switched to Firefox on mobile because of their add-on and specifically ublock origin support. My biggest issue with it ? When at the top of the page, dragging from top to bottom doesn't trigger a refresh of the page like in other browsers and many apps. I know it's a very petty complaint, but somehow it's major for me. Still staying with it though, adblocking is even more mandatory on mobile than on desktop ...

I might switch from the current Firefox for Android (Fennec) when it supports uBlock Origin. I'm not giving up adblocking anymore. It would also help to have it available on F-Droid.

silon42 7y ago

For me, it's uMatrix which I use more often as a general javascript blocker.

vanderZwan 7y ago
It's really ridiculous how much faster websites are with those two add-ons installed. Actually, faster isn't the right way to describe it, "how much dead weight the internet has these days" feels much more apt.
- djsumdog 7y ago
  Oddly enough, I always ran into performance issues when running uMatrix. I'd turn off JavaScript by default though and only selectively enable it. That seems like it should speed things up, but I'd often experience the opposite, both on Vivaldi and Firefox.
  - vanderZwan 7y ago
    Did you also install the add-on to skip AMP sites? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html
  - jimbo1qaz 7y ago
    By default, uMatrix blocks Google Analytics, whereas uBlock Origin stubs it. If both are installed (in my case), uMatrix often wins out. If Google Analytics is blocked, many sites will spend 2 seconds on a white screen waiting for Google Analytics to load.
  - gorhill 7y ago
    uMatrix is very low overhead so my first suspicion would be artificial delays introduced when some JavaScript resources are blocked; [1] is an example of this. The artificial delay does not occur in uBlock Origin because it uses a replacement script for the blocked one causing the issue. [1] https://www.theverge.com/ https://www.theverge.com/
- smt88 7y ago
  > dead weight That's a generous way to describe it. I'd describe it as "invaders inside the Trojan horse".
coldpie 7y ago
I use NoScript, but yeah, same idea. I absolutely cannot use a browser that doesn't have a good JS blocker. It's crazy how much more usable the web is with a JS blocker. Those fucking "give us your email address!" and "this site uses cookies!" pop-ups? Gone. Ad blocking isn't enough these days. Please don't kill my JS blocker, Firefox.
slightwinder 7y ago
uBlock can work that way with medium mode too. Though it's still a bit less specific in it's permission than uMatrix, because you can't choose the type of content.

yorwba 7y ago

Firefox Preview actually ships with a built-in adblocker. I'll still install uBlock Origin once it becomes available (e.g. I like zapping annoying elements), but browsing with Firefox Preview is already quite pleasant.

Sphax 7y ago
Are you talking about the tracking protection?
- yorwba 7y ago
  They call it "tracking protection." As a side effect, it blocks ads. I guess they wouldn't block ads that don't track you, but those seem to be rare. Edit: Is my experience unusual? News websites that are normally encrusted with ads (e.g. using Firefox for Android without any add-ons) turn refreshingly ad-free in Firefox Preview.
  - fwn 7y ago
    You might get some accidental adblocking on some news sites through tracking protection, but with reader mode I probably wouldn't really notice. I mostly use ublock origin to block ads in search, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Reddit. AFAIK none of those are blocked by the current Firefox tracking protection.
    - yorwba 7y ago
      Ads on Google Search and YouTube aren't blocked. I didn't find any ads to test on Instagram or Facebook without logging in, and didn't feel like creating an account just to check out their ads. Ads on Reddit did get blocked. They're probably using third-party adtech, unlike the others. I guess my browsing habits are unusual, since the only website among these I've visited since switching to Firefox Preview is Reddit.
      - dolessdrugs 7y ago

phreack 7y ago

I'd love to go into Firefox, but my deal breakers are ad blocking, having a bottom navigation bar, and intuitive and easy to use text reflow. It's getting there, but not quite yet, so I'm stuck with Opera for now which I don't fully trust but is 100% more convenient.

Nagyman 7y ago
The navigation (address bar) is at the bottom now.
nolok 7y ago
Funnny the seemingly small things we trip over. While still using Chrome on desktop, I switched to Firefox on mobile because of their add-on and specifically ublock origin support. My biggest issue with it ? When at the top of the page, dragging from top to bottom doesn't trigger a refresh of the page like in other browsers and many apps. I know it's a very petty complaint, but somehow it's major for me. Still staying with it though, adblocking is even more mandatory on mobile than on desktop ...