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What could get people to move to firefox? Is the only way really to have have your browser be popular is to have it either be installed by default, or being adv

What could get people to move to firefox? Is the only way really to have have your browser be popular is to have it either be installed by default, or being advertised on a page that people use daily? Would be crazy if facebook had a banner stating "switch to firefox now" suddenly

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
jandrese 3y ago
Maybe if Google started messing with ad blockers in Chrome?
isolli 3y ago
A lot of developers I know have moved to Firefox recently because of containers. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-use-firefox-containers https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-use-firefox-contain...
- nstart 3y ago
  I literally could not switch away even if I wanted to because no other browser has anything close to container tabs. My workflow is built around it
franczesko 3y ago
Firefox would need to win mobile. This is where action takes place.
- antiframe 3y ago
  Well there isn't much browser action on iOS, so nobody but Apple can win that.
  - eviks 3y ago
    They still have a browser there, and its UI was worse, so there is that
  - Aerbil313 3y ago
    They can make a better browser on top of WebKit, technically. For the brand recognition.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
  - JoshTriplett 3y ago
    I hope that the moment iOS is forced to allowed alternative browsers, Firefox is ready on day 1.
- rc202402 3y ago
  As someone who uses Firefox on Android the major attraction would be complete extension ecosystem and cross sync.
Amezarak 3y ago
There is another way: make your browser THE browser for power users. Add crazy features that appeal to 0.1% of the userbase. Allow a free extension system that allows developers to come up with features you haven't even imagined and see what gets mindshare. Once you have committed power users who love your product, they will be more than happy to evangelize it to everyone they know. While their friends may not use any of the advanced functionality, they'll still use it if it works okay for them and their friends insist on it. Mozilla had something like this, and chose to throw it all away to make a browser for Idealized Grandma that more closely resembled Chrome - because Chrome was successful, so they figured they'd copy what they did. But while Chrome was a fine browser, and maybe even better than Firefox in some ways, what this mindset missed is that the main reason for Chrome's dominance was a) being shilled on all the largest web properties, even with popup bars, b) being installed as the default on Android and c), being bundled in installers. Also, if I remember rightly, an advertising campaign. Mozilla was not in a position to do any of this. They should have - and still could - stick to their strength. Now the only reason to use Firefox is ideological (privacy) and habit. I still use it at home. But I don't bother installing it anywhere else anymore. What's the point?
- Lendal 3y ago
  For me it's the Firefox sync feature. I install Firefox everywhere so I can instantly be up and running anywhere with all the settings, bookmarks, open tabs, logins, and addons ready to go on any new computer. It's a huge convenience and time-saver.
  - soundnote 3y ago
    Sync is definitely great, but it isn't really a differentiating factor. Just about all of the competition has a sync service.
- NegativeK 3y ago
  > What's the point? Blocking ads in Android. That was my gateway into going back on all of my devices.
geysersam 3y ago
IT admins please make Firefox the default on school and office computers. Why not?
artificialLimbs 3y ago
Ad blocker built into mobile FF.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

jandrese 3y ago

Maybe if Google started messing with ad blockers in Chrome?

isolli 3y ago

A lot of developers I know have moved to Firefox recently because of containers. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-use-firefox-containers https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-use-firefox-contain...

nstart 3y ago
I literally could not switch away even if I wanted to because no other browser has anything close to container tabs. My workflow is built around it

franczesko 3y ago

Firefox would need to win mobile. This is where action takes place.

antiframe 3y ago
Well there isn't much browser action on iOS, so nobody but Apple can win that.
- eviks 3y ago
  They still have a browser there, and its UI was worse, so there is that
- Aerbil313 3y ago
  They can make a better browser on top of WebKit, technically. For the brand recognition.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- JoshTriplett 3y ago
  I hope that the moment iOS is forced to allowed alternative browsers, Firefox is ready on day 1.
rc202402 3y ago
As someone who uses Firefox on Android the major attraction would be complete extension ecosystem and cross sync.

Amezarak 3y ago

There is another way: make your browser THE browser for power users. Add crazy features that appeal to 0.1% of the userbase. Allow a free extension system that allows developers to come up with features you haven't even imagined and see what gets mindshare. Once you have committed power users who love your product, they will be more than happy to evangelize it to everyone they know. While their friends may not use any of the advanced functionality, they'll still use it if it works okay for them and their friends insist on it. Mozilla had something like this, and chose to throw it all away to make a browser for Idealized Grandma that more closely resembled Chrome - because Chrome was successful, so they figured they'd copy what they did. But while Chrome was a fine browser, and maybe even better than Firefox in some ways, what this mindset missed is that the main reason for Chrome's dominance was a) being shilled on all the largest web properties, even with popup bars, b) being installed as the default on Android and c), being bundled in installers. Also, if I remember rightly, an advertising campaign. Mozilla was not in a position to do any of this. They should have - and still could - stick to their strength. Now the only reason to use Firefox is ideological (privacy) and habit. I still use it at home. But I don't bother installing it anywhere else anymore. What's the point?

Lendal 3y ago
For me it's the Firefox sync feature. I install Firefox everywhere so I can instantly be up and running anywhere with all the settings, bookmarks, open tabs, logins, and addons ready to go on any new computer. It's a huge convenience and time-saver.
- soundnote 3y ago
  Sync is definitely great, but it isn't really a differentiating factor. Just about all of the competition has a sync service.
NegativeK 3y ago
> What's the point? Blocking ads in Android. That was my gateway into going back on all of my devices.

geysersam 3y ago

IT admins please make Firefox the default on school and office computers. Why not?

artificialLimbs 3y ago

Ad blocker built into mobile FF.