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Extensions are the main reason I use Firefox on Android. I'm more committed to it there than I am on desktop. Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Andro

by Zak 2y ago

Extensions are the main reason I use Firefox on Android. I'm more committed to it there than I am on desktop. Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Android for several years, during which I mostly used a lightly tweaked Chromium build called Kiwi Browser.

notpushkin 2y ago
> Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Android for several years Hmm, I didn’t really notice that. (I’m using Fennec F-Droid though, but it’s pretty close to the official Firefox build, with only a few minor tweaks.) Could you tell me more about what was broken for you?
- Zak 2y ago
  For several years, only "recommended" extensions could be installed, and the number available was extremely limited. Over time, some workarounds showed up, but broad extension support was absent from mid 2019 to late 2023. Third party builds differed, of course.
  - notpushkin 2y ago
    Oh, yeah, you’re right. That was a shitty move, and the custom collection workaround wasn’t really nice either. I think even some Mozilla-owned extensions had to teach their users how to do that? Personally, I’d just allow installing any extensions (from AMO at least) and put a big scary warning that this is unsupported (which was the reason they gave for the whitelist approach).
    - Zak 2y ago
      I had similar thoughts. There was never a satisfying explanation for the approach they took, which seemed more typical of Apple than an open source project.
xnx 2y ago
This was exactly my path. Is it safe to switch back to Firefox now? Firefox on Android still doesn't look like it has the ability to save pages. Chrome and Kiwi both have this feature, and Firefox used to have it via extension that triggered built-in, but unexposed, functionality.
- Zak 2y ago
  I don't know what "safe" means to you. Firefox for Android has a decent extension ecosystem now as long as you're happy getting them from the official repository. The stable build won't let you install extensions from storage, which I find a little disrespectful.

by Zak 2y ago

notpushkin 2y ago

> Of course, Firefox also broke extensions on Android for several years Hmm, I didn’t really notice that. (I’m using Fennec F-Droid though, but it’s pretty close to the official Firefox build, with only a few minor tweaks.) Could you tell me more about what was broken for you?

Zak 2y ago
For several years, only "recommended" extensions could be installed, and the number available was extremely limited. Over time, some workarounds showed up, but broad extension support was absent from mid 2019 to late 2023. Third party builds differed, of course.
- notpushkin 2y ago
  Oh, yeah, you’re right. That was a shitty move, and the custom collection workaround wasn’t really nice either. I think even some Mozilla-owned extensions had to teach their users how to do that? Personally, I’d just allow installing any extensions (from AMO at least) and put a big scary warning that this is unsupported (which was the reason they gave for the whitelist approach).
  - Zak 2y ago
    I had similar thoughts. There was never a satisfying explanation for the approach they took, which seemed more typical of Apple than an open source project.

xnx 2y ago

This was exactly my path. Is it safe to switch back to Firefox now? Firefox on Android still doesn't look like it has the ability to save pages. Chrome and Kiwi both have this feature, and Firefox used to have it via extension that triggered built-in, but unexposed, functionality.

Zak 2y ago
I don't know what "safe" means to you. Firefox for Android has a decent extension ecosystem now as long as you're happy getting them from the official repository. The stable build won't let you install extensions from storage, which I find a little disrespectful.