Mozilla, a name many of us know for the Firefox browser, is changing things up. They’re saying goodbye to 60 people on their team, which is about 5% of their staff. This change mostly affects those who work on making their products. The company is looking to put more energy and resources into certain projects, like making Firefox work better on mobile phones and exploring the world of artificial intelligence (AI).

This is one of the many tech layoffs that have affected the global jobs scenario

In a world where tech companies often have to adjust their sails to keep moving forward, Mozilla’s decision to let some of its team go reflects a bigger plan. They’re choosing to invest more in the areas they believe will help them grow and make a bigger impact in the tech scene.

AI is getting a lot of attention these days, and Mozilla doesn’t want to be left behind. They see a big opportunity to make Firefox smarter with AI, especially after buying a company called Fakespot. This move shows Mozilla is serious about making the internet a better place, where it’s easier to find what you’re looking for without running into fake stuff.

Mozilla is also tidying up its range of projects. While some, like their VPN and a privacy tool, are getting less attention, others are being shut down completely. This lets Mozilla focus more on Firefox Mobile and AI—areas they’re really excited about.

The company is also welcoming a new CEO, Laura Chambers, who used to work at Airbnb, PayPal, and eBay. With her at the helm, Mozilla hopes to bring out products that not only do well in the market but also stick to their mission of making the internet a better place for everyone.

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(Via)

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Apple is making some big changes to how browsers work on iPhones and iPads in Europe, and it’s all because of new rules from the European Union. These rules are supposed to help other companies compete better with big ones like Apple. Now, browsers like Chrome and Firefox can use their own technology on iOS devices, but there’s a catch – this is only happening in Europe.

The European Union is responsible for this change.

Google and Mozilla, the companies behind Chrome and Firefox, aren’t too happy about this. They say that by making these changes only in Europe, Apple is making things complicated for them. They’ll have to work on two different versions of their browsers, one for Europe and another for the rest of the world. Mozilla thinks this is unfair and makes it hard for any browser other than Safari to compete.

Google’s Chrome team agrees. They think Apple’s not really trying to make it easier for other browsers to compete on iPhones and iPads. Right now, if you download Chrome or Firefox on an iOS device, you’re basically using Safari with a different look. That’s because Apple hasn’t let other browsers use their own tech until now.

People have been complaining about Safari for a while, saying it’s slow to add new features that other browsers have. But Safari is getting better, and having more competition could push it to improve even faster. The problem is, with Apple’s new rules, this competition is only happening in Europe.

Even though these changes are a big deal for Europe, they don’t help everyone else. Google and Mozilla have been getting ready for this by working on their browsers for iOS, hoping to bring new features to users. But with Apple’s restrictions, it looks like the rest of the world will have to wait to see any real change in how they browse the web on their iPhones and iPads.

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(Via)

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There are only a few browsers that support full-fledged extensions on an Android smartphone or tablet. Kiwi browser is the name that I fondly remember supporting such a feature in the past, but soon, it will be joined by Firefox for Android. Firefox has published new information for extension developers about the add-ons making a comeback on Android App.

Must See: Mozilla Firefox v102 update removes trackers from URLs automatically

Being among the best browsers around the globe, the change will surely make other competitors think about the same feature. Mozilla is known for its core functionality and true personalization experience, and the browser extension support is like the icing on the cake. The new change will surely reciprocate Mozilla’s success on big-screen devices to small mobile devices.

The Firefox extensions aka add-ons were widely available on Android prior to Fenix redesign in 2020. Since then, the extensions from Android have disappeared. The recent announcement of extensions comeback on Android has put developers on cloud nine.

The support for Extensions on Android is coming in September on at least Beta builds, and the public builds might receive it by the end of this year. Unlike previous times, the Mozilla Extensions’ journey to the Android ecosystem will be bundled will relevant guides, resources, and discussion boards for a better and more stable experience for the users.

Related: Mozilla Acquires Pocket to Make Firefox Popular on Mobile Devices

Will Chrome for Android ever get Extension support?

Till now, there is no official or unofficial talk about Chrome for Android’s Extension support. There are alternate supporting extensions on mobile devices and are based on Chromium code. But, things are missing on Google Chrome for Android. We hope with Mozilla lending support for extensions on small-display devices, Chrome developers get some hint out of it.

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Mozilla Firefox browser is among the most well-known web browsers and makes a good alternative to Google Chrome. Like Chrome, Firefox is also Chromium-based and offers a lot of similar features.

In recent times, however, Firefox is trying to shift its image from a Chrome alternative to a superior browser. To accomplish this vision, Mozilla has focused heavily on user privacy features. The latest of these is the ability to remove trackers from website URLs automatically that comes with the Firefox v102 update.

For those unaware, multiple companies like Facebook, Marketo, Olytics, and HubSpot, utilize custom URL query parameters to track clicks on links. These custom URLs are essentially used to track your activity around the web. With this new update, the browser will give you a shorter URL and also it blocks all the tracking URLs.

The feature is called ‘Query Parameter Stripping’ and removes various query parameters used by the companies mentioned above. The list of tracking parameters that will be automatically removed from the URLs is as follows:

• Olytics: oly_enc_id=, oly_anon_id=
• Drip: __s=
• Vero: vero_id=
• HubSpot: _hsenc=
• Marketo: mkt_tok=
• Facebook: fbclid=, mc_eid=

To enable this feature, all you have to do is open the Firefox browser, go to Settings, click on Privacy & security and change ‘Enhanced Tracking Protection’ to ‘Strict.’

One thing to note is that this feature only works while browsing in normal mode and does not apply while browsing in Private mode.

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Back in August, we had reported on Microsoft making it harder for users to switch the default browser in its latest version of Windows OS. But now, it seems that Mozilla has managed to beat this hurdle on Windows 11 for its Firefox browser.

For those unaware, the American tech giant had basically made it a one click process to set Edge as the default browser. However, browsers from other firms had to go through a complicated tasks, which would’ve been quite an annoying task for many users. Although, Mozilla has quietly managed to defeat this with its version 91 of Firefox. The company achieved this by reverse engineering the way Microsoft sets Edge as the default browser in Windows 10.

This enabled it to set Firefox as a default browser quicker. Prior to this, one would have to go to Windows 10’s settings to select Firefox as the default browser, all the while Microsoft would ask you to consider Edge. Furthermore, the reverse engineering also meant that you can even set the default browser from with Firefox itself without requiring any additional prompts. But keep in mind that this circumvents the Microsoft anti hijacking protections that is built into Windows 10 to prevent malware from hijacking default apps.

A Mozilla spokesperson stated that “People should have the ability to simply and easily set defaults, but they don’t. All operating systems should offer official developer support for default status so people can easily set their apps as default. Since that hasn’t happened on Windows 10 and 11, Firefox relies on other aspects of the Windows environment to give people an experience similar to what Windows provides to Edge when users choose Firefox to be their default browser.”

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Gifting a loved one a gadget is a well-established tradition reflecting a token of our love. But times are indeed changing. These days it can be fraught with many previously unforeseen pitfalls as you may end up gifting your loved one a fitness tracker that can also track and record mood shifts, or a seemingly harmless doorbell that can also monitor police activity. Privacy watchdog, Mozilla has come out with a useful list of well-known gadgets with ratings on just how creepy they are.

While internet rights proponents continue to project “Privacy not included” mantra, this year 2020 has yielded a whole lot of quite creepy devices, which on their face value, seems to be wonderful gadgets worthy of being gifted to a loved one. Given the upsurge of “smart” speakers, security cameras, doorbells, and several other devices, caution and due diligence is needed before settling for a gift gadget.

It is suggested that Amazon is on the wrong end of this creepy spectrum, as virtually everything by company, with the exception of Kindle, sends huge amounts of data to Amazon, by design. However, Mozilla is of the view that Amazon has not earned its stripes and hence the trust to acquire such privacy data. Mozilla also placed Facebook on the wrong end of the creepy spectrum for a similar reason.

Devices that got creepy ratings are diverse. For example, a smart coffee maker and Moleskine smart notebook got unfavourable ratings because critical assurances about data protection and security were absent, which is unacceptable from any company that collects such information. This kind of behaviour – being silent on assurances on data security is prevalent with many smart gadgets. Indeed they may not be inherently creepy, but the company that produces these gadgets has the capacity to make them creepy at any time.

On the good end of the creepy spectrum is Withings (formerly Nokia Health). Withings got points for its range of smart devices with sufficiently acceptable privacy policies and data security. Some of the devices that got top marks were Withings’ Non-Ring smart doorbell and Garmin’s smartwatches.

These rankings by Mozilla (via) are informal, and could also be subjective. However they are based on the potential for abuse or breach of your data, and it does not necessarily imply that a device that is not “creepy” would keep your data perfectly safe or private. If you choose to buy any of these gadgets, it is advised to immediately scrutinize the settings and preferences and disable anything that seems invasive or creepy. This guides against putting your important privacy data in the open, because once your data is out there, it is almost impossible to retrieve it without damage.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi XiaoAI Speaker Art Battery Edition launched for 399 yuan ($59)

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Mozilla that is best known for its Firefox internet browser, officially confirmed on Feb. 27 that it has acquired the famous online bookmarking app, Pocket. It will now function as a subsidiary of Mozilla Corporation. It is the first time the company has made a decision to acquire a firm.

Pocket that was launched in 2007 by Nathan (Nate) Weiner as Read it Later was initially available as an extension for the Firefox browser. It was originally intended to serve only desktop users. However, it is now available on multiple platforms like Android, iOS, Windows and web browser like Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari

It allows readers to save articles so that they can be read later. The articles are saved in a reader-friendly format that does not include any advertisements. The content is also stored so that it can be read offline. In 2015, Pocket was integrated in the Firefox browser as a default bookmarking service.

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Mozilla CEO, Chris Beard stated in a blog post, “We believe that the discovery and accessibility of high quality web content is key to keeping the internet healthy by fighting against the rising tide of centralization and walled gardens. Pocket provides people with the tools they need to engage with and share content on their own terms, independent of hardware platform or content silo, for a safer, more empowered and independent online experience.”

According to Pocket CEO, Nate, “They’re adding fuel to our rocketship. We have worked closely with Mozilla as we partnered with their Firefox team, and established a deep trust with their team and vision. They have extraordinary resources, global scale, and reach to put Pocket in more places, and help us build an even better product, faster.”

Six years ago, Evernote had attempted to acquire Pocket that was then known as Read it Later. However, Nate had refused to accept the deal. Currently, Pocket that has a small team of 25 employees based in San Francisco has 10 million active users each month. Till date, its users have saved 3 billion content pieces.

After the acquisition, the source code of Pocket will now belong to the Mozilla Open Source Project. Both Mozilla and Pocket have confirmed through their press releases that the buyout not change anything at Pocket. It will continue to operate independently driven by the existing team.

Firefox is a popular web browser for desktops. However, it has been struggling on mobile devices. The acquisition of Pocket by Mozilla Corp is aimed towards increasing the popularity of Firefox on mobile devices. In the near future, Pocket is expected to receive few major updates. It is also expected to introduced a lite version that can run on a mobile browser. As of this writing, there is no information available on the financial terms of the acquisition.

(Source 1|Source 2)

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Recently, Twitter user, John Bernard, called Xiaomi the “fifth largest smartphone vender in Q2 2014” and that “three of the top nine” manufacturers “are now Firefox OS partners.”

Related: Mozilla is ready to release $25 USD Firefox OS smartphone

But who is John Bernard? It turns out that he is the Global Director of marketing at Mozilla and is in charge of promoting devices that use the Firefox OS around the world. Even though he did not directly say that Xiaomi will also use the Firefox OX, why did he bring them up? Could it be that Xiaomi and Firefox have already formed a partnership?

Right now, Xiaomi’s star products are the Mi phone and Red Mi. If they managed to attract WP and Firefox OS, then they could expand their product line.

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