the Navigator adopts the new rules put in place by Google, while modifying certain parameters to allow ad blockers to function normally.
Mozilla Firefox version 109 is available for download, and includes a major change, albeit invisible.
A Google decision that goes badly with developers
Mozilla indeed announces on its blog that this version includes Manifest V3, the new rules imposed on developers by Google for developers of Chromium extensions, the rendering engine developed by the search engine. The latter, at the heart of Google Chrome, is also used by Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Brave to name but a few examples.
Manifest V3 was decried from its presentation. Google has the ambition to replace the WebRequest API, used by ad blockers to analyze traffic and requests in order to prevent certain domains from displaying ads once the user is connected to a web page. Instead, the American company wants to offer a new, more restrictive API, which will no longer send this data in real time to the extension.
Google justifies this change to ensure user privacy. Many extensions would use WebRequest to inject ads or harvest a lot of browsing data behind users’ backs. Publishers of ad blockers see it as a purely commercial decision by Google, which would prevent them from working properly to guarantee its economic model, which is largely based on advertising.
Mozilla favors ad blocking and offers a new button to monitor extension activity
Mozilla therefore chose a middle way for Firefox, adopting Manifest V3 in an apparently modified version ” in certain critical areas » including those of security, and by allowing ad blockers to access requests.
Developers will therefore be able to adapt their extensions to Manifest V3, in order to maximize compatibility between the different Chromium browsers, while maintaining optimal operation on Firefox.
Mozilla warned that security risks could appear as a result of this decision, but the publisher believes that maintaining ad blocking justifies them, knowing that the latter is ” one of the most important use cases for extensions “.
Mozilla Firefox 109 also introduces a new button to manage extensions, which allows you to see the activity of each software installed, and to configure the permissions granted to limit the risks.
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- 100% developed in-house
- Reliable, efficient, stable
- UI and UX optimization features
Firefox may not be as fast as Chrome and the like, but it’s still an efficient and reliable browser. Developed in-house on all fronts, including renderers and JavaScript runtimers, Mozilla’s solution aims to be at the forefront of privacy and confidentiality protection. This is evidenced by the many integrated in-house technologies that help make Firefox a secure environment (site isolation, sandboxed tabs, aggressive ad blocking, cookies and cross-site trackers). This freedom of innovation and experimentation is notably made possible by the project’s independence from Chromium.
One could possibly deplore the lack of features intended to deepen the browsing experience. A downside that quite effectively compensates for the support for extensions hosted on the Firefox Browser Add-ons store.
Firefox may not be as fast as Chrome and the like, but it’s still an efficient and reliable browser. Developed in-house on all fronts, including renderers and JavaScript runtimers, Mozilla’s solution aims to be at the forefront of privacy and confidentiality protection. This is evidenced by the many integrated in-house technologies that help make Firefox a secure environment (site isolation, sandboxed tabs, aggressive ad blocking, cookies and cross-site trackers). This freedom of innovation and experimentation is notably made possible by the project’s independence from Chromium.
One could possibly deplore the lack of features intended to deepen the browsing experience. A downside that quite effectively compensates for the support for extensions hosted on the Firefox Browser Add-ons store.
Source : The Verge
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