topic Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page! in Discussions

Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 19:32:40 GMT

Hi everyone!

I’m Akash, a Product Manager who works on Firefox Desktop, and I’m excited to open a new thread of ideas with you all - the Firefox New Tab Page!

As we continue to build a modern & engaging browser, we’d love to hear from you on what you find important when choosing a browser. Let’s get started!

How can we improve the Firefox New Tab page so you have a more enjoyable experience?

I’d love to know…

What do you enjoy about the current Firefox New Tab experience?
What are the gaps that currently exist on the Firefox New Tab page that if fixed, would make it better for you? What do you wish you could do that you can’t do today?
You don’t have Firefox New Tab set as your default homepage? Tell us why!
What are your specific use cases when using the Firefox New Tab page?

Looking forward to hearing from you all, and welcome to Mozilla Connect!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

steel835 — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 21:25:11 GMT

I like that it's clean and a bit customizable (I made 3 rows of bookmarks there). Though it's not really easy to add there something you want - you kinda just wait for some link to appear there and move it in its place to pin it. Of course, you can edit an existing item, but I already have bookmarks, why can't I pick one or drag one from there?

What I'd like to is the tab to be able to show more relevant actions, for example a short list of recently closed tabs so that I don't have to press ctrl+shift+t a dozen times to get back a certain tab just to close the others again (I'm lazy to open a library popup, then go to history, then to recently closed tabs). Or a list of tabs opened on my phone with Firefox Mobile so that I have a more convenient way to continue work from my phone.

Others I've seen here want a bit of statistics from Firefox, some tips maybe, news feed, rss feed, etc. I also see cases with actions from extensions like Tab Stash (for example you could see the stashed tabs on the new tab).

So basically, If we're talking ambitious, a new tab could be a customizable and extensible dashboard, kinda like Microsoft Azure one, but with other kind of widgets:

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

VasqueZ — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 15:01:39 GMT

I think it would be good to add the News feature as in Chrome, Edge and Opera browsers. Thus, the user can access sports, life, regional news, politics, entertainment, etc. We can see news like and customize it according to what type you like. According to these news, news articles may appear in the News as a suggestion. I think this feature can be useful for other users who love news and are looking for news. A plain foreign currency and weather can also be added in the new tab and the option to customize them can be brought. The user can enable or disable this features from the settings.

Bookmarks looks a little small at the top and also settings icon looks little in the upper right corner, it would be better if you could enlarge them. Also, an private icon can be added next to the settings icon in the upper right corner to easily enter the private tab! We can easily enter the private tab by clicking this icon in the new tab.

And of course the customizable background feature wouldn't be bad either, I think a nice background and a home tab would be better. The user can also choose this background at his discretion. Maybe these features can be added to Mobile too!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

ADGrimes — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 21:55:26 GMT

I raised an idea for a clean customisable news feed to be added to the homepage, but it would also be good to add it to the new tab page too, similar to how Microsoft Edge does it, but without the ads ideally. Its something I use all the time in Edge on both my phone and desktop. My idea is here if you want further details: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/add-an-optional-news-feed-to-the-homepage/idi-p/3189#M3702

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

recoed — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 22:04:00 GMT

I´m using the tabliss add on right now, I like how clean the default new tab is, but I believe it needs a little more of custom features, like, add your favorite image as a background, also having something like pic of the day using unsplash or something similar for that would be nice too. Also having weather widgets and news widgets would be nice. Something similar to edge or brave.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

recoed — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 22:03:33 GMT

Yes! that would be amazing.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

teremenk — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 22:34:02 GMT

I would like to engage a rss feeder (I would like to add and select my own options for news channels) for news and background picture in new tabs and home page. All the other known browsers have similar features without extensions.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Thatsygure — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 23:27:39 GMT

Being able to add and rearrange widgets to the new tab page would be a blessing. The new tab might as well be the homepage of my entire computer, due to how much I use the browser over all other programs (as do most people), but currently it looks way too empty in my opinion. But I do like that recently we got the option to edit it directly in the new tab without having to open the main browser settings.

I have a custom background thanks to CSS and I have tried Tabliss before, but found it a bit too basic. I would like it to behave somewhat like a phone homescreen, with the possibility of adding widgets like weather, news, RSS feed, finance, sports, etc. Maybe allow extensions to add their own widgets as to let the user customize the homescreen even more or cover some bases they think you might have left out.

A more realistic suggestion would simply be giving us the option to add weather, news, sports, time, recently closed tabs and so widgets to the new tab page.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 23:28:44 GMT

All I need is a bookmark and search form on the start page. In software development, it is necessary to maintain simplicity by removing unused functions.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Freeness6672 — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 04:29:46 GMT

I love what Tabliss is doing with their widgets and new tab wallpapers. The fact that you can also download the wallpapers from new tabs is just awesome.

Personally I am not a fan of speed dials or showing recent activity on my new tabs, I like 'em clean with maybe a few exceptions like a search box and a widget or two with some useful information like weather, my IP etc.

I was thinking about what Vivaldi is doing with their RSS feeds functionality, maybe it wouldn't hurt to have such a thing within Firefox. https://help.vivaldi.com/mail/mail-feeds/feeds/

I am adding an image of my current new tab modified using Tabliss extension.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

aayushmaticc — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 05:52:23 GMT

What do you enjoy about the current Firefox New Tab experience?The current Firefox ntp is quite well with the shortcuts and firefox logo. Also one thing I like is that opening a new page is very fast unlike chrome/brave where it requires rendering the new background image and a small amount of time.

What are the gaps that currently exist on the Firefox New Tab page that if fixed, would make it better for you? What do you wish you could do that you can’t do today?

I want the new tab page to load a background image, randomly selected from a set of images. That would make it much better.

What are your specific use cases when using the Firefox New Tab page?

I generally use it for shortcuts.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Pedro — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 09:57:21 GMT

Hi @akashm!

I really love the new tab page, especially the pocket integration. I'm just missing some weather report information and that would make it 100% 😉

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

MintMain21 — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 22:47:45 GMT

What I love most about Firefox's New Tab Page is that it's neatly organized and I can choose what appears on the page. I can choose how many shortcuts I want, I can choose whether or not I want Pocket Stories, I can reduce the entire thing just to a blank page if I want to, or even let an extension replace it for me.

And there's no manipulative news feeds like on Google or Edge.

I don't really have any gripes with the desktop new tab page, however I think the new tab page on Mobile could benefit from some additional options, such as displaying bookmarks or filtering out "most visited sites" from the Top Sites. Allowing extensions to override the new tab page like on Desktop would be lovely as well.

On Desktop, I prefer to keep at least the search bar and the logo, maybe some Top Sites if I want to pin at least one row of sites and don't want to fall back on the Bookmark Toolbar. On Mobile, I used to just use Top Sites and Collections, until I lost the ability to disable "most frequent sites". Now it's just collections.

Oh, I should also add that since so many people want more news on the homepage, might I suggest RSS Feed integration instead of a Google Chrome style newsfeed? I would appreciate having the news sources I trust instead of algorithmically generated clickbait. Bonus points if the feeds could be synced like Bookmarks or History.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

FlamingDawn — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:51:43 GMT

　　Hello Akash from Firefox! Thanks for asking about my opinion on the New Tab Page.

　　What I enjoy most about it is the simplicity and speed. A logo and a search bar coming out within 1 second -- that is the homepage I need.

　　Would consider using shortcuts if the icons can be replaced by LOCAL images. Some sites I frequently use have poor quality icons, and an online alternative isn't always easy to find, which ends up in my disabling the shortcuts. (Still I can easily access those sites by pressing Ctrl + B or typing few letters in the Address Bar.)

　　Usually I just start typing in Address Bar to search or open the Bookmark Menu like mentioned above, and go to a site I want. Wait, now I realize that I NEVER used a function on the New Tab Page despite it being my homepage🤣. So...I guess for me, it mainly works as a welcome page, ha.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Guest — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 19:08:12 GMT

thoughts on the start page:

- on mobile, there's no way to see where each of the top sites goes. long pressing doesn't show the URL. and the titles sometimes get all out of sync somehow, so that's a problem

- developing the top sites section over time is like raising a tamagtochi. it's something you show off to anyone looking over your shoulder. turned off pocket? street cred for that. social media sites that your circles use? street cred. no embarrassing links? street cred.

- the width allowed for top sites titles is too narrow compared to typical page titles. it's just one of the weird things about the grid design

- I've always wondered how the "dismiss" option is implemented. does it remove it from your history so that it naturally is no longer a top site? does it make an additional record saying "ya I go there a lot but don't show it on the top sites?" does it reduce some kind of running average, such that it can show up again later if you continue to visit?

- I hardly ever use the search box, because opening a new tab focuses the address bar and I can already type there

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 20:23:09 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @steel835!

I see what you mean about the in-place shortcuts and not being able to drag-and-drop. A followup: how do you, if at all, use the bookmarks bar (at the top of the page content)? Do you find yourself using the 3 rows of shortcuts on New Tab more or less than the bookmarks bar?

Tab management and retrieving tabs is definitely an area of improvement. We're focusing on making these experiences more seamless, so your feedback here is super helpful!

Thanks for sharing the Microsoft Azure dashboard! What kinds of statistics from Firefox are of interest to you?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 20:40:44 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @ADGrimes (& thanks for linking to your original post!)

I can definitely understand the the benefits in having a New Tab page that has information you care about. We’re focused on creating more personal experiences for Firefox users, so thanks for giving your feedback here!

A followup - do you find yourself personalizing the news articles you get in Edge? Do you go out of your way to consistently find news for a particular topic you're interested it (e.g. you will always click Entertainment)?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 20:55:18 GMT

Thanks for sharing @recoed!

Adding a background image on New Tab appears to be a recurring theme! On Tabliss, do you enjoy the images that are usually shown to you? What other settings (Official Collection/Topic/Search/Collection) do you use?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

ADGrimes — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 21:23:21 GMT

Hi @akashm,

Yes, personalization is important for me. I used Brave for a while and, when using Brave news, they allow you to even pick specific publishers that you are interested in which is a great feature. Edge also allows you to personalise somewhat which is good, but lots of the adverts I get are irrelevant to the topic which is very annoying. Having an ad free version in Firefox that could be personalised would be brilliant and would allow me to focus solely on the news that I want, whilst using the browser I like.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

KERR — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 23:35:34 GMT

Linking my ideas here for reference:

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/new-tab-home-page-improvements/idi-p/4165

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/show-page-titles-instead-of-domains-on-new-tab-page/idi-p/1116

Currently I only use New Tab Page to open a new tab. I don't use the shortcuts as they're misleading - this one says "facebook" but it's not a shortcut to facebook.com, it's a link to my for sale items page on facebook marketplace:

Some further thoughts:

- Since the icon labels for sites on the new tab page can be misleading (see my above link), I think showing thumbnails would be cool:

- Would be great to see info from about:protections like Brave does - like showing how many blocked trackers etc. This would really show-off Firefox's privacy angle!

- How about a bookmarks menu/folders? I usually set the bookmark bar to only turn on for a new tab so having them on the new tab page would be handy

- An RSS feed or just a notification at the bottom about Firefox news - a great way to advertise stuff like VPN or even just Did You Knows. How about advertising the new Firefox Translations addon

- Some customisation would be handy, I wouldn't mind widgets like a calendar/weather/calculator

- Perhaps it could show things like "open tabs you haven't looked at in ages"

- Recent notifications: I think this is being worked on, but perhaps a place to view recent notifications as well

Hope this is helpful! Cheers

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

KERR — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 00:41:53 GMT

What kinds of statistics from Firefox are of interest to you?

What stats are available to us 😁? Would love to see the blocked trackers etc front and center like Brave:

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

lolrepeatlol — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 01:12:49 GMT

This is awesome -- I really appreciate that you're asking the Firefox community about what they want in their browser.

I feel like what the new tab page is missing is wallpapers. On Chrome or Edge, I can add a nice nature background, which is something I find really calming. Starting a new tab page without a wallpaper just feels empty, and when I'm trying to get work done, something nice in the background is always appreciated. It's not a huge deal but it's certainly something I do really miss from Chrome.

On that note, I find that Firefox Android's implementation of wallpapers is pretty lackluster as well. Text is rather hard to read with a wallpaper applied and things feel messy. Worse yet, a colorful Firefox logo is overlayed against a colorful background, which just looks bad. Contrast that to Chrome where there is generally a background behind text with a wallpaper, and a monochrome logo, and the feature just feels a lot more polished. I ask that an implementation of wallpapers to Firefox on desktop be more polished than on Android. 🙃

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

vincentj — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 05:08:37 GMT

The current page is mostly fine, except that handing off the search box to the URL bar is a giant security risk and should be reverted to the previous behavior. I have experienced the same issue as this commenter, where I intend to search for a potentially malicious URL or IP address, but the search is redirected to the URL bar and it navigates to the malicious site instead of performing a search. The ambiguous behavior is incredibly frustrating.

I know there is an about:config setting to disable handoffToAwesomebar, but it does not work in private windows. So either the search box provides different results depending on the query, or it behaves differently in regular and private windows when you try to fix it.

Besides the security risk, redirecting where you're entering text to a different part of the screen is a weird behavior and a bad user experience. Many people have complained about this and there's a huge thread of people looking to disable this feature.

The search box should act as a normal search box.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

steel835 — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 10:37:35 GMT

I personally don't use bookmarks bar at all - I use the address bar to search bookmarks by tags using *

But I appreciate that it can show up only on new tab screen - as I've seen, many people use it like that, grouping bookmarks in folders and subfolders, it's pretty neat.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

steel835 — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 10:51:48 GMT

You can click "this time search with" to search a URL instead of visiting. I can also suggest using VirusTotal for checking potentially malicious links - you can also add it as a search engine and get used to this option.

Having said that, I agree that the case for ambiguity exists - the address bar already can show 2 options for ambiguous queries - visiting and searching, but it doesn't always show it, so if you don't pay extra attention, you can fall in this trap. I think, I've seen an idea about this here

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

bwat47 — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 12:30:39 GMT

Make it easier for users to configure it to *only* show manually pinned pages in top sites

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Kyeithel — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 12:48:56 GMT

I really miss one thing: custom background image. I changed from edge, and I really loved the custom image function.

Other than that, I like the current state. I dont like when its bloated with things (crypto prices, weather, news, articles,bookmarks etc. I always turn them off in other browsers).

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Kyeithel — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 12:51:42 GMT

I totally agree. I miss the option to use custom background images.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

plwt — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 14:30:37 GMT

I find the current New Tab experience useful as a good way to get to common sites fast. Sure I have bookmarks saved, but the new tab is for "daily driver" content.

What would make it better:

Being able to add more shortcuts. I am using the 8 by 4, but feel that the gaps down the side of the page could be used for more.

Being able to theme the background. As a theme designer, I know I can change the colour, but it would be so good to put a background image there.

Have some way to sync top sites with Firefox for Android. If the number of top sites could be leveled out (32 max on desktop, 16 max on Firefox for Android) and the Pocket recommended stories availability was the same (Pocket in Firefox for Android is not available outside of the US) - this could create a more seamless experience between the two.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Edders — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 23:30:13 GMT

Fully agreed, the "recommended by Pocket" doesn't cut it, I would love to see real time news in the New Tab page. Currency converter, weather and even live scores/upcoming matches are good ideas for widgets

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

aloerobotics — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 01:25:13 GMT

I'm a bit late to this, but I'd love some more customization! Being able to set a background feels like a simple thing but it took me a lot of messing about in userContent.css to do it without downloading an extension.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

KERR — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 05:59:47 GMT

How about making the other search engines more discoverable on the new tab page? Eg amazon/ebay/wikipedia? I use these all the time in the address bar:

They're great as you don't have to load the ebay/amazon/wiki page first (and get distracted) before searching. I'm not sure how many people know they exist though?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

ansiklopedici — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 10:18:23 GMT

Customizable search engine shortcuts in the new tab would be nice.

(Like @amazon search shortcut)

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

argentite — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 11:44:10 GMT

I think "Container Tabs"/"Firefox Containers" integration for the shortcuts would be nice. For example, I have 3 Gmail accounts in 3 separate containers. I would like to have different Gmail shortcuts for each of those containers. These could be distinguished by a border color or icon in the corner etc. Currently I have to right click the same shortcut and select the container from a sub-menu within the context menu.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Jon — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 13:45:44 GMT

Hey all,

Love seeing so many great, detailed responses—keep them coming!

Just a quick heads up, Akash is out of the office for a couple days but will be back at it later this week and ready to continue the conversation on how we can improve the Firefox New Tab page.

In the meantime, excited to see more of your feedback 🙌

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

KYKZ — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 15:17:28 GMT

You have a very large Search Bar at the center but cannot input anything on it, just the flashing Input Cursor.😑 I hated Chrome for that.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

pg_78 — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 16:06:40 GMT

You don’t have Firefox New Tab set as your default homepage? Tell us why!

about:blank for me (well, these days it's just called "Blank Page" in the Settings menu).

I very much do not want to be shown "recent tabs", "most visited sites" etc, because those lead me into bad habits of repetitively visiting the same pages. On Firefox for Android, it has not been straightforward enough to get to a completely blank page (though it can be done): so my ask for Desktop would just be that you retain the easy and clear "Blank Page" option on the Settings screen.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

vincentj — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 00:13:52 GMT

I do know about "this time search with" but it's an extra step that you only need sometimes. If you happen to search for something with a dot in the wrong place, then you need to perform different actions to get search results. It's too easy to mess up.

Looks like there are actually several ideas/discussions about this topic:

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/re-search-or-enter-address-bar/idi-p/2308

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/search-on-new-tabs-uses-search-box/idi-p/4778

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/please-use-the-searchbox-but-not-the-address-bar-in-new-tabs/idi-p/4720

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/you-have-a-new-glitch-on-the-new-tab-page/idi-p/1372

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/i-can-t-use-the-address-bar-for-complicated-google-searches-make/m-p/4215

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/start-page-and-it-s-issues/m-p/2169

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/typing-in-the-search-bar-should-stay-in-the-seach-bar-rather/m-p/2938

Man, this site really needs better moderation/curation to merge all the duplicates.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Justryuz — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 02:07:14 GMT

Cool, i think nice idea

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

crooked_windows — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 13:48:26 GMT

Be nice to see coloured tabs for the most popular ones opened, eg. if you have 34 ebay and 23 teksyndicate but only 1 or 2 odd one then the 2 big ones can get yellow and lime tint to them. If you right click on Teksyndicate for example and select a tint, all the other tabs automatically get done if shift is held down too. Nothing crazy just a pale highlight using subtle colours

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

maryb — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 09:23:15 GMT

I'd love to be able to change the default "search with Google" to another browser. How can I do this without having to click on the preferred one each time?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Jon — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 16:19:37 GMT

Thanks for flagging these for us, @vincentj! This type of community effort really helps us identify any duplicates as well as anything that may be against the community guidelines. We'll take a look and get these merged 😃

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

moz_samri — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 18:53:08 GMT

You need to be able to control, the priv level of new tabs, opened by yourself (R-Click) or by external links.

cf., At present clicking on a PDF (set to open in FF), forces a tab to be opened in a non-protected window. That allows it to become part of history ! User should have a preference setting to allow it to only open in PrivateWindow.. There is also no way to open a tab in a container tab, in the current version. One clearly should be able to rClick a link and say "Open in Container Tab of my choice", else what good are container tabs ! Container tabs are not linkable from current home-page settings.. They appear to be NOT saved anywhere once opened...

A MAJOR FF issue is NOT allowing feedback like this email response...
I would give more feedback, if you would open up the process,, perhaps like a "feedback" link in Settings...

There is a setting, but required logging in each time...

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Nik29 — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 20:39:35 GMT

I'm happy with the current Firefox and the new tabs. However, when I add a shortcut, if there are less than eight, a blank icon will be created. There is no problem with usability, but it does not seem to be very good if you care about the appearance. I think that it can be improved by changing it to one big + button like other browsers or adding a + button next to the edit button of the last shortcut that is set.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 20:42:40 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @VasqueZ!

The News Feed appears to be a popular request! Do you mind telling me more about how you use News Feeds' in other browsers? In Edge, for instance, do you find yourself reading a new article each time you open a new tab? How many times per day do you check the news in new tab? Do you often navigate to particular genres of news (sports, life, politics, etc.)?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 20:44:12 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @teremenk!

RSS Feeds have been a popular discussion point on this thread. Could you tell me more about how you use RSS feeds? Do you go to a particular RSS Feed website, use an extension, or perhaps use a built-in RSS Feed in browsers? How many feeds do you typically subscribe to, and how often do you view the feeds?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 20:51:28 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @Thatsygure!

Widgets have been a popular discussion point, and I can definitely understand why! I have a few follow-ups: how do you currently access information that you would like like to see in a widget? For example, when you want to know about the weather, do you go to a particular website? How often?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 20:53:39 GMT

Thanks for sharing, @Anonymous !

Do you mind describing the bookmark and search form a bit more? Are you looking for a way to better-access your bookmarks with some sort of text-box input form?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 21:01:31 GMT

Thanks for sharing your feedback, @Freeness6672 !

You described that some widgets might be helpful to you: "... a widget or two with some useful information like weather, my IP etc."

Would you be able to describe 'my IP' a bit more?

Also - the RSS Feed feature is a popular one on this thread! Do you find yourself using RSS Feeds often? Do the websites you love the most offer an RSS subscription link?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 21:06:53 GMT

Thanks for your feedback @aayushmaticc !

Background Wallpapers have been popular on this thread, so thanks for your input there!

Regarding shortcuts - do you enjoy your current experience with shortcuts? Do you use a single row of shortcuts, or find yourself using 4 rows?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 21:13:01 GMT

Hello @Pedro!

Thanks for your feedback, and glad to hear you're enjoying Pocket!

Weather has been a recurring theme on this thread for sure! As a followup, how many times per day do you find yourself navigating to find weather report information? How do you currently find what you're looking for when it comes to weather?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 21:19:31 GMT

Thanks for the detailed response and feedback @MintMain21 ! Much appreciated!

Regarding the RSS Feed integration, do you currently have an RSS Feed set up via extension? If so, how do you interact with it? Do you like to read the news updates from a built-in reader, or do you like to navigate to the website that published it (and use the RSS Feed as a redirection tool)?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 21:29:09 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @FlamingDawn !

I can definitely understand why getting the right favicon for shortcuts is helpful! How do you like the default icon for shortcuts?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Pedro — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 23:08:40 GMT

I would say at least 2-3 times per day, maybe more if I'm planning something for the weekend (so it's a mixture between current weather/next couple of hours and longer time prediction 3-5 days).

At the present time I use either Windy, Amazon Alexa or Google to get weather information.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

VasqueZ — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 23:22:58 GMT

I check the news on Edge every day, almost every 4-5 hours when I open new tab. Especially when I look at news genres, I'm more interested in it for genres, so I can find it more easily the news. Everyone's news websites in their country (location) will also appear in this News Feed. Also, it wouldn't be bad to add currency and weather too like I described above. You can also consider my other suggestions.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Jun 2022 23:37:17 GMT

The new tabs can use large display area, so it would be more efficient than a toolbar or sidebar to display bookmarks. I don't want anything more than that.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

FlamingDawn — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:33:29 GMT

Well, if a website has a high-resolution icon, its short cut icon would be perfect. But as shown in the screenshot, many sites only have tiny icons which are not beautiful in any sizes. So for me, the feature is barely unusable because I have high requirements when it comes to visuals.😂

Luckily, as I said before, Firefox offered many ways to open bookmark sites, so it wouldn't hurt if I just disable the shortcuts. Still I can use the bookmark button in toolbar.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

MintMain21 — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:44:44 GMT

I'm glad you asked.

So, what I would consider to be the best RSS Reader experience specific to the Firefox Web Browser is the FeedBro extension. This makes it easy to subscribe to new feeds and access feed content from a distraction free UI (including YouTube Embeds). The only thing it's missing is a way to sync across multiple devices. A way to build this natively into Firefox with Cross-Platform Sync would be most welcome.

What I'm imagining is..... on the homepage you can choose to display latest headlines similar to Pocket Integration, but you can also access a dedication Reader Page similar to History Bookmarks and Customization (something like about:feeds). From here you can access distraction free "Reader Mode" versions of the articles/videos, etc similar to FeedBro, with links to the Original Article for both easy sharing and easy access to the original page.

In other words, I like to read news update from a built-in reader AND navigate websites that publish it.

At minimum, all that should be necessary is an easy way to access articles and subscribe to new sources with options to mark articles as read under specific criteria, delete articles under specific criteria, and (if the option to fetch full articles from the reader is inapplicable) the option to access pages in Reader Mode like on any other news site. It's important that the UI be both functional and clear, taking modern Firefox design into account and the benefits of the RSS feature broadcasted the same as any other Firefox specific feature (Reader Mode, Containers, a customizable toolbar, etc).

I would also appreciate it if it was designed not only for cross-platform desktop sync, but also cross-platform mobile sync (IOS and Android).

If necessary, it may not be a bad idea to set more advanced features (article filters, full article fetch, even more advanced options for article display on the homepage) behind some kind of paywall that could fund the development of the Firefox browser, as well as compensate news sites for any lost profits as a result of using reader mode and/or ad/tracker blockers.

Finally, it's worth noting that one additional avenue Mozilla could explore for cross-platform RSS Sync is through the ThunderBird Client, which already offers its own native RSS Reader and has acquired the K-9 Mail Client for Android with intent to rebrand it with Thunderbird Sync. If this were to be explored with an option to sync feeds between multiple Firefox Instances and multiple Thunderbird Instances at once, then it could prove to rival the likes of Google News as a personal news aggregator that is ultimately privacy respecting and within the user's control (in contrast to the algorithms employed by Google products to increase engagement between users and news-sources that would otherwise be untrustworthy).

On that note, the "default" news source to demonstrate the capabilities of Firefox RSS should ideally be the same Pocket Recommended Stories included by default in Firefox, with clear instructions on how to add more sources, empowering the user to build their own library of trusted sources with Pocket as a standard against which other sources can be judged.

I apologies if my response is rather long winded, but as you can probably tell this is something I've given a lot of thought to, especially sense there's not only precedent in Mozilla's past and present, but also because News Feeds are a standard among browsers like Chrome, Edge, and even Brave.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

teremenk — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 14:35:13 GMT

Thanks for asking my opinion @akashm!

Actually, I used RSS feeds with Feedly app, with Newsflow app (on Mac), with Nextgen Reader (on Windows). I prefer Nextgen Reader. Because its clear UI and its update mechanism in windows's live tiles. Never used Edge Browser's or Yandex Browser's news system etc. Because their system too compilacted and full of advertisements and I think big media corporations also work with them. You never see your local news on that browser's newsfeed system on new tab. Or for example, knowledge which you seek for is not between that big media sources. When the issue is about accessing to knowledge or truth via news, it turns out problematic about freedom also. I just want to see or learn what I want. I add RSS address which I like. When source updates its blog for example, I see it. But if it updates in (for example) Feedly app, I need to open that app to be able to see it. I use Firefox everyday, so if RSS feeds on my homepage I would be see them everyday whether the source updated or whether there is new things on that blog or not. How many feeds? It's about gaining knowledge for me. On that apps I subscribed in just 10-20 channels (simply go that pages or blogs and if they have RSS feeds add address to applications). That was fine for me. But for many people that numbers may not be enough. They may be need much more.

My suggestion: On Firefox homepage and new tab page would be live tiles (like on Windows) which are changing according to updates. May be bookmark tiles and RSS feed tiles mixed together in the same pane. Some tiles may be Bookmark Tiles and some tiles may be RSS Live Tiles.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 14:42:43 GMT

Thanks for the clarification @FlamingDawn (the screenshot is very helpful)!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 14:47:50 GMT

Thanks for the incredibly detailed response @teremenk! This is very helpful in understanding the context of how you already use RSS Feeds and some of your use cases!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 14:55:55 GMT

Thanks for the detailed response @MintMain21 ! This is absolutely amazing 👏.

I'm looking forward to investigating this more! While I can't commit to any deliverable, this gives myself & the team a lot of insight into where to start!

I'll be sure to follow-up with more questions here (should they come up)!

Kudos again!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:07:12 GMT

Thanks for the feedback and thoughts @Guest!

I'll be sure to forward your feedback regarding the mobile top sites to the right team - thanks!

For Top Sites, do you use all four rows? How has the process been of adding top sites for you?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:12:42 GMT

Thanks for your feedback @KERR , this is definitely helpful!

We're always looking to create experiences that improve your Firefox experience. This is a great place for us to begin explorations, so thanks!

A follow-up: when using the New Tab page, how important is it to you that the New Tab page is minimalistic?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:16:28 GMT

Thanks for the feedback, @lolrepeatlol !

This is helpful and echoes what many others have mentioned! While I can't promise any deliverables at this moment, I'm happy to use your feedback as a starting place for future explorations.

A followup: Hypothetically, how often would you want to change between wallpapers? With other browsers/extensions, do you find yourself changing wallpapers often?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:19:29 GMT

Thanks for your feedback, @vincentj !

I can definitely understand where you're coming from! I'm happy to look into this and take your feedback back to the team.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:21:48 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @bwat47 !

Your feedback echoes what others have also mentioned - as a followup, I'm curious to know how many rows of top sites you use? Do you like to add as many top sites as possible?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:23:08 GMT

Thanks for your feedback @Kyeithel !

As a follow-up, how often would you want to change between wallpapers? With other browsers/extensions, did you find yourself changing wallpapers often?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:27:37 GMT

Thank you for the detailed feedback @plwt !

Your feedback is very helpful and echoes what many others have also mentioned, so thanks for sharing!

When it comes to shortcuts/top sites: do you find yourself manually changing/editing every single top site?

For background wallpapers: how important is customization to you when using wallpapers? With other browsers/extensions, do you enjoy having many options about the 'genre' of wallpaper?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:29:02 GMT

Thanks for the feedback, @aloerobotics ! Apologies for the delay in my response here!

Your feedback echoes what others have mentioned! For background wallpapers, how important is customization to you when using wallpapers? With other browsers/extensions, do you enjoy having many options about the 'genre' of wallpaper?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:32:26 GMT

Thanks for the feedback, @KERR !

Do you use those direct-search queries often?

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Guest — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 17:55:26 GMT

thanks akashm (:

I use two rows. do you use all four rows? that seems like a lot.

I haven't been manually adding sites. not really sure how I would either. so for now it's just whatever frequently visited sites

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Thatsygure — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 04:47:40 GMT

Thank you for asking!

For Weather, I currently use darksy.net out of habit from when they had an Android app, but I'm trying out OpenWeatherMap at least until I find another good and simple privacy conscious provider since DarkSky is shutting down. Although OWM's messy site drives me to use apps that use its API instead, but it also kinda interrupts my workflow to pull out my phone to do so. I would say I look at the weather every few hours or so to plan my day ahead.
For RSS feeds, I'm currently using the FeedBro extension due to how easy it is to add feeds on the go and because it looks pretty nice. I check the feeds almost on the daily, only skipping out when I'm really busy.
For News, my only option is to visit the newspapers' websites since most of the ones in my country dropped their RSS feeds in favour of Google News a while ago, so there's not much I can do. It's not exactly a smooth process, so I do enjoy the few newspapers that still maintain their RSS feeds. I check them once a week or so, but only because it can be kind of a drag to have to check all the sites, since they aren't as accessible as the feeds.
For Sports Results/News, I just search for them. I'm not a big sports person myself, but just knowing the results of the latest big match is enough to at least know what others are talking about. I only look for Sports info when there's a big game every few months or so, but way more often if there's a tournament taking place.
For Finance, I just need the current exchange rate between local and foreign currency, so I just look it up once or twice a month since I pay for some services in foreign currencies.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

aayushmaticc — Sun, 26 Jun 2022 05:16:32 GMT

I think the size of shortcuts currently is a little bit large. They could be made smaller. Otherwise, they are perfect. I prefer only a single row of shortcuts. That works for me and also keeps the page neat.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Guest — Sun, 26 Jun 2022 06:54:15 GMT

new thought about this: I don't really use the tiles often. most times I arrive at the new tab page via keyboard: Ctrl+t when opening a new tab or windows+1 when launching Firefox. there's no indication that anything on the new tab page is keyboard accessible. so almost always I proceed by typing a destination and letting the address bar pull up the frequent/recent thing I wanted.

I think the only time I get there by mouse is when opening a new container tab, which doesn't have a keyboard way to do it

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

plwt — Sun, 26 Jun 2022 14:58:03 GMT

Thank you for hosting!

I do not change top sites too often, but when I do, I identify a site that I no longer need and edit the URL and name (and maybe drag it to a new position).

I do not use any add-ons or hacks to set a new tab background, but being able to set it to my own image would be good, such as my desktop wallpaper so the browser appears more minimal. Being able to have it included in a Fx theme downloaded from AMO would be awesome. I am a theme artist and while I can set the new tab colour as part of a theme, I cannot set an image in place there (at least not easily).

I hope that this helps.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Catemaco — Sun, 26 Jun 2022 15:00:48 GMT

I want to be able to set a single page as my new tab page. Maybe my online calendar page, so that I would see the reminders that only pop up when it's open. Maybe a long article that I want to finish. Or an exercise video, to remind me to stand up and move once in a while.

Yes, I know there are other ways to do this, but it's my new tab page, right? Why shouldn't I be able to set it to what I want? We used to be able to do that.

I often peruse the Pocket articles, and have enjoyed reading some of them, but I also find it very distracting. I open a new tab to look for something specific and wander down a Pocket rabbit hole.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Ponda — Sun, 26 Jun 2022 15:02:17 GMT

As it happens I’m in the middle of an effort to make my interface look like people thought it was going to 40 years ago (for dark mode; I still use light mode during the day, but it’s impossible to make it look more futuristic). With Firefox, I’m trying to achieve it by using nightTab, which is great for this purpose. I used Tabliss before and it was really nice, although in different way. I don’t really use shortcuts, except for an old laptop I use to turn “just a TV” into “smart TV” when I want to and sometimes on mobile, without customisation. Bookmarks toolbar, however, is used extensively for websites I won’t open on mobile (Discord) or when I want to send tabs to desktop, but I know I won’t make use of them immediately after switching devices. It’s a pity this toolbar is invisible in fullscreen mode, I would certainly use this mode more often if the toolbar could be enabled.

I don’t think I would use news if they were on a new tab page (although I have a feeling I would enable it and scroll through headlines about once a day). Two widgets that would make my day are privacy-friendly weather and RSS feeds with sync. For the later, I used Thunderbird but no sync was a dealbreaker; I switched to Pocket+qiip.it, but I’m not happy and I’m looking for alternatives. I’m quite certain I will come back to Thunderbird as soon as this feature is implemented on Android app, unless Firefox implements it properly. On the other hand when it comes weather I don’t really use anything – I open Ventusky when I really need to check it. Speed is also important, but when it comes to less powerful devices I’m happy to make trades (less widgets and features).

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

JamesBond007 — Sun, 26 Jun 2022 16:07:27 GMT

Hello Akash. Thankyou for replying to us and asking us what we want, what we dislike, etc., and all the other things you asked us.

I've been using Firefox ever-since version 2.0 (I tried it when it was 1.0 but it was kind-of buggy, so I waited until it was more stable and less-buggy-and-glitchy), whereas a cousin of mine has been using it ever since it was "Firebird".

I want to tell you that I always have the "new tab"-page set as a completely blank and empty page. I don't use the "suggestions" nor the "search"-box nor any of the other stuff that is in the Firefox "new tab"-page. Yes I know that there are other people that do use that stuff but I don't. To each their own.

Ever-since Firefox started adding stuff to the "new tab"-page I would go to the "about:config" thingy and change the "new-tab"-page to a completely blank and empty page. And ever since those settings appeared in the "Menu bar > Edit > Settings" thingy (ie. I was trying to describe the menu-option you go to to go to Firefox's settings to change them), I would change the settings of the Firefox "homepage" and the " "new tab" page" to be a completely blank and empty page.

Please [Firefox/Mozilla] do-not remove this option from us 😞

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

JamesBond007 — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 16:23:49 GMT

Referring to the part "Tab management and retrieving tabs is definitely an area of improvement. We're focusing on making these experiences more seamless, so your feedback here is super helpful!" in @akashm 's comment/post:

You're talking-about Tab-Groups.

I miss Firefox Tab-Groups (also known-as Panorama). And when Firefox made the change to "getting rid of "Tab-Groups" " and the person "QuickSaver" made the fork [of "Tab-Groups"], I immediately installed it.

But then Firefox switched to the Web-Extensions thing and since-then there's no suitable Tab-Groups extension. Yes I've tried all the ones there are (including but-not-limited to

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/basic-panorama/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/panorama-view/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tabs-groups-manager/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-session-manager/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-group-window/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-group-switch/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/panorama-tab-groups/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

-- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/simple-tab-groups/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

(it was easier to just copy-paste the links of the add-ons instead-of write the names one by one)),

and unfortunately none have the Firefox "Tab-Groups"[-like [features/functionality]] we all know and love.

I really-hope you re-implement Firefox "Tab-Groups"[/Firefox "Panorama"] immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9asnttUfC4

https://www.vimeo.com/14364400

Firefox "Tab-Groups" fork by QuickSaver:

https://github.com/Quicksaver/Tab-Groups

https://web.archive.org/web/20171226080813/https://addons.cdn.mozilla.net/user-media/previews/full/179/179684.png?modified=1485523408

https://web.archive.org/web/20171226080812/https://addons.cdn.mozilla.net/user-media/previews/full/179/179686.png?modified=1485523408

For more screenshots of Firefox Tab-Groups/Firefox "Panorama":

https://web.archive.org/web/20171227075315/https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-groups-panorama/

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 14:48:58 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @ansiklopedici , this is an interesting idea!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

lovelyjubbly — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 05:37:46 GMT

Bit late reply but anyway. I don't use the new tab features, instead preferring to look at nice photos, treating it like a wallpaper space. I use this add-on https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/mendhak-flickr-new-tab/

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Luca_Pavan — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 09:49:42 GMT

Actually I don't like that clicking on the writing field under Firefox logo when I start typing it suddently start writing on the address and searh bar, the active Use the address bar for searches and navigation option shouldn't prevent the user to write on the selected field, otherwise that search bar under the logo would be useless. Or, when that option is active, you can set that the search bar under the logo isn't loaded, at least this way you'll give some more space to Shortcuts and Recent activity.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

teremenk — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 10:02:09 GMT

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 12:03:44 GMT

If the feature forcing people to watch the news is being considered, I strongly oppose it. Many people, including myself, are so distressed by the recent news that we are forced to close our eyes to protect ourselves.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Ikarus720 — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 16:08:57 GMT

With regards to tab management, I'd love to see something similar to what Brave does with tabs where you can add them to a group (no limit on the number of groups that I'm aware of) and then easily expand/collapse groups to reduce the tab clutter in your browser window. I've looked at several of the addons available, but none of them offer this elegant solution.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 19:47:10 GMT

Hello @Ikarus720 , thank you for your feedback!

We will certainly keep this in mind when we look at tab management!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 19:47:53 GMT

Thank you for your feedback @Anonymous!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 19:49:11 GMT

Hello @Luca_Pavan ! Thanks for the feedback!

Your feedback is well-noted and is something I'll pass along to our teams to have a look at!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 19:50:26 GMT

Thanks for the feedback @KYKZ !

I'll be sure to pass this feedback to the relevant teams. Thanks!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 19:54:09 GMT

Thanks for your feedback @pg_78!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 20:00:15 GMT

Thanks for your feedback @moz_samri !

This is a great idea! While I can't promise any deliverables, tab management is definitely an area we're looking to ensure is as seamless as possible.

Your feedback is much-appreciated and valuable to us, so I would encourage you to continue to give feedback on Mozilla Connect!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

akashm — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 20:02:15 GMT

Thanks for the feedback, @Nik29!

This has been a recurring theme, and while I can't promise any outcomes or deliverables, I'll be sure to make note of your suggestions here.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 20:15:04 GMT

@akashmI would like to hear your opinion.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Ghimbo21 — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 08:27:57 GMT

I like how clean the new tab can be, only a search bar and your websites and nothing else. Something I hate about the other browsers are the way they feed you with content you don't really want to see, it's really distracting.

But one thing I would like to see is some way to set a custom background image without having to create a custom CSS for the profile. I feel like this is something important to customize the experience.

(Also, I always like to set the custom CSS with some blur behind the search bar and the icons, it looks nice with a background 😄 )

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

Bitbeisser — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 18:31:07 GMT

But ABSOLUTELY ONLY AS AN OPTION, don't do this by default! That's the one thing that I hate like the plague. When I open up a new tab, I want a clean new sheet, with as little fluff as possible, because it is ME who decides what I want to do with that new tab!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

BeeZok — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 23:10:13 GMT

As much as I appreciate the sentiment behind Pocket, I've found so much more utility in the locally personalized RSS feed I've seen elsewhere (keeping in mind that they too have private ads monetizing the feed). I don't use them anymore for many reasons, but it's something I'd love to see implemented into the Firefox new tab page.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

steel835 — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 08:23:34 GMT

Now I have to correct myself - now I've come to a situation where the address bar can't help me - I have a bookmark that has a script instead of a URL (helps to set certain cookies, need it for work. I heard other use such bookmarks to redirect tabs through Google translate service for example). This bookmark doesn't appear in address bar search, so I've put it in the bookmark bar.

When I need it, I press Ctrl/cmd+shift+B, use it, and then press the combination again to hide it.

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

lolrepeatlol — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 03:50:01 GMT

Apologies for the late reply!

I probably change wallpapers about every two weeks to a month. I like to keep things fresh, but also like to take my time to find a wallpaper that I find nice and suits my style.

So, not too often, but every now and then.

Thanks for asking!

Re: Let's Chat About the Firefox New Tab Page!

UnoSantos — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 08:15:38 GMT

My biggest issue is with the amount of tiles/shortcuts on a row. I don't really need that many (I have 5 pinned) and I would prefer that my history doesn't fill up the rest.

Second issue is with thumbnails for said shortcuts - they either look bad/dated or most often don't show up at all so I have to manually set them.

I also don't like the workflow for setting these shortcuts up - I would much prefer a workflow where I set a custom amount of pages to my home screen in some settings panel, save it and have the new tab page only with search bar and icons of the previously set web pages whether there is 3 of them or 50 of them. This way you can also remove unnessecary clutter (the pin icon, the edit button on hover).