Join us for an AMA with the Firefox leadership team on November 14, [18:00-20:00 UTC]

[Jon]

Hi everyone,

The internet has changed a lot since 2004 when Firefox began as a community project. Today, Firefox remains at the forefront of championing privacy, open innovation and choice. And while the last 20 years have been transformative, the best is yet to come.

We’re thrilled to announce that the Firefox leadership team at Mozilla is joining us to host a very special AMA here on Mozilla Connect to celebrate Firefox’s 20th anniversary, and answer any questions you may have about what’s next for Firefox. 

As part of our anniversary celebrations, we’ve created a website page reflecting on what we’ve created together so far with videos highlighting Firefox’s evolution since 2004 and your favorite features. You’ll also find fan art and a hat tip to our incredible contributor community, who support Firefox users every step of the way.

This AMA is the continuation of a conversation we started on Reddit in June. We appreciate how actively engaged this community has been in helping us improve Mozilla products. This time around, we want to hear what’s most important to you about Firefox’s future. 

In the spirit of our birthday celebrations, we’ll also be gifting select participants in this thread with anniversary swag. Keep an eye on your Connect inbox (post-AMA) for a message from Mozilla staff.      

We are opening this thread up to replies starting today, November 8, and we’ll be joining you live with the Firefox leadership team on Thursday, November 14 from 18:00 - 20:00 UTC (time converter) to answer as many of your questions as we can. 

As always, we ask that you adhere to our Community Guidelines when posting. We also encourage you to show support for others by voting up your favorite comments using the thumbs up feature. 

See you on November 14th!

Event Details

Where: Right here! Questions and answers in the comment section ⬇️ 

When: Thursday, Nov 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC

Topic(s): Firefox 20th anniversary - reflecting on the past and looking ahead to the future

[Kvin]

Hello, congratulations on the 20th anniversary of our favorite browser! It's great to have Firefox, and to have you Mozilla! Without Firefox, there will be nothing, it is the last hope for a safe Internet!

In reality, we are already very grateful for the grouping of tabs, for vertical tabs, and for the improvement of profiles, and for pwa tabs, which is in the works, you know we really wanted this, waiting for years, and we appreciate it, very grateful!

There are a lot of questions, but these are the main ones we want to hear answers to:

Design
When will the next browser interface redesign and add-on store redesign take place, is it planned for around 2025?

we want a new design that brings back the compact mode, icons for various menus, blur in the interface,
new browser icon, and a redesign of the following pages: history page, extensions page, and new tab page.

Features and improvements
Is a feature being developed that will allow us to set our own custom wallpaper in a new tab?
Are there any plans for such features as workspaces, a built-in dark theme for websites, a portable version of the browser for windows, auto-disable extensions on certain selected sites?

Mobile
Are there any plans to develop a feature to enable a horizontal tab bar tab strip on phones?

Optimization
Are there any major improvements and optimizations planned for the browser to speed up page loading?
Actually, we have the fact that other browsers load pages faster, and this has been tested by different users on different computers, and the speed is really slower( we need to do something about it, we need to improve the weaknesses of the browser, to keep up.

Thank you for improving the browser and for hearing us!

[firefly1]

What's preventing Firefox from implementing a 'Force Dark Mode' similiar to what Chromium uses?  I know there is an extension that we can use but it slows the browser down considerably and uses a lot of CPU.

[November]

The overwhelming majority of your users do not want AI crammed into Firefox. Why are you ignoring them?

[ThePillenwerfer]

What's important for me in the future is Firefox remaining broadly as it is.  I use it because I like it; change it and I may not.  In an ideal world all updates would be restricted to security and support for new protocols and formats.

Most additions over the years have been useless bloat as far as I am concerned — Pocket, Firefox View, Reader Mode, junk on the Home screen &c.  Providing it can be switched off or simply ignored it isn't a great problem though.

The main thing I like about Firefox is that its annoyances can usually be mitigated with custom CSS, a feature that sets it apart from the competition.

Of course you can't please everybody — for instance I do not want Dark Mode/Themes full stop as I saw quite enough white (or green or amber) text on a black background back in the 1980s thank you very much — so choice and configurability are key.  Things like being able to increase the size and colours of the UI or elements on it isn't just about making it look to a user's taste but could be important for those with vision problems.

[dginovker]

I have no question, but only a hope you answer these questions the same way you would when talking to all your friends outside of a corporate environment.

[kinmfer]

I am very happy to see Firefox's 20th birthday, and I am also very happy about Firefox's contribution to the fight against Chrome. I hope to see Firefox working hard in the direction of web compatibility and performance in the future, especially web compatibility. And of course the tab group

[Skywind]

I'm generally satisfied with FF on PC, but not the same with the mobile version.

I don't understand why mobile version lacks all the UI customizability that we enjoy on PC, this makes mobile FF not as handy as its competitors like Edge. For example, no fully-customizable homepage website, complicated access of bookmarks (please DON'T HIDE the bookmark button in a second-level menu).

FF could be much better, but now it's not and making slow progress. Seeing that FF is losing more and more users makes me sad, as I really like this browser and has been using it for over 10 years. I really hope the 20th anniversary update can change it from head to toe and bring fresh vitality to this browser.

[HidratedHomie]

Hi.
1.- Future features like profiles and tab grouping are going to come to Firefox Android?
2.- Is text to speech ever going to the available on Android?
3.- Why on Android I can't easily remove headers and footers from a page I want to print or safe as a PDF? I know is possible, but not without messing with advance settings. Not very user friend.
4.- In Android, Why everytime I put bookmarks on the background, it returns to the beginning of the tree of folders? And why I can't
rearrange bookmarks inside a folder? It's annoying.
5.- If tab grouping is ever available on Android, When I open an hyperlink, like in Wikipedia for example, that hyperlink is going to automatically create and open in a tab group (just like in chrome)? I would like it to be that way, simple but effective.
6.- In the near future, the Firefox AI feature will be capable of summarize entire web pages (articles) and answer questions? Like Copilot does? Is that AI going to ever be available on Android?
As you can see, my main pet peeves with firefox is that a lot of features on PC are not available on Android.

[Gabb]

Gosh.

[LogicalTech]

Congrats on 20 years!

My question can be summarized with:

What went wrong?

As in:

Why did we (Mozilla) lose the Internet? Why are we just an paid pet for Google they keep for convenience of being able to avoid monopoly claims? Why not focus on core mission of making a great browser? Why AI? Something during these past 20 years went clearly, very, horribly wrong at Mozilla. With the ability to reflect back over these years, I'd like to know what it was.

[ThePillenwerfer]

The rot set in with problems with Firefox 4 roughly coinciding with Google releasing Chrome.  I went from Firefox 3.x to an early version of Chrome and only switched back about a year ago.

Google had the money to promote Chrome whereas the people behind other browsers, not just Firefox, don't.  If one of them ran TV advertising, billboard campaigns &c Chrome may not be so far ahead.

The ignorance of the public has to be allowed for as well.  A lot of people will stick to Edge or Chrome because they've heard of MicroSoft and Google and therefore think their products are Good and Safe whereas others they haven't heard of are likely to poor or some sort of con, whatever the truth may be.

[Globule]

Happy birthday Firefox!

My question: how do you explain this graph?

Thanks in advance for the responses!

[lackey]

That chart only goes up to 2019 - here's an extended version:

[Gav]

Why is feedback regularly ignored about basic interface and feature choices? Something is clearly wrong, take a look at the market share, are you willing to admit you might be doing things wrong?

[Juraj]

Why are you not using TypeScript already?
(on all new projects, with a plan to migrate existing projects, including Firefox!)

And let me just say - if you plan to ask a JavaScript developer, who's never used TypeScript on a big project, if using TypeScript would make his work better, you are unlikely to get a positive answer.

And to add - most (if not all) TypeScript developers were JavaScript developers before, because TypeScript is JavaScript, just better. I've never met a developer that would go back to JavaScript after using TypeScript.

And if you are still unsure, imagine these benefits: easy refactoring, much less bugs, no runtime exceptions, useful IDE suggestions and code smells...

[ffffff]

Hey, congrats on the big 20 and kudos to everyone who worked to help bring Firefox this far.

Apologies in advance, I'm bad at coming up with good questions.

- Since tab groups are in development for desktop, do you folks have any idea on how soon we could expect to see something similar for mobile, assuming that's the plan? And if it isn't, why? Most popular mobile browsers seem to be adopting it. I've convinced some people to use Firefox on the desktop, but lacking tab groups on mobile, it's simply not possible for them to switch, considering their usage.

- If you've seen it, any opinions on the new Firefox-based Zen browser and the features it experiments with? It's alpha software, but I appreciate the bold way it attempts to reinvent the web browsing experience and wonder if there's anything in it that Firefox could borrow or take inspiration from.

- What are some of the things you're most excited for in the next 5 years of Firefox development? Web standards related, user-facing or not, it doesn't matter, I'd like to read you share some of your joy, even if it's something minor.

P.S. I've noticed cute foxes in UI, not sure if that's something new in the design guidelines, but please keep it up! Foxes are great.

[OutlawHusbando]

Make Firefox Great Again!

We missed oppotunity back then, but we should regroup and focus everything on Firefox.

[Maupertuis]

1. don't ignore your most loyal userbase: the GNU/Linux community. 
2. have some advanced, but common settings in mobile version, such as:
   1. ability to search through history
   2. site-specific settings(blocking third-party cookies, jit, etc.)
   3. dark mode
3. make gecko embeddable(a la electron)
4. don't abandon projects in the middle(or rather fire employees who are working on it, see deepspeech)
5. listen to, and also act on user feedback. don't shove "features" if you're currently getting a cut from it. you're losing your already minuscule userbase.
6. have some alternative form of revenue. i like the direction of vpns, email aliases. but not at the cost of your defining product.
7. don't do things that only infuriate your users(e.g.: blocking of mv3-compatible ublock origin)
8. PWA please?
9. have good marketing from people who are able to explain it in simpler terms. especially for controversial features(e.g.: PPA)

it hurts me when i see firefox market share going down each year. don't accelerate it. i would like to witness your 30th, 40th, and 50th birthday as well.

[bdutta]

First of all, congratulations to team Firefox/Mozilla for the 20th Anniversary. I've been using Firefox on Linux and Windows, almost since it's inception and love it. I had briefly switched over to Brave for what it promises, but moved back to Firefox once I figured that with right set of plugins you can be just as comfortable.

Would love to see scope of the built-in translator increased to cover wider set of languages including the ones from India. It is a useful feature with a good user-experience, that is better than any of those that use google translate as plugins. I'd like an inbrowser, if possible even an inplace "Augmented Reality" like translation feature.

[Ahmad09]

Happy 20th anniversary, Firefox! 🎉 It's incredible to see how far Firefox has come over the years, constantly evolving while staying true to its values of privacy, open-source innovation, and user choice. Excited to see what the future holds for Firefox, especially in a world where digital privacy is more important than ever. Looking forward to the AMA with the leadership team and hearing about any upcoming features and priorities! Thank you, Mozilla, for two decades of commitment to an open and accessible web.

[tilwiti]

Hello, dear Firefox team!

I've been using Firefox since April, and what started as a choice between Chrome familiarity and Firefox has evolved into genuine enthusiasm for the Fox.

I love Firefox's speed, reliability, and recent improvements. The screenshot feature and sidebar have become indispensable tools in my daily workflow. I'm also excited about the Split Screen feedback from @asafko . These developments show great promises, and the team really does it well.

I do face some challenges, primarily with corporate platforms, and I have a few questions:

1. Are there plans to implement copy-paste functionality via the context menu in Google Docs?
2. When can we expect the ability to share individual tabs (including audio) rather than the entire screen?
3. Regarding the mobile Firefox experience:
   • Could we bring back theme customization?
   • Will we have home page wallpaper customization?
   • What happened to Firefox Notes synchronization, and is there a chance of revival?

I've posted some of these ideas on Mozilla Connect and would appreciate any insights into their potential implementation timeline.

Some suggestions for future development:

• Consider expanding interface customization options, similar to Floorp and Zen Browser. Have you thought about potential collaborations with these projects?
• While enthusiasts currently maintain userChrome.css modifications, adding direct editing capability through advanced settings could benefit power users.

I'm also curious about your UX development process:

• How do you conduct user research?
• Do you work with focus groups?
• What's the composition and selection process for these groups?

Firefox isn't just my browser of choice - it's my daily companion, and I'm pleased to participate in discussions about its future 🦊

Best regards,

tw

[myspace]

Excited about this and hope it becomes a regular thing here. Most of my questions have already been asked by others, so I'll vote for those ones in hopes that they are answered. Thanks!