[EVENT CLOSED] Thanks for joining our AMA with the Firefox Leadership Team!

[Jon]

Nov 14 UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who has submitted questions so far—keep them coming, the event starts in a few hours. In the meantime, meet the team of Mozilla employees that will be answering them.

Clockwise starting from the top left in the image, we are:

• Mike Conca, Director of Product, Platform
• Vicky Chin, VP, Engineering, Desktop, Mobile, and Pocket 
• Raja Jacob, Senior Director, Firefox User Experience 
• Devin Sandoz, Senior Director, Product Marketing, Firefox
• Bobby Holley, CTO, Firefox
• Carolyn O’Hara, Sr. Director, New Tab & Content Discovery
• Andrew Overholt, VP, Engineering, Platform 
• Tapan Kamdar, Sr. Director, Product Management, Search & AI

See you in the comments! 

_______________________________________________

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

[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...

[BGAK24]

I currently train copilot directly to read process and correct coding in several languages irlt is being rolled out slowly but is coming soon..it's honestly pretty amazing if told what it is looking for or what it is expected at the start of the search prompt

[overholt]

---

@Juraj wrote:

Why are you not using TypeScript already?

 Many of the people working on Firefox agree that there are some benefits compared to vanilla JS, and we do have lots of open source TypeScript code at Mozilla (e.g., https://github.com/search?q=org%3Amozilla%20language%3ATypeScript%20&type=code). We investigated using TypeScript in mozilla-central (the Firefox repository) about 5 years ago (https://groups.google.com/g/firefox-dev/c/IZ0G4Y34kf8/m/yxIxbPP_AQAJ), but at the time we were using a custom JS module system developed before we specced ES Modules and the build / IDE tooling wouldn’t have integrated properly. We’ve recently migrated to ESM (https://spidermonkey.dev/areweesmifiedyet/), so it may be possible today, though it would likely be more complicated to adopt than in a typical web or node app.

[Juraj]

Having a huge and complicated project is exactly the right reason for using TypeScript.

I don't know what else to say... I'm telling you now, as an expert JavaScript/TypeScript programmer with 10+ years of full time coding experience, with a university degree, and as a former Mensa member, that not using TypeScript on any big project, is a big mistake that costs you expensive mandays, and makes the software development unnecessary slower and buggy.

And if you don't believe me, ask any of the TypeScript developers that handles one of those projects you've listed.

[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.

[rjacob]

Hi @ffffff, Thank you for these questions!

• We don’t have a timeline just yet, but we’re excited about how useful tab groups will be on mobile. We’ll be rolling out tab groups on desktop soon, and we know syncing those groups across to mobile is a scenario we'd like to build.
• It’s awesome to see open-source browsers built with Gecko like Zen! From both a design and feature standpoint, Zen has a lot of great ideas - Is there any particular experience in Zen you're excited about?
• We’ve got so many things we’re excited about in Firefox - like continuing to make performance improvements and rolling out cool features like our new sidebar, profiles, tab management, new tab UX updates, AI, and more!

Thanks for spotting those adorable foxes! 🦊 We love them too, and yes! you’ll be seeing more of them popping up all over!

[tilwiti]

> Is there any particular experience in Zen you're excited about?

Split View...

[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.

[overholt]

---

@Maupertuis wrote:

1. don't ignore your most loyal userbase: the GNU/Linux community. 

*Many* of the people working on Firefox use Linux so I can assure you they're not being ignored (anecdote: my own personal laptop running Fedora just had a catastrophic disk failure two days ago and I'm very lost without it). Relatively recently we added an official apt repo (see https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux#w_install-firefox-deb-package-for-debian-...) and we're seeing growing uptake of it. The Linux users of Firefox are great at filing detailed, reproducible bug reports, and have always been at the core of the Mozilla community.

Linux users are not the majority, of course, so when platform-specific features are done, we have to consider the % of users on different OSes. Thankfully, Firefox's architecture on desktop is such that many frontend features work across platforms with little effort so Linux support "just works" (you know, like printing and wifi used to on Linux ;).

Please remain engaged!

[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.

[tkamdar]

@bdutta - Thank you for being a long-time Firefox user and for sharing your feedback on our translation feature! We’re thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying the in-browser experience.

At Firefox, our focus is to protect your information, which is why our translations happen directly on your device with local models. This way, your data stays private. Currently, we support 28 languages, with 6 more planned for early 2025, and we’re always exploring options to expand language support in the future. You can follow progress here: https://github.com/mozilla/translations

Thank you again for your input—it’s incredibly helpful as we continue to improve the Firefox experience for all users!

[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.

[vchin]

Hi @Ahmad09 ! Thank you, that means a lot. I've been a long time Firefox user myself and am excited about the work ahead. Thanks for being here!

[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

[tilwiti]

I've already posted a little scary question below, but I can't help myself from posting another one.
I see the wording "we will continue to support MV2 for the foreseeable future" everywhere, but in my brain, it somehow implies that at some point, MV2 will die because it will become hard to support. Will only MV3 be left, or will Firefox have some extension set to pull MV2 functionality to MV3? (we can't discuss compatibility between browsers here because Chrome decided to address the AdBlock issue seriously).
You are the best people to answer this.
I am looking forward to hearing back from you ^^
tw

[overholt]

Thanks for being a user for over six months now, tilwiti! I agree on screenshots and use them probably hourly :). I'll try to reply to your questions here with some input I've gotten from others.

Hilariously (/s), I ran into the Google Docs copy/paste functionality via the context menu just now. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1869308#c3 notes that Chrome's got a custom extension to handle this. I'll see if I can get some info from Googlers about why this is the case.

Tab sharing work is tracked by this meta bug: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1651145. I asked the team and they said they're just trying to get it onto their prioritized list (they have some other conflicting more urgent work).

Home page wallpaper customization is definitely on the team's radar but Firefox Notes isn't being actively developed.

Our user research program is both robust and multi-faceted, incorporating extensive qualitative and quantitative methods to deeply understand our audience.

Our team utilizes a number of methods including surveys, one-on-one sessions, diary studies, user testing, concept tests, co-design sessions, focus groups etc. to capture both at-scale and in-depth perspectives directly from our users.

Our participant selection process is carefully designed to ensure sampling that reflects the diversity of the Firefox users across different geographies, backgrounds, needs, and browsing habits. We gain invaluable insights that guide us in designing features that truly resonate and add value across our user base. This approach allows us to create more inclusive, intuitive, and impactful experiences for all Firefox users.

[tilwiti]

Is there any way for someone from the outside to somehow get involved in any of your processes? I don't know how popular my geography or my user-cases are, but I would be interested in helping you.

Thank you for the answer 🙂

[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! 

[dsandoz]

Hi @myspace -- is this Tom? Big fan. Thanks for the encouragement. We'll be doing more of these in the future, and at a leadership team we spend a lot of time looking at the conversations in Mozilla Connect, even outside of AMAs.

[Mkn]

Hello,
How about these cool revolutionary innovative features?

Live cloud tabs, the same tabs on the PC and on the phone are open at the same time, for example, you open a tab on the phone and it will open on the PC, and vice versa.
Ability to install extensions from different stores and from different browsers, for example, from the google store, opera.
Synchronization of flags options in about:config hidden settings and synchronization of extension settings.
Ability to edit Contextual Menus.
Improve your strong engine, or switch to Servo and Rust.
Own built-in semi-paid vpn in the browser.
Translation of voice in the video.
Password or Pin to start the browser.

[tkamdar]

Hey @Mkn! Thanks for these awesome suggestions—you’ve really thought about some creative ways to make Firefox even better.

We’re always looking for new ways to improve, and ideas like live cloud tabs, syncing settings, and custom contextual menus, and video translation are great food for thought.

On VPN, Mozilla does offer a VPN that works across your devices (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/products/vpn/), and we’re looking into even tighter integration with Firefox in the coming years. On the engine side, we have ongoing efforts to make it faster, including continuous work on Servo-derived components like Stylo and WebRender.

Hearing what matters to you helps us think about what’s next for Firefox. We will consider these as we work towards making Firefox even more useful and powerful. Thanks again for sharing!

[tilwiti]

omg available in my country

[Jokkefar]

Hi! I love Firefox and use it as my primary browser on iOS, Mac and windows. I have two questions for y’all. The first one is, now that third party marketplaces are available on iOS would it be possible to get access to extensions? And secondly are there any plans to bring thunderbird to IOS?

Thank you so much!

Joakim

[eio]

Kudo's 20/20 Ubuntu/FireFox A.I. Bitcoin. May the best man win, team work makes the dream work.

[ffffff]

What

[Jorjdavid639]

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

[firefly1]

Please Mozilla.  Many of us have sensitive eyes and the Dark Reader app makes the browser 2x slower than other browsers on Speedometer 3.0 Benchmark Tests.

[mconca]

@firefly1 asked this question as well.  The full response is here.

[Simon3]

Does the Android Version of Firefox has a 64-bit version?

[mconca]

Hello, @Simon3. Yes. Firefox for Android supports native 32-bit and 64-bit versions on both ARM and x86 architectures. We supply the Google Play Store with an app bundle that includes all versions, and the store delivers the specific version appropriate to your phone.

[myspace]

What is the single feature or project you are most excited about that's coming to Firefox in the next year or so? 

[vchin]

Hi @myspace . Thanks for being here! I have a lot of tabs so I'm excited about tab groups coming to Firefox!

[dsandoz]

Sidebar for me, the cross-device tab management, pinned vertical tabs, tab groups, and AI chatbot all make things easier/faster on a daily basis. There's a lot to play around with right now in Nightly.

[SRMozilla]

I am excited 😎 for 2 things:
1. New content personalized to me on New Tab
2. We are expanding Relay email masks to more Firefox users in 2025 without needing an extension!

[cohara]

Love this question, @myspace - I'm very excited about tab groups and the customization features we're working on for New Tab. And refreshed mobile homepages!

[tilwiti]

Scary question: does this antitrust case against Google affect you and will there be a paid version of Firefox at some point? I think that's a pretty disturbing nuance in your model and I'm a little worried.

And also, this was mentioned by youtuber Brodie Robertson, why are your services so geographically limited? I would love to be a Relay customer, but I'm not in the EU and my country is not on the list of supported countries.

And I am still on the waiting list...

[overholt]

What locations are you interested in seeing Relay Premium availability expand to? I heard we're working on that but I don't have a timeline or specifics ATM.

[tilwiti]

Ukraine.
We have almost all major services available, from ChatGPT Plus to %insert_name% and "not available in your region" gives sad vibes of past decades when for some reason the Eastern European region was not on the map.

[jboscacci]

Our CEO, Laura Chambers recently talked about the DOJ case with TechCrunch where she said: “When you spend a second to think about what the Department of Justice is trying to do here, they’re trying to increase competition, right? The reality is that Mozilla is one of the most powerful elements of competition in this market,” she said. “We actually have our own browser engine. We actually have an alternative technology. We’re actually one of those very rare technologies [where] we’re sort of a Big Tech company, but we’re doing good stuff on the internet, so our incentives are actually really aligned in this work. And so you’ve got to imagine that as they’re weighing their rulings and considerations, it would not at all be in their best interest to put Mozilla in a bad situation, because that would decrease competition, which is the whole point of the regulation.”  You can read more about it here.