<!–>
For the longest time, the Firefox browser was on the cusp of becoming my default web browser in Android. But something was keeping that from happening. And then…the missing piece arrived, and Firefox is now my default Android browser.
The latest release of the browser finally supports add-ons.
Also: This handy Firefox Mobile feature is saving your old tabs for you
Why does this matter? Well, now you can include add-ons (aka, extensions) for things like ad blockers, password managers, privacy, and many more. Although you won’t find as many add-ons for Firefox Mobile as you will for the desktop version, the ones that are available can improve your browsing experience dramatically.
For example, you get all the following::
- uBlock Origin
- Dark Reader
- FoxyProxy Standard
- AdGuard AdBlocker
- Privacy Badger
- Bitwarden
- Ghostery
- NoScript Security Suite
- Read Aloud
- Search by Image
- ClearURLs
–>
That list alone should pique the interest of most Android users. I immediately added uBlock Origin and ClearURLs to Firefox to prevent ads from causing problems and remove tracking information from URLs. That was about as no-brainer as it gets for a mobile web browser.
Let me show you how to install add-ons to Firefox Mobile, so you can enjoy a much-improved experience.
Installing add-ons to Firefox Mobile
What you’ll need: To make this work, you’ll need the most recent version of Firefox installed on Android. I’ll demonstrate with version 123.0a1 on Android 14. Make sure to go to Google Play Store > Profile Icon > Manage Apps & Device > Manage > Updates Available and check to see if there’s an update for Firefox available for your device. If so, run the update.
Once you have Firefox updated, open the browser on your Android device.
<!–>
–> <!–>
Click the vertical three-dot menu in the upper right corner of the Firefox window.
–>
–> Accessing the Firefox menu happens from the top right corner of the main window. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
