eh it looks cool and all, but why do we need a redesign every 6 months?
shouldn't they be using those man-hours to like, solve the fingerprinting problem for example?
this post was submitted on 21 May 2026
82 points (96.6% liked)
Firefox
22896 readers
238 users here now
/c/firefox
A place to discuss the news and latest developments on the open-source browser Firefox.
Rules
1. Adhere to the instance rules
2. Be kind to one another
3. Communicate in a civil manner
Reporting
If you would like to bring an issue to the moderators attention, please use the "Create Report" feature on the offending comment or post and it will be reviewed as time allows.
founded 6 years ago
MODERATORS
https://arkenfox.github.io/thorin/items/02browserfingerprinting.html
you can't "solve" fingerprinting. spoofing makes you more unique. and you cannot spoof everything. looking normal helps more than trying to hide. the only real solution to it would be creating a standard to all browsers, which is what tor does, and it's why it works. same settings, same window size, same engine, etc. if you want fingerprinting resistance, use tor!
the only real solution to it would be creating a standard to all browsers, which is what tor does
there you go. do that to firefox.
this would imply not being able to resize your window for example... you cant do that to a general purpose software. you need to useba tool that fits your needs. it would be the equivalent of complaining about Debian not being an amnesiac distro. Tails exists for this...
this would imply not being able to resize your window for example
Or it would let you resize and report the same size as everyone else.
that's spoofing, spoofing makes you stand out more...
What do you mean? If all Firefox users report the same size, than you are one of many. That's the point. It makes you stand out less. Off course this works only if you are not the only one that sticks out and its the default.
this is one thing, do you understand how limiting it would make the browser? its not just window size, this is one example. and afaik if you spoof your window size you can break rendering of pages. again, you're comprimising everyday usage. im not saying there isn't a way at all, maybe there is, but it's not some trivial thing, ive followed arkenfox for quite a few years and they've been saying the same. the amount of time it takes to make a redesign is nothing to making an unfingerprintable browser. if that's even a thing. and remember that you cant spoof everything.
load more comments
(7 replies)
This is the philosophy of the Mullvad browser, which is basically as close as you can get to Tor for browsing the clear net. If anonymity is the goal, however, you don't want to use it to log into any accounts.
since you mention it, firefox has a feature where it launches with a generic predetermined window size so you blend in. even then screen resolution can only get them so far.
i'm not calling for firefox to be tor, just that everyday software must be more private too.
yes, tor uses that feature to make all users look the same, if you resize a bit your tor window that's it. you can be identified. for fingerprinting to work every browser would need to look the same. this means no extensions, no difference in window size, same settings, etc. do you think that's actually feasible for an everyday browser? really?
i know. but each point you touched can be improved upon. my point is that browsers are too transparent to third parties, and that should be one of the priorities.
I think he meant amount of human hours spent on total bs like redesign and real engine improvements, nithing more.
how does spoofing make you more unique? If I change my browser resolution to a more common resolution that would make me less recognizable, for example.
because when you spoof whatever is fingerprinting you sees that you're actually providing fake data, so now you enter the list of the "hidden" instead of blending in. this is the core philosophy of tor browser, and a known fact. if you read partially the article i linked it talks about this.
You can lie to the website and say your resolution is 1024x768. But what happens when the JavaScript fingerprinting checks the actual width of the view port? Your view port is most likely larger than your stated screen size.
Sounds like a limitation of the spoofing technology, and shameless spying on the websites part. I'm not a tech expert but is there nothing that you can lie to the websites about and they can't check or verify it? For example the list of fonts?
That one in particular you potentially could, though it does raise the question of what would happen if you report you have a don’t you don’t, and the site tries to push content using that font.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Not sure I'd be okay trusting designers to solve fingerprinting.
i'd trust mozilla to pay for developers instead of yearly redesigns.
Anything actually useful done to firefox? idk
I hate everything about "modern design" ... Rounded corners, gradients, blur and transparency effects, fading in/out ... fuck that! I want my browser to look and feel like the rest of my UI.
oddly enough all these things have repeatedly appeared, disappeared, and reappeared in my lifetime, e.g. titlebars on Windows became transparent with Vista, then stopped being so in, I think, Windows 8?
Yes, it’s fortunately just a trend. Just like websites. At one point tiny 10px font for main text content and absurdly small navigation buttons were seen as “modern”, nowadays huge empty spaces and 30px fonts are the norm.
Or Javascript vs no Javascript, this also changes every few years.
I just hope this ugly mess will just be the annoying design fad of the year.
well, the rest of my UI has rounded corners, transparency, and blur 🤷♂️
load more comments
(1 replies)
This is basically what I was thinking. I customized Firefox to be less rounded with sharp edges, single color and much denser. I don't know why every application is treated like a new abstract art (off course I'm exaggerating here).
That’s mine (resized to not have a huge screenshot file)
Custom fully custom labwc theme, customized GTK theme, modified Firefox (userChrome.css)
Thunar for reference.
Anything more and I’d feel super distracted and annoyed.
I was hoping for screenshot sharing, lol. Yours look ~~similar~~ familiar, I wouldn't be surprised if we shared in the past whenever we had this topic before.
Mine evolves from time to time. Sometimes I learn something new from new screenshots and incorporate that. One such recent "implementation" is the Bookmarks Toolbar. I created a top level directory named "Favorites" and put all quick access bookmarks in there and moved the toolbar to the same level of tabs, to save me an entire extra line of bar. My current Firefox looks like this:
I'm on KDE, the titlebar is disabled for all windows (I'm an auto tiler person). BTW I'm not sure how to get rid off the rounded corners of the window, but that is not Firefox specific.
load more comments
(1 replies)
I like some of these things, but I'd be ok with them being optional toggles. I remember seeing a Firefox fork with extensive customization options for the UI
Personally
- rounded corners make it easier to see what is contained in what. It gives more information than just having everything meet at corners
- gradients and blurs match the rest of my UI 😄
Every time I see a blog post with a title like this from Mozilla, I have a conversation like this in my head:
Me: You're changing the tab shape again, aren't you?
Mozilla: Today, we're announcing a new— erm, yes, we're changing the tab shape...
Me: Anything else?
Mozilla: We're centering privacy settings in—
Me: So nothing new?
Mozilla: Not really...
Make it do less, a LOT faster, using less resources, with good extension support.
That is a good browsers only job.
If that were the entire truth, neither brave nor opera would be as popular as they are.
load more comments
(3 replies)
load more comments
(2 replies)
Glad that compact mode will be officially supported again. Makes such as big difference on a laptop screen.
As long as Kit is used everywhere, I'm up for it
oh fuck no please don't break my userchrome(desktop) and muscle memory(android)....
They probably haven't fulfilled their RAM usage quota yet
New compact mode is great, I might be in the minority here but I like the new design.
I just wish the mobile app had an ability to display more than two bookmarks at a time without the need to scroll and click through menus to get to them. Desktop app has a bookmarks toolbar, the mobile equivalent sucks.
Greek Stays
Glad the translators weren't laid off to cut costs /s
On mobile they did a really good job with this version, lots of very useful new options. Still haven't gotten around to trying it on a computer.
Didn’t think they could make the tags any less clear and contrasted than they did last time, so I guess they sure showed me.
They chance the look again. I have to say, the new look looks better than the current default. But it's not for me and I will heavily customize the look anyway. Hopefully my current customization works as it is and I have nothing to do...
view more: next ›