Mozilla Firefox 119 has been released.
The latest update to the open-source web browser brings a set of improvements that enhance its usefulness, both for those using it full-time and those looking to make a switch to it.
For example, when importing data from Google Chrome Firefox 119 is now able to “import some of your extensions as well”.
The “some” is the catch here as imported extensions must also be available on the Firefox Add-ons. Though the underlying technology is similar many popular Chrome extensions (and my own Tipsbeginners Chrome extension1) are yet to be ported over.
Elsewhere, this release improves Firefox View, the perma-pinned tab that was added back in 2022.
In addition to recently closed tabs Firefox View now shows an overview of tabs open in every window; recent browsing history (sortable by date or site); and all active tabs open on devices synced with a Firefox Account (soon to be renamed Mozilla Account).
Firefox’s built-in PDF file viewer/editor already let users add text and draw on documents opened in it (either online or by dragging a local .PDF into the app). In Firefox 119 users can now add images to PDFs and enter alt text for them to ensure they’re accessible.
Additionally, recently closed tab history persists between sessions even when automatic session restore is not enabled; and media sniffing for application/octet-stream type media is now disabled by default, meaning relevant items are downloaded instead of the browser (trying to) start playback.
Security and privacy buffs include:
Those are Firefox 119’s new features and key changes in a nutshell. Read the official release notes to learn more.
Getting Firefox 119
Download Firefox 119 for Windows, macOS, or Linux from the Mozilla website. In most instances it’s easier to get the update in-app (Windows, macOS) or wait for a distro package update (Linux) to be issued.
Ubuntu users who didn’t replace the Firefox Snap with a Deb or binary will receive this update like all others: as a silent update in the background — so those reading this post after October 24 might find they have this update already!
