
Firefox Focus – A new private browser for iOS and Android - happy-go-lucky
https://blog.mozilla.org/firefox/lightweight-browser-focus-does-less-which-is-much-more/
======
progval
According to F-Droid [1], it contains `com.google.android.gms:play-services-
analytics`.

[1]:
[https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/issues/171#note_30410376](https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/issues/171#note_30410376)

~~~
chairmanwow
I think I'm only surprised to see this comment and not that Firefox bundled
analytics into their app. What's controversial about anonymized usage
statistics in 2017?

~~~
drdaeman
Well, about the very same moment you see "Browse like no one's watching /
Automatically block online tracking while you browse" app starts to silently
send some data to app.adjust.com and incoming.telemetry.mozilla.org.

If that's not controversial, that's at least ironic.

(Just to clarify: this particular behavior was observed on a version from a
Play Store, not FDroid. And this was about 1.5 months ago or so. But I doubt
things had fundamentally changed since then.)

~~~
jopsen
Checkout the histograms:
[https://telemetry.mozilla.org/](https://telemetry.mozilla.org/) Do other
vendors let you see their metric dashboards?

And if you feel statistics of time to FIRST_PAINT invades your privacy you can
disable telemetry reporting.

You can also see what your browser collects in about:telemetry, but don't
equate performance measurements with surveillance -- that's FUD.

~~~
drdaeman
Gosh. It's not about what's being sent, and why.

It's about a certain promise^W marketing statement and behavior that at least
partially contradicts it.

------
lol768
Have been using this a while, it's really nice as the default browser to open
links in. Having the floating button to clear everything is neat and I like
the UI desing. It's also really fast.

I'd like to see better support for getting SSL/TLS info - why can't I tap on
the padlock and get the certificate info (EV, OV, DV?), cipher suite, HSTS
etc?

~~~
boek
You should request that feature! [https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
ios](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios) (ios/android)

------
hprotagonist
I installed Firefox Focus for iOS simply for its content blocker. I still
prefer using mobile safari, but augmented with three content blockers:

\- Firefox Focus, which blocks all sorts of stuff

\- 1Blocker, which blocks all sorts of stuff

\- Unobstruct, which blocks Medium's "dickbar" popups.

~~~
mi_lk
Does this work in embedded browser? More often than not I don't open links
within Twitter/Reddit mobile app bc I can't stand some intrusive ads.

~~~
saagarjha
If that app uses a Safari View Controller.

------
rcthompson
This is useful to use as your default browser. It has a quick way to open the
same link in another browser, so you can use it as a sort of quarantine to vet
unknown links before exposing your main browser and all its juicy user data to
a new website.

~~~
apeace
If only it were possible to set a default browser on iOS.

~~~
gardnr
Wasn't there a huge anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft for preventing other
browsers on their platform? How does Apple get away with it when MS couldn't?

~~~
teddyfrozevelt
Probably a mix of Apple not having a monopoly in the mobile space and other
browsers till being allowed on the app store.

~~~
gardnr
I am not up to date. I didn't realize they allow other browsers now. When I
was building iOS apps Apple had specific wording which prevented apps in the
app store which duplicated functionality already available in iOS. That meant
things like the AdBlock Firefox build could not be published in the App Store.

It was, in great part, their legal team and strategy that pushed me away from
Apple.

~~~
jeroenhd
Apple still doesn't allow true browsers in the app store. Not because they
disallow duplicate system applications (plenty of calculator apps out there).
The problem is that Apple does not allow any developer to use a browser engine
other than built-in Safari. Apple also doesn't allow virtual machines/on the
fly compilation of code, making any alternate, fast enough Javascript engine
practically impossible.

"Browsers" on iOS, such as Firefox Focus and Chrome, just repurpose the built-
in Safari engine with some modifications (bookmark sync, extra content
blocking, etc.)

------
Xoros
How is this news ? I installed it weeks ago on my IPhone. I don't understand
why Mozilla just announced it now. Maybe it's a new version.

On the browser itself, I launched it, navigate on a URI, closed it, relaunched
it, type the firsts characters of my previous URI and it auto completed it.
From my history I guess.

So it's not like incognito mode on other browsers. (Haven't retested again)

~~~
dabber
> news?

They launched the android version not too long ago. This is probably just a
push to get the word out to people who may not have heard. Fair enough in my
opinion.

> From my history I guess

I don't think it's from your history. It seems like many common websites are
preset to autocomplete; stackoverflow.com for example. Because it doesn't save
history this seems like a nice way to reduce friction for users. I could be
wrong though.

~~~
newscracker
>> From my history I guess

> I don't think it's from your history. It seems like many common websites are
> preset to autocomplete; stackoverflow.com for example. Because it doesn't
> save history this seems like a nice way to reduce friction for users. I
> could be wrong though.

In my experience, your statement is correct. Firefox Focus does not store
history. It does have a long list of sites that it autocompletes. Whenever I
visit HN, I actually type news.ycombinator.com into the address bar since
Focus does not have bookmarking. But I don't mind that, and consider that as a
feature.

~~~
brainfire
No in-app bookmarks, but you can use "add to home screen" to get a shortcut.

~~~
crtasm
Is that on android and/or ios?

~~~
brainfire
Definitely yes on Android. I don't know for iOS.

~~~
crtasm
Maybe that's a feature of your launcher? I can't see it in any of firefox
focus' menus, the share list or long-press on a link options.

~~~
brainfire
Weird! It's on the only menu in Focus for me, the same level as "settings." I
wouldn't have thought a launcher could do that. I use Nova Launcher.

------
ghh
Focus does not seem to erase your history in a way you may expect. Try this on
Android:

\- Erase your history.

\- Go to HN, click any link you haven't clicked before.

\- Wait for it to load.

\- Erase your history. Make sure you see the notification "Your browsing
history has been erased".

\- Go to HN again, and see the link you've just clicked still highlighted as
'visited'.

~~~
cyphar
It's likely that's because it currently uses the built-in Android WebView
(which may store its own pseudo-history). That is a problem, but I believe
their plans to replace WebView with Gecko will likely solve this problem.
[https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
android/issues/13](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/13)

------
bdz
I wish open source projects publish the compiled .apk file not just the source
code.

If I want to install this on my Fire HD I either have to download the .apk
from some dodgy mirror site or install Google Play with some workaround on the
Fire HD. Cause Firefox Focus is not available in the Amazon App Store. I mean
yeah I can do both in the end, not a big deal, but I just want the .apk
nothing else.

~~~
AaronMT
[https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
android/releases](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/releases)

~~~
Nexxxeh
In case anyone else didn't click through, AaronMT's succinct post is a link to
the github release page for the Android version.

It includes apk download links in addition to source code links and Google
play store links.

The thing GP was complaining Mozilla weren't doing.

------
nkkollaw
So, if I understand this correctly... It's a regular browser, but like you're
always in private mode + it's got a built-in ad blocker?

If I want to check Hacker News let's say 5 times throughout the day and feel
like leaving a comment, I have to login again, without autocomplete..?

Maybe I'm missing something.

~~~
trendroid
>Maybe I'm missing something.

The features you explained are exactly what I was looking for in a mobile
browser. In fact, i wish they launch Focus for Desktops operating systems too.

~~~
nkkollaw
I think you're looking for the Tor Browser.

If you don't log in into websites, I don't see why you would leave yourself
exposed and very easily hacked with Firefox or private browsing if there's
Tor.

Private browsing is NOT secure. It's just a shortcut to avoid clearing your
history manually. ANYONE can see who you are, and what sites you visit with
easy-to-use tools that are available online for free.

~~~
daxelrod
> Private browsing is NOT secure.

Security is not an absolute. The best you can do is talk about whether
something addresses a particular threat model.

There are different tradeoffs to Tor. A big downside is that unencrypted
traffic is now _easier_ for intermediaries to read and even change, because of
how exit nodes work.

------
cpeterso
Since I started using Firefox Focus for one-off searches, I'm surprised at how
infrequently I really need to be logged into any websites to complete my task.
Nice that Focus simply clears all those trackers and search history when I
close it.

~~~
bigbugbag
I'm wondering why this is not a simple setting on firefox. Are they trying to
collect data on how many people have interest in privacy or something ?
(another comment pointed that Firefox focus tracks users and reports to
mozilla)

~~~
pavon
That was my initial reaction too, but I think it makes sense.

Everyone has use for both full-featured browsing where you can stay logged in
to frequent sites, retain history/bookmarks and such, as well as private
browsing where you don't want any history kept. On the desktop the way the UI
is currently setup, full-featured is the default and private is an extra step
you have to take, and as such private is typically only used for special
occasions.

Focus reverses this dynamic by making private browsing easier, faster, and
more streamlined than full-featured browsing, so people will start making
private browser the default for most quick web tasks, and just go to the
slower the full-featured browser when they need it.

Having two different launcher icons for these two modes is more convenient for
the user, and AFAIK it isn't possible for a single app to install multiple
icons in iOS[1]. Besides, not everyone wants to use Firefox as their main
mobile browser. So a separate app makes sense.

[1] [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10048541/multiple-
icons-...](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10048541/multiple-icons-from-
one-install)

------
computator
This would have been _perfect_ for iPad 2's and 3's on which Safari and the
normal Firefox keep crashing under the weight of the current bloated web.

But alas, the "simple and lightweight" Firefox Focus actually requires a
heavyweight 64-bit processor:

> _Why aren 't older Apple products supported? Safari Content Blockers (which
> include Firefox Focus) are only available on devices with an A7 processor
> (64-bit) or later. Only 64-bit processors can handle the extra load of
> content blocking, which insures optimal performance. For example, since the
> iPad 3 has an A5 processor, Firefox Focus is incompatible.[1]_

Come on, iPad 2's and 3's are less than 5 years old. There has to be some way
to keep the iPad 2 or 3 alive if all you want to do browse the web.

[1] [https://support.mozilla.org/en-
US/kb/focus](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/focus)

~~~
jamesgeck0
This is an Apple restriction, not a Firefox restriction. Focus is a Safari
webview, so Mozilla is limited by what features Apple allows them to use.

They might have been able to get by without the 64bit requirement if it just
blocked content in the webview, but it also blocks trackers in Safari.

------
fiatjaf
> For example, if you need to jump on the internet to look up Muddy Waters’
> real name

Best idea ever. That's the most common use case people have and one that's
drastically underserved by current browsers.

If people can't get their browser to quickly open a link to simple stuff, it
means the web is failing. If the web is failing they'll quickly jump over to
sending images over WhatsApp or fall into the trap of using the Facebook app
for all their needs that could be otherwise served by the web.

~~~
shurcooL

        For example, if you need to jump on the internet to look
        up Muddy Waters’ real name, and instead of “McKinley
        Morganfield” you get pop-up ads, screen takeovers,
        “sponsored” content and other third-party advertising-
        driven distraction, then you know what browser overkill
        feels like.
    

What? I don't understand how that's possible. If you just google search for
Muddy Waters, it tells you his real name right on the search results screen.
Even if it didn't, his Wikipedia page is one of the first results, and it
doesn't have any pop-up ads, screen takeovers, etc.

Am I missing something, or can someone explain what they're referring to?

~~~
ams6110
> Am I missing something

I think you're taking the example a bit too literally. You know exactly what
they're talking about. It's become almost impossible to use a phone browser
for anything quick. They are slow to begin with, and with all the ads and
other crap it's just not even worth it half the time.

~~~
moosingin3space
I once read that for this reason, many people send screenshots instead of
links - so others don't have to reproduce the right sequence of closing ads,
etc to show the content the user is interested in sharing.

------
webdevatwork
Firefox Focus is great. It's amazing how much better web readability and
performance gets when you block most of the adtech garbage.

~~~
bigbugbag
What exactly is great about firefox focus ? What does it have over installing
ublock origins in any other browser ?

~~~
CaptSpify
Not OP but I find the ad-blocking not to be great, and I'd _love_ to have a JS
blocker built in. Focus is nice to have as a "default to privacy mode" option,
but I definitely end up missing my addons.

------
ukyrgf
I love Focus. I wrote about it here[1], albeit poorly, but it just made me so
happy to be able to use my phone again for web browsing. Sometimes I open
Chrome and the tab that loads was something I was testing weeks prior... it's
taken that big of a backseat to Firefox Focus.

[1]: [https://epatr.com/blog/2017/firefox-
focus/](https://epatr.com/blog/2017/firefox-focus/)

------
byproxy
There is also the Brave browser, which I believe covers the same ground :
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brave.brow...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brave.browser)

~~~
jquery
Brave goes further, it's https by default and even includes fingerprint
blocking. It's been my default browser for while now and it's a joy to know
I'm not feeding the beast.

------
x775
I have been using this for a while on one of my phones (OnePlus 5, newest
version of OxygenOS) and am fairly satisfied with its overall performance. It
works seamlessly for casual browsing - i.e. opening pages from Reddit or
similar. I however cannot help but feel as if the standard version with
appropriate extensions (i.e. Disconnect, uBlock Origin and thus forth) remains
a better alternative than Focus in solving the very issues Focus seeks to
accommodate. I do very much love how closing the browser erases everything
though. It is worth mentioning that the ability to install extensions is
exclusive to Android for now, so Firefox Focus has become my go-to-browser for
my iOS devices. If you have Android the above is worth considering though!

------
st0le
Hasn't it been available for a while now?

~~~
JohnTHaller
Yes, it has.

~~~
zymhan
Portable Apps Man!!!

Also, why the blog post then? I've had this app on my phone for many months
now.

~~~
JohnTHaller
I think it's in conjunction with the 1.1 release which adds a few things.

------
gnicholas
I love Focus and now use it for almost all of my mobile googling. One thing
that would be nice is a share extension, so that when I'm in Safari and see a
link I want to open I can share it to Firefox Focus. Right now I have to
"share" it to [copy], open Focus, and paste it in. Not a huge hassle, but
would be nice to streamline.

~~~
my_ghola
Is there a good share to clipboard app? I tried the only one I found once and
it tried to open google drive when I tried to use it. I'm not giving Google
all the things I copypaste. Now I share to some notepad app and then copy from
there.

~~~
JetSpiegel
> Is there a good share to clipboard app?

There's the clipboard...

------
noncoml
Looks awesome and fast. Exactly what’s needed and expected from Mozilla. Thank
you!

Can we have something similar for desktop as well?

~~~
bigbugbag
You could, until mozilla decided to drop support for extensions that made this
possible that is.

Alternatively there is waterfox + ublock origins.

Waterfox is firefox without the mozilla crap:

    
    
        Disabled Encrypted Media Extensions (EME)
        Disabled Web Runtime (deprecated as of 2015)
        Removed Pocket
        Removed Telemetry
        Removed data collection
        Removed startup profiling
        Allow running of all 64-Bit NPAPI plugins
        Allow running of unsigned extensions
        Removal of Sponsored Tiles on New Tab Page
        Addition of Duplicate Tab option
        Locale selector in about:preferences > General

~~~
482794793792894
Adding a bunch of legacy extensions to your Firefox is going to do the
opposite of making it a fast, lightweight browser.

------
api_or_ipa
Why can Firefox build a browser with 16mb and yet every other app on my phone
is 80+mb?

~~~
notnarb
Because Firefox Focus isn't itself a browser, but rather a wrapper around
Android and iOS's built in browsers. That is why the underlying engine in
blink/webkit and not gecko.

I am probably drastically simplifying things but the primary components of the
app are just a content blocker and a preferences page.

~~~
kristianp
I would guess that's only true on IOS, because apps are forced to use the
operating system's webview?

~~~
_delirium
It's currently also true on Android, because Gecko doesn't yet provide a
WebView style embeddable component, so Firefox Focus uses the default Android
WebView instead.

There's a bug tracking work to migrate to Gecko though:
[https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
android/issues/13](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/13)
(see also the linked
[https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1322573](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1322573))

------
wnevets
I've been using it as my default browser for Android for a while and I like
it. The only thing I don't love is the notification saying the browser is
open, it triggers my "OCD" . I understand why it's there but I wish there was
some way around it.

~~~
JadeNB
> The only thing I don't love is the notification saying the browser is open,
> it triggers my "OCD" .

Why not just turn off notifications for Firefox Focus? At least on Samsung-
skinned Marshmallow, that seems to do the trick.

(Grumble grumble, but it still reminds me that I'm running in power-saving
mode, which is a vital notification that only applies whenever the phone's on.
Thanks, Samsung!)

------
bllguo
I've been loving focus. Fastest mobile browser I've used. Appreciate the
privacy features also.

I set it to my default browser and keep chrome handy on the side.

------
AdmiralAsshat
Hmm. Just visited a few of the pages I normally visit on my phone in Firefox
for Android, and immediately got several pop-ups and banners that don't
normally get through.

So I'd say its adblocking is still less effective than regular Firefox for
Android + uBlock Origin add-on.

It does feel quite speedy, though. Could possibly be what I start using in the
future to read HN articles.

------
hammock
The headline in this submission fails to deliver the primary message of the
actual op, which is that Firefox focus is a lightweight mobile browser. That
it blocks third-party tracking by default is secondary

~~~
zaphirplane
Just an FYI, by default it phones home to Mozilla.

~~~
hammock
Yeah that was kind of my point, this isn't intended to be a "private browser"
and the headline misleads

------
manaskarekar
There's also the duckduckgo app, which seems similar to this, although not
sure how they differ.

[https://duckduckgo.com/app](https://duckduckgo.com/app)

~~~
moosingin3space
On Android, Focus appears to use the Gecko renderer. My guess is that the DDG
app uses the system webview.

~~~
feikname
It uses Android WebView componenent (in 1.2.1, I am not sure about future
releases.)

You can install the Gecko version if you compile the code yourself for now.
Although I believe they will probably switch to Servo instead of Gecko once it
is ready.

------
keyle
Also check out Brave. I found Brave and I really like it.

[https://www.brave.com/](https://www.brave.com/)

------
k2enemy
Does Focus have a "HTTPS everywhere" feature? I didn't see mention of it on
the site, so I'm guessing not. That is one thing that I'm sorely missing on
iOS.

Edit: It seems not: [https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
ios/issues/155](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/155)

------
makenova
My favorite feature is that it blocks ads in safari. I'm surprised more people
and Mozilla aren't mentioning it more.

------
moosingin3space
I like this app a lot -- very fast and convenient.

Could this someday integrate Tor, making it sort of an amnesiac Tor Browser
for mobile?

~~~
feikname
It is already planned to be implemented into the Ebony milestone, which itself
is planned to be released on October 12 of this year.

This is the relevant issue on their GitHub repo: [https://github.com/mozilla-
mobile/focus-android/issues/66](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
android/issues/66)

edit: Please note that this is for the Android version only.

~~~
moosingin3space
Wonder if they could embed the Tor proxy into the apk, that way it would be
completely transparent -- no need to download Orbot whatsoever. This might
also work for iOS

I like and use Orbot, but requiring it isn't the greatest UX.

------
abawany
I have really come to appreciate this browser even though I have been using it
for just about a month. It is fast and clean. Clicking links from email and
knowing they will open in effectively a private browser instance is a great
feeling. I missed the multi-tab feature for a little bit but have now
adjusted.

~~~
y2bd
Did it use to support multiple tabs?

~~~
moosingin3space
No, it doesn't -- I think the GP is stating that they were used to multiple
tabs in a browser before they switched to Focus.

~~~
abawany
That is correct. I use Firefox as my normal mobile browser and opening new
tabs for links was what I was familiar with. I haven't missed this too much
with Firefox Focus (I actually use Firefox Klar from F-Droid, which is the
German variant of Focus without GA libraries) and have come to love its speed
and cleanliness. EDIT: clarifying my complicated and confusing initial
sentence.

------
JepZ
I wouldn't consider tabs 'every beta bell and whistle' :-/

If you can live without tabs, try it, it's great.

~~~
482794793792894
Focus was initially intended for users who are concerned about privacy, but in
no way short of helpless in actually trying to get it. The type of user that
has trouble finding or even understanding Private Browsing in Firefox. (Focus
does not actually protect privacy more than Firefox's Private Browsing mode
either.)

Launching a separate app on the other hand is a familiar concept and does also
explain quite nicely that browsing history won't be saved, as it's normal that
data does not get shared between apps, whereas Private Browsing is a separate
concept that needs understanding.

And this in effect had implications on the design. Not having tabs was a
deliberate design choice, because this type of casual user does generally not
understand those either.

That it would get so much adoption in the tech world was very much unexpected.

So, tabs are being worked on, Tor integration is coming, this sort of stuff.
Tabs might take a little while still, though: [https://github.com/mozilla-
mobile/focus-android/issues/960](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
android/issues/960)

~~~
JepZ
Thanks for the background information, I am looking forward to Focus 3.0 now
:-)

------
ohsnapman
I've been using this on Android for weeks. It's super fast, blocks a lot of
annoying ads (think jumpy mobile overlays). No bookmarks or tabs, so if you're
looking at a recipe for a dish you're making, there's always a chance it gets
wiped. Just use Chrome for that. Highly recommend.

------
dgranda
I have tried to set normal Firefox (55) for Android browser to open links by
default in private mode but unfortunately I don't know how.

Why "browser.privatebrowsing.autostart" set to "true" does not work on Android
version?

PS: I know I can clear everything (cookies, history, etc.) on exit.

------
aorth
I've been using this on and off for a few months since it came out. It's very
smooth and enjoyable to use for looking things up quickly. But Samsung
Internet Browser's[0] content blockers (AdBlock Fast, Disconnect) is also
smooth and does a better job of blocking ads than Focus. Neither are as good
as uBlock Origin, of course, but then you must use the "real" Firefox on
Android which is not very smooth and feels very foreign on Android.

[0]
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.androi...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.sbrowser&hl=en)

------
habosa
First of all I want to say this is fantastic. A 2.5MB Android browser that's
blazing fast and beautiful.

However it seems to default to HTTP not HTTPS. That's a deal breaker.

~~~
lern_too_spel
It's 2.5 MB because it's a thin UI on Chrome Web View, not that there's
anything wrong with that.

------
nfriedly
Using Firefox on iOS is kind of frustrating - I can have either tabs or ad
blocking, but not both. I want Firefox and Firefox Focus to merge on iOS.

~~~
st3fan
Sign up for the beta at [https://www.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/channel/ios/](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/ios/)
\- Firefox will get the same blocks lists as Focus pretty soon.

~~~
nfriedly
Awesome, signed up - Thanks!

------
Abishek_Muthian
Even if apps which don't include analytics package release via Google play
store would be subject to collection of device identification metrics. Which
could be prevented using module such as Xprivacy as shown here -
[https://imgur.com/a/AuARo](https://imgur.com/a/AuARo)

------
bprasanna
Been using it for past couple of months. Its really good. Easy to use, pro-
privacy and light weight. Thanks to Mozilla.

------
abhv
All of the language seems to indicate that Focus only blocks "trackers." Does
it also block ads?

------
hkmurakami
Imagine what the landscape would be like if FF had gone ahead with its
adblocking efforts 5(?) years ago.

~~~
482794793792894
It would probably be dead. Why would webpage owners support it, if it blocks
their revenue?

------
exceptione
As an alternative, you can install the regular Firefox (for android at least)
and install the uBlock extension. If you don't like the telemetry, like
myselves, you just

    
    
      type about:config in the address bar, and
      search telemetry (just by typing) -> disable
      

done

------
SHAKEDECADE
Meh. It's been on my iphone for about a year and I've used it maybe a dozen
times. It would be nice to be able to open a link from another browser (eg.
Endless) but the option isn't available. So it goes by the wayside.

~~~
boek
I think you will like our next build :)

------
gramakri
Is there a reason why 'Bing' cannot be set as the default search engine?

~~~
AaronMT
No idea. I’ll file an issue and look into it.

~~~
AaronMT
Filed as [https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-
ios/issues/334](https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-ios/issues/334) for
iOS

------
WhiteSource1
Have you seen Ericom Shield - [http://www.ericom.com/solutions/secure-
browsing/](http://www.ericom.com/solutions/secure-browsing/)

------
endgame
Is it just me, or does the article have a giant animated GIF of the word
"simple"? Shouldn't it, y'know, have a picture of the browser or something
useful?

~~~
quickthrower2
Wow I didn't notice that the first time. Talk about ad blindness.

------
geokon
What's the difference between this and Firefox Klar?

It's what comes up on FDroid and sounds identical.. though FDroid strangely
doesn't host Firefox (Vanilla)..

~~~
lnrdgmz
>I can't find Firefox Focus in Germany, Austria or Switzerland

>Klar by Firefox is the German-language version and only available in Germany,
Austria, and Switzerland. It includes the same features as the English-
language app Focus by Firefox.

[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/difference-between-
fire...](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/difference-between-firefox-
focus-and-firefox-klar)

------
speg
This needs the ability to destroy pages when leaving the app. That way I can't
accidentally leave my porn in a tab and have someone find it later

~~~
kijin
Firefox Focus has no tabs and no history. Just close the active window and
it's gone.

~~~
speg
But if I press the home button to exit the app because my boss is walking up
to my desk and then go to show him something on my phone.. he could find some
unmentionables. Closing the app could have the same action as closing the
page.

~~~
st3fan
You have to hit the Erase button.

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m-j-fox
I like it. Really turns everything on its head. You're logged out. You can't
post or comment. Lurking will be good for me.

------
ourcat
Does/will it support the getUserMedia requirements for WebRTC on iOS (since
it's coming to iOS 11)?

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etherealG
This is one of the few free ways to get adblocking on safari on ios. It's
great!

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geonnave
Oh, I don't believe they missed the opportunity to name it Firefocus.

~~~
quickthrower2
That's a terrible name

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hh2222
Major bummer ... not compatible with iOS 9 on older devices.

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aidenn0
So is this like an always-on incognito plus privacy badger?

~~~
482794793792894
Yeah, essentially.

A more precise comparison would be always-on incognito plus Disconnect[1]. So,
it uses a dumb tracker block list like it could also be enforced by uBlock
Origin, and the list that Firefox uses is the list that the Disconnect devs
put together.

Then, again, it also depends on which browser's incognito mode you're talking
about. Firefox's Private Browsing comes with Tracking Protection, which uses
this same block list. So, privacy-wise this is actually identical to Firefox's
Private Browsing mode.

[1]: [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/addon/disconnect/](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/addon/disconnect/)

------
linkmotif
Been using this for a while on iOS. Very convenient!

------
noja
No tabs? Unusable. Great product otherwise.

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pvsukale3
I use it to watch porn.

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sweep3r
New? How come I've been using it for years?

~~~
feikname
Aren't you mistaken for Firefox? This is Firefox Focus, a completely different
product.

Although I'm not sure when the first iOS version was released.

~~~
acdha
The iOS version has been out since 2015:

[https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9870860/mozilla-focus-
ad-...](https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/8/9870860/mozilla-focus-ad-blocker-
ios-app-store-download)

------
desireco42
It looks like someone is copying certain Brave browser :). Not a bad thing at
all, copy from the best.

~~~
desireco42
FWIW I tried it on my phone and it works fairly well. Glad we have one more
option.

------
miguelrochefort
Mozilla is targeting technophobes now?

This whole privacy meme is getting out of hand. I struggle to relate with this
community nowadays...

~~~
482794793792894
With this browser, yes, they are very much targetting technophobes. There's a
huge number of people that would like to protect their privacy, but feel
absolutely helpless at that. This is Mozilla trying to help these people. This
does however not mean that Mozilla as a whole is now targetting technophobes.

Also, Focus has surprisingly been adopted by tons of power users. As a result,
Mozilla is now very much working on features for non-technophobes, like tabs,
and power users, like Tor support.

------
EpicEng
After nearly a decade of using Chrome I decided to give FF another shot,
having initially switched over due to slowness, an insatiable thirst for
memory, and the single process model. I installed on both Windows (10 Pro) and
Mac OS.

Initial impressions were good; it seemed snappy, I liked the UI, and it was
using less memory than Chrome with the same number of tabs open. A couple of
days in things went downhill.

On Mac OS I was getting short freezes every ~10 seconds. I found similar
complaints ranging over a period of nearly five years, but no clear
resolution. This morning I had FF lock up multiple times while editing Jira
tickets. Since FF is still a single process, the entire browser was locked up
and required a hard kill, which cost me work.

So, no thanks mozilla, back to Chrome. I know this is one person with one
experience, but man, this one experience was pretty off-putting. Maybe I'll
try again in another decade.

~~~
Max_Mustermann
You probably used version 55. If you're willing to give it another try, it
might work quite differently once is on version 57, Nov 14, from what I last
read: massive changes are coming, but mainly starting from that version.

~~~
EpicEng
I did, I'll give it a try

