Firefox Nightly for Android to get full add-ons support

[harlan4096]

The Nightly version of the new Firefox web browser for Google's Android operating system will soon get full add-ons support according to a post by Mozilla's

Add-ons Community Manager Caitlin Neiman on the official Mozilla Add-ons blog.

Mozilla launched a completely redesigned version of Firefox for Android in July 2020. The browser replaced the underlying engine with a Mozilla's new mobile browser engine GeckoView to improve web compatibility and performance of the browser.

Firefox users were migrated to the new version automatically, provided that the automatic update function was not disabled. One of the main issues that some users experienced after the upgrade was that add-ons support was limited.

Tip: check out our tips for the new Firefox for Android.

The new Firefox supported nine extensions, and not the thousands of extensions that were supported by the previous versions. While these were the most popular based on user installs, it meant that Firefox users noticed that all other extensions were disabled and could not be used anymore.

Mozilla did promise to bring full add-ons support to Firefox, and it appears that a first step is being made soon in that regard.

Neiman reveals that Firefox Nightly for Android will soon get full add-ons support. Full support means that users of the particular version may install any add-on that is available on the organization's official Mozilla AMO website. Not all extensions may work in Firefox for Android as some may rely on functionality only available in the desktop client.

Firefox Nightly is the cutting edge development version of the Firefox browser both on desktop and mobile. The first step is designed specifically for add-on developers who may use the Nightly version to test their extensions for compatibility and functionality. According to Neiman, Mozilla expects to integrate support in September 2020.

Mozilla unlocked two extensions in the current Nightly version that users may install from within the mobile browser directly. Video Background Play Fix and Google Search Fixer are useful extensions. The first fixes background play functionality on Android on some sites that prevent background play, the second overrides the user-agent string that the browser presents to Google Search to get the same search experience on Google Search that Chrome users get.

Neiman does not mention when (if) full add-ons support will reach the stable version of Firefox for Android. She states that Mozilla's "plans for add-ons support on release have not been solidified beyond" what has been mentioned in the post. In other words: Nightly will get full add-ons support, stable will get some recommended extensions added.
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