Firefox 106 Gains Quick Access to Private Browsing, Tab History, PDF Editor Shortcut and More

[MacRumors]

Mozilla today announced the launch of the next-generation version of Firefox, which adds several useful new features to the browser.

Firefox 106 adds a new private browsing shortcut that can be pinned to the desktop to make it easy to open up a Private Browsing window, plus Mozilla has redesigned the Private Browsing mode with a more modern look and a default dark theme.

A new Firefox View feature offers up access to 25 of a Firefox user's most recently closed tabs, and it will have a continuity feature that allows users signed into a Firefox Account to see the last three active tabs that were opened on other devices. Firefox View is limited to the desktop as of now.

There is a PDF editor shortcut that offers direct editing capabilities, plus Mozilla has introduced a text recognition feature. On macOS 10.15 and later, Mac users can separate and reuse text from an image.

The latest version of Firefox can be downloaded today on the Mac and on iOS devices.

Article Link: Firefox 106 Gains Quick Access to Private Browsing, Tab History, PDF Editor Shortcut and More

 

[sw1tcher]

Firefox 106 adds a new private browsing shortcut that can be pinned to the desktop to make it easy to open up a Private Browsing window

I just press Command + Shift + P if I already have Firefox open

 

[CheesePuff]

I have a feeling Firefox will be seeing a decent marketshare increase over the next year as lots of diehard Chrome users leave due to the manifest v3 changes being implemented

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I'll just leave this here.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

When will safari implement individual cookie jars?

 

[grouch]

cmd+shift+p was too slow 🤣

Firefox is a fantastic browser and more people should be using it.

 

[saudor]

I wish the browser focused on efficiency vs constantly pushing out new features. It's so inefficient compared to even chrome/edge. Even downloading a file chews quite a large portion of a core

EDIT: adding in charts.

 

[MacLawyer]

I really like Firefox. I can't understand why it isn't higher up on the most used browser list.

 

[maryland]

They finally made a Big Sur icon…

…that looks super off in both light and dark mode 😕

 

[eicca]

Firefox is super fast and I’ve never had a problem with insufficient resources on any machine I’ve tried it on.

Brave is faster still, and I might migrate to that if I could just find a way to disable favicons on bookmarks and tabs.

 

[vegetassj4]

From Mosaic to Netscape Navigator, Mozilla then Firefox. (a splash of Opera at some point) Now mainly Safari for the keychain integration trap.

I do still use Safari in Windows for old times sake if nothing else.

 

[Demonknight]

A shame Firefox still does not have support for Passkey QR code sign-in when using my Windows PC. The feature is enabled in Chrome and Edge browsers.

 

[Steve121178]

I have a feeling Firefox will be seeing a decent marketshare increase over the next year as lots of diehard Chrome users leave due to the manifest v3 changes being implemented

Chrome users will use Chrome. No one's going to abandon it over things they are either not aware of or don't care about.

The only reason Edge is seeing some traction is because a lot of enterprises are now forcing it to be the primary browser and relegating Chrome to optional or just blacklisted. And that's ok as Edge is a fine browser with what Microsoft have done with it.

No one's migrating to Firefox from Chrome in any serious volume.

 

[CheesePuff]

Chrome users will use Chrome. No one's going to abandon it over things they are either not aware of or don't care about.

The only reason Edge is seeing some traction is because a lot of enterprises are now forcing it to be the primary browser and relegating Chrome to optional or just blacklisted. And that's ok as Edge is a fine browser with what Microsoft have done with it.

No one's migrating to Firefox from Chrome in any serious volume.

We'll see in a years time... a good portion of the web development community and the millions of uBlock Origin users will be moving

 

[FlavorfulTreat]

I just press Command + Shift + P if I already have Firefox open

A keyboard command! What are you?? A wizard???! /s

 

[saberahul]

I wish the browser focused on efficiency vs constantly pushing out new features. It's so inefficient compared to even chrome/edge. Even downloading a file chews quite a large portion of a core

For me, Firefox is most efficient between chrome and edge and Firefox.

 

[MrGunny94]

I use Safari for personal things and Firefox for work related things! Works perfectly.

In Linux I use exclusively Firefox.

 

[5232152]

When people ask me about browser choice I say Firefox if they are non-technical and Librewolf if they are.

 

[coolfactor]

When will safari implement individual cookie jars?

What do you mean? Unlike some other browsers, Safari has strict Private Browsing where each tab has its own sessions/cookies/storage. I was recently trying DuckDuckGo (the browser), but private sessions were shared across tabs in the same window. That's not my preferred implementation.

 

[winxmac]

Most websites are now designed to work with Chrome/Chromium which is why websites feel slow/have some weird graphics/display issues with Firefox and its forks/derivatives...

I'm still using Firefox ESR 78.15 due to UI changes in the newer version I don't want to deal with... I am using the latest version of Chrome and Edge for things that need to be secured...

Even though Firefox became publicly available in 2004 and Chrome in 2008, Firefox user base has been nowhere near when it was at its peak...

Unlike mobile OS which used to be three way [Windows, android, iOS] but is now duopoly, browser space is almost Google Chrome/Chromium and its forks/derivatives...

 

[coolfactor]

Where is this Private Browsing Shortcut that you speak of, MacRumors?

And "pinned to the desktop"?... that's not Mac lingo. 🤪

 

[coolfactor]

Most websites are now designed to work with Chrome/Chromium which is why websites feel slow/have some weird graphics/display issues with Firefox and its forks/derivatives...

I'm still using Firefox ESR 78.15 due to UI changes in the newer version I don't want to deal with... I am using the latest version of Chrome and Edge for things that need to be secured...

Even though Firefox became publicly available in 2004 and Chrome in 2008, Firefox user base has been nowhere near when it was at its peak...

Unlike mobile OS which used to be three way [Windows, android, iOS] but is now duopoly, browser space is almost Google Chrome/Chromium and its forks/derivatives...

Nonsense. You're holding on to the past way too strongly. Things have changed dramatically since those days.

 

[Hurda]

The article left one the biggest change in terms of webstandards:

A major upgrade to our WebRTC capabilities (libwebrtc library upgraded from version 86 to 103) brings multiple improvements:
- Better screen sharing for Windows and Linux Wayland users.
- Lower CPU usage and increased frame rates during WebRTC screen capture on macOS.
- RTP performance and reliability improvements.
- Richer statistics.
- Cross-browser and service compatibility improvements.

Firefox 106.0, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes

www.mozilla.org

 

[TheMacDaddy1]

Chrome users will use Chrome. No one's going to abandon it over things they are either not aware of or don't care about.

The only reason Edge is seeing some traction is because a lot of enterprises are now forcing it to be the primary browser and relegating Chrome to optional or just blacklisted. And that's ok as Edge is a fine browser with what Microsoft have done with it.

No one's migrating to Firefox from Chrome in any serious volume.

Umm they will figure it out once they start seeing ad's. I currently use Edge with Ublock and a few other extensions.

Sadly with FireFox I do run into web pages that just do not work. Safari is a sad joke in so many ways. If Edge uses Manifest V3 with no fall back support for Ublock, I will ditch and never install it again. I guess I will go to FireFox and Safari to get things done.

 

[Kazgarth]

Firefox never disappoints when it comes to privacy.