Firefox is a great choice for your default Android browser. It’s more secure than Chrome. And it offers tons of features. One of them is the principle of extension. Indeed, Firefox is one of the few mobile browsers that includes extensions, and for those who are used to them, it’s a real breath of fresh air.
Extensions enhance the functionality of the browser to improve security, efficiency and ease of use.
So I wanted to share with you the extensions that I consider essential for anyone using Firefox on Android.
Install extensions
Before we get started, I wanted to mention how to install extensions. It’s quite simple.
- Press the menu button (at the top right corner of the Firefox window) and tap Extensions.
- In the extension manager, find the extensions you want.
- Then press the associated + button to install what you need
- Confirm the installation by pressing Add (on request)
Each of these extensions is available and free to use. And that’s all it takes to install the extension on Firefox mobile. And now here is the list.
1. Clean up the URLs
ClearURLs removes tracking elements from URLs. This is one of the first extensions I recommend as it helps protect your privacy while browsing the internet.
Tap the gear icon to access other settings. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
ClearURLs also makes it easy to share URLs with others, without having to remove tracking elements from the address.
The extension can also:
- Be enabled for normal and private browsing
- Allow domain blocking
- Skip cleanup on local hosts
- Prevent trace injection via History API
- Show entry in context menu
- Block hyperlink auditing
- Filter request headers and tags
- You can also enable badges and statistics, and even see how many items have been blocked
2. NoScript Security Suite
NoScript Security Suite is one of the best security extensions for mobile Firefox. This extension protects against:
- Cross-site scripting attacks
- Cross-zone DNS rollovers
- CSRF attacks and ClickJacking attempts.
Here you can add NoScript specific websites. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
NoScript Security Suite can be run in normal or private mode and has settings for per-site permissions, appearance and advanced settings, such as sanitizing suspicious cross-site requests and cross-tab identity leak protection.
You can even add individual pages to NoScript Security Suite and customize their permissions. You can also allow certain pages to run JavaScript, Flash, and other types of executable content.
3. Dark reading book
If you’re a fan of dark mode, you’ll want this expansion. Dark Reader works on most websites – even when Android’s dark mode isn’t working – to invert the light colors on websites.
If you have a habit of reaching for your smartphone in the middle of the night, you’ve probably come across sites that don’t behave properly with Android’s dark mode. This extension solves this problem.
You can configure Dark Reader for each location. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
In terms of settings, you can customize Dark Reader per site or globally. You can access the Dark Reader settings by pressing the menu button in the upper right corner > Extensions > Dark Reader. On this page, you can customize the extension according to your needs.
4. Fix video playback in background
Do you find yourself opening a video stream and listening to its audio while doing something else on your smartphone? Without Video Background Play Fix, playback stops when you try to do something else.
With this extension, you can listen to the sound in the background, while doing something else in another window. The video continues to play, and you’ll always hear the sound, no matter what you’re doing on your smartphone.
As an added bonus, background playback on YouTube is a paid feature. But it’s free here. As with Dark Reader, there isn’t much to customize (apart from permissions and enabling extensions in Private Browsing).
5. Ghostery
Nobody likes things that slow down a website, like ads and tracking cookies. With Ghostery, these elements are blocked. Ghostery also automatically removes intrusive cookie pop-ups and disagrees with online tracking.
Ghostery automatically blocks a large number of tracking attempts. Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
With this extension, you can easily manage ad blocking, no tracking and delete cookies with one tap. You don’t have to worry about setting up Ghostery because it just works.
There are no settings to manage (other than enabling private mode and the usual permissions), so there’s no learning curve. Add the extension to Firefox and it will run in the background to protect you.
There, it’s over. These five extensions make your Firefox Mobile browser safer, more private and easier to use. Consider these extensions mandatory for every instance of Firefox for Android you use.