New feature available in the latest Firefox version

Dec 11, 2018 13:29 GMT  ·  By

Mozilla has rolled out a new update for Firefox browser, and as it’s working to make the browsing experience a more streamlined process, the company has also added a bunch of new features specifically developed with this goal in mind.

For example, beginning with this new version, Firefox browser displays recommendations for extensions that users can install to further enhance the capabilities of the application.

As I said before, extensions are an essential part of a modern browser, and this is one of the reasons other applications failed, including here Microsoft Edge.

Windows 10 users learned it the hard way, but Microsoft Edge, which was the new default in the operating system and replaced Internet Explorer, had a hard time competing against the other browsers on the market, and one of the reasons was the lack of extensions.

I personally tried to replace Vivaldi with Microsoft Edge several times before, but not having my favorite extensions is something that I can’t deal with especially since these add-ons are supposed to help me at work.

Getting back to Firefox, it’s pretty clear that Mozilla fully understands how important it is for the browser to enhance the experience with extensions, so version 64 introduces the concept of extensions recommendations.

The option to disable recommendations in Firefox 64

Basically, this feature is supposed to help you discover new extensions and make using certain services much easier and faster by simply recommending such extensions. In short, Firefox should now display a recommendation when loading a website that is known to offer a Firefox extension, with a small puzzle icon in the address bar launching the popup.

The message is clearly marked as “Recommended Extension” and it shows a small description of the extension, along with the official icon, name, and developer name. There’s also the rating and the number of users who reviewed the extension, along with a learn more link to read the entire description.

The popup includes buttons to install the extension with just one click, but also a “Not Now” option to hide message.

While this is certainly a feature that may come in handy to many, it could also be considered annoying and intrusive by others, and fortunately, Mozilla allows its users to disable it. To do this, you need to launch the browser and head over to the following location:

Menu > Options > General > Browsing The last option is the one that allows you to disable this feature and it is called: Recommend extensions as you browse Mozilla says that the extensions you see are manually picked by its editors and you shouldn’t be afraid that you’re going to be spammed because this won’t happen.

“Extensions are selected for recommendation through a thorough editorial and review process. Recommended extensions are exceptional extensions that are hand-selected by Mozilla’s editorial team. These extensions meet Mozilla’s highest standards for functionality, user experience, and security,” it says.

“Extension developers cannot pay for placement in the recommendation program, and Firefox does not receive any compensation as a result of this process. Recommendations are strictly intended to provide a better browsing experience for Firefox users.”

Also, it’s critical to know that these recommendations are provided based on the websites you visit or how you use the browser, but on the other hand, Mozilla guarantees that it does not store your browsing history or collect usage data for this feature. Everything is supposed to work with full privacy and without anyone looking at your data, despite the extensions manually picked by Mozilla engineers.

The new feature is exclusively available in Firefox 64 on all supported desktop platforms.

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The option to disable recommendations in Firefox 64
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