Firefox Focus for Android gets tabs

Mozilla today released Firefox 9.0 for iOS and updated Firefox Focus for Android. The iOS browser is getting tracking protection, improved sync, and iOS 11 compatibility. The Android privacy browser is getting tabs. You can download the former from Apple’s App Store and the latter from Google Play.

Mozilla doesn’t break out the exact numbers for Firefox, though the company does say “half a billion people around the world” use the browser. Firefox for iOS was released in November 2015 and has been steadily updated ever since. Firefox Focus for Android, meanwhile, only arrived in June, but it has also received some love.

This is the first time Firefox has offered tracking protection on iOS, and Nick Nguyen, vice president of product at Mozilla, notes that it’s finally possible “thanks to changes by Apple to enable the option for 3rd party browsers.” This essentially means iPhone and iPad users with Firefox and iOS 11 will have automatic ad and content blocking in Private Browsing mode, and the option to turn it on in regular browsing. This is the same feature that’s available in Firefox for Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as the same ad blocking technology used in Firefox Focus for Android and iOS.

As for Firefox Focus for Android, Mozilla’s last update to that browser was in July. At the time, we wrote: “It’s great to see Mozilla listening to feedback, but the biggest feature request is still missing: tabs.” Just adding more words in order to get to two hundred and fifty.