this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2024
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Firefox Android has a new stupid menu (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I'm not one to usually diss new UI changes, but this one grinds my gears.

Firefox for Android has released a new menu design. It organizes everything a little differently, which is alright it looks fresh. But 2 things are really annoying and a continuous design trend in Firefox.

  • The option to open page in external app has been tucked away in a sub menu. I used this often and it was in the top level menu before. Companies just love hiding things in menus for no reason.
  • the option to open a private tab as a normal tab is GONE. This is how I use Firefox: someone sends me a link, I click on it and it opens in a private tab by default. If I need to sign in to see it (e.g. private Instagram links) then I open it in a normal tab. This option is now simply gone.

So yeah that's my rant. I'll see if I open a bug requesting the 2nd issue back.

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[–] Carighan 51 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

the option to open a private tab as a normal tab is GONE. This is how I use Firefox: someone sends me a link, I click on it and it opens in a private tab by default. If I need to sign in to see it (e.g. private Instagram links) then I open it in a normal tab. This option is now simply gone.

I'm going to wager this is such a hyper-niche use case that the devs might genuinely not be aware of anybody doing this at all. Reminds me of the relevant XKCD, basically.

It's already acknowledged by the devs though, the feature should still/again be there soon, but it stays a nightly-only feature for the time being.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This is exactly why usage analytics are important metrics...

[–] Carighan 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah but everyone turns them off or blocks them, then wonders why seemingly Mozilla never considers their use case. You made it invisible to see that use case, what did you expect? 😂

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

This is also solved by extensions. (Link in other comment)

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I highly doubt that. Why else would this feature exist? To me this features purpose seems explicitly to open a tab with persistent cookies.

[–] Carighan 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I meant not that the situation couldn't come up at all, but that someone uses it as their normal way of browsing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

I also doubt that, as this is a feature inherited from Firefox Focus, to open links in private tabs by default.