Mozilla Makes Private Browsing in Firefox Easier, Adds PDF Editing, 'Firefox View'

The latest Mozilla Firefox web browser update places more focus on privacy, introduces PDF editing, and adds a new "Firefox View" tab history feature. 

Mozilla’s sales pitch for Firefox 106, announced Tuesday for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, leads off with privacy–the focus of much of the non-profit’s recent browser development.

Unlike previous updates, which blocked such common tracking techniques as third-party cookies and browser fingerprinting, this release makes smaller changes: a private browsing shortcut that you can place on your desktop for quick switching, plus a default dark mode so it's clear when private browsing is enabled.

Mozilla created a new feature called "Firefox View" for desktop browser users which rolls out with today's release. It acts as a short history of your browser activity (think of it as a supercharged new tab experience), keeping track of up to 25 of your recently-closed tabs. This isn't limited to just one device, though. Firefox will remember the contents of those tabs across all the devices you are logged into. On mobile devices, you'll see the last three tabs you had open on other devices.

Firefox’s PDF viewer, meanwhile, is now a PDF editor as well, allowing users to mark up documents and sign them without leaving the browser. This catches Firefox up to Microsoft’s Edge, which has featured PDF annotation for years, and sets it ahead of Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome. But Firefox still trails Safari, Chrome and Microsoft’s Edge in not offering a tab-groups feature aside from its weirdly Android-only Collections. 

Mozilla is also expanding its Firefox Colorways feature, which allows for color-based customization of the browser. The latest, limited edition of the Colorways wallpapers were produced by streetwear and sneaker designer Keely Alexis (best known for the Nike Air Jordans).

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And finally, Mac users get one extra feature in this update: automatic text recognition in images and PDFs, provided they run the 2020-vintage macOS Catalina or later.

Among the major browser choices, Firefox continues to stand out for its strong privacy protections and independent development. But those traits have not stopped its share of the browsing market from steadily declining. Statcounter’s automated measurements show Firefox had more than a quarter of the US desktop market back in 2010, but now it’s down to just 6.75%.

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