That is how I benefit from Firefox on my Android telephone

Not too way back, I aired my grievances about Google Chrome’s shortcomings on Android. In comparison with many options, Chrome isn’t as versatile or customizable, leaving me to both take care of its quirks or discover one thing else. Whereas I haven’t kicked it off my telephone, Mozilla Firefox has usurped it as my go-to internet browser on Android.

For these uncertain about migrating to Firefox from Chrome, I need to provide just a few setup suggestions, insights, and suggestions for maximizing your Firefox shopping expertise on Android.

Like most apps and Android telephones in 2025, it is advisable discover the settings and options to get probably the most out of Firefox.

Listed below are just a few checkboxes and toggles I go to instantly after putting in the browser:

Firefox’s homepage consists of recommended content material that I’d slightly ignore. Fortunately, the browser permits me to cover all of it, and I select to try this.

• Faucet on the three-dot menu button, then choose Customise homepage. I uncheck each field on this checklist, however some could also be helpful. Soar again in permits you to shortly return to a earlier shopping session, whereas Lately visited shows a listing of websites you’ve opened in prior periods.

Allow the underside tackle bar

Google Chrome’s steady channel lacks this selection, however putting the tackle bar on the backside of the show improves accessibility by leaps and bounds. There’s no have to stretch my thumb to the highest of the show to entry it.

• Faucet the three-dot menu button > Settings > Customise > toggle on Backside beneath the Tackle bar location part.

Soar from tab to tab extra effectively

Firefox permits you to change tabs by swiping the Tackle bar. That is even higher when positioned on the foot of the display screen, permitting you to do it with one hand.

• Faucet the three-dot menu button > Settings > Customise > toggle on Swipe tackle bar sideways to modify tabs.

Disable information assortment

In case you’re a privacy-minded person, go to the Information assortment submenu inside Settings. Right here, you possibly can cease your browser from sending efficiency information to Mozilla.

Allow exterior obtain supervisor help

Google Chrome forces you to obtain content material via its obtain supervisor, however Firefox offers customers an choice. As a 1DM person, I frequently go on bigger recordsdata to it for background downloading. A easy toggle permits this characteristic.

• Faucet the three-dot menu button > Settings > toggle on Exterior obtain supervisor below the Superior part.

Though I wish to maintain this stuff instantly after putting in Firefox, your mileage might differ. You would possibly take pleasure in having a listing of shortcuts in your homepage or use Firefox’s inner downloader. The good factor is that Firefox permits you to select.

In case you require one thing specific, you possibly can go for a Firefox fork that’s extra attuned to your wants. As an illustration, I exploit Firefox Focus for quick-fire searches. It doesn’t maintain on to go looking historical past, making it an ideal tertiary browser.

Iceraven gives extra technical customers a swathe of further choices, together with about:config help and fewer browser analytics reporting instruments.

All good trendy browsers help extensions. These third-party add-ons improve the shopping expertise by including options to the browser itself or enhancing the assorted websites I go to. Google Chrome for Android doesn’t but help extensions, however Firefox does. It’s one of many main causes Mozilla’s browser is my go-to over Google’s on my telephone.

What’s additionally nice about Firefox’s extension help is its broad selection. In accordance with Mozilla, over 1,800 can be found. Most of the extensions for desktop are additionally accessible for the smaller display screen, permitting me to (nearly) reproduce my desktop shopping expertise on my telephone.

I attempt to preserve my put in extension checklist on Android to a minimal, however these I exploit enhance my internet shopping expertise in ways in which I can’t do with out.

Right here’s a listing of my favourite Firefox extensions for Android and what they do:

• uBlock Origin: A easy but highly effective content material blocker for Firefox. It helps loads of filter lists for particular varieties of promoting content material, widgets, and people annoying cookie pop-up messages.
• Darkish Reader: I battle to browse black-on-white web sites at evening, however Darkish Reader saves my eyes. It forces websites to load with a darkish background, and it’s extremely simple to make use of.
• Tampermonkey: It is a userscript addon that enables me to change how sure web sites function or load. There’s an enormous library of trusted userscripts, and my favourite is enabling infinity shopping on boards, however that is simply scratching the floor.
• Previous Reddit Redirect: I detest the fashionable Reddit structure on Android, so this little extension forces the location to load the previous UI.

There are a bunch of different extensions on the market that’ll serve your specific wants. To browse the total checklist of choices inside Firefox, faucet the three-dot menu button > choose Extensions > Extensions Supervisor. The browser will provide a listing of Really helpful extensions, however faucet Discover extra extensions to view the 1000’s of choices accessible.

Highly effective search choices have slowly turn out to be a very powerful factor on my telephone’s homescreen. Many customers will depend on Google’s search bar widget, whereas those that make use of third-party launchers might go for their built-in techniques. Nevertheless, I’ve just lately adopted a brand new strategy: the Firefox Search widget.

I pair this with customized search engine choices that permit me to question different search engines like google and yahoo or AI instruments. I’ve written a separate information detailing the method, however I’ll give you a short overview of including customized search engines like google and yahoo to Firefox:

• Faucet the three-dot menu button, choose Settings > Search > Handle different search engines like google and yahoo > + Add search engine. Insert a customized search string URL, identify the engine, and that’s it.

This little trick permits me to make use of ChatGPT and Perplexity as fast gateways to direct data on-line, and I don’t have to undergo their particular apps, both.

So, how does the Firefox Search widget match into all of this? Effectively, it makes use of whichever default search engine I select. At present, that’s Perplexity for me, however you possibly can go for DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, and extra. So, by putting the widget on my residence display screen, I can bounce immediately right into a search via my chosen service. It’s actually neat!

There are some downsides, although. Tapping the widget doesn’t open a textual content discipline however as an alternative acts as a shortcut to Firefox itself. I’d additionally admire an choice to pick a search service from the widget. However, it does appear par for the course. The Chrome widget operates equally however doesn’t have the choice to go looking through third-party channels like Firefox.

Regardless, the choice to go looking the net utilizing companies apart from Google Search is sufficient motive for me to make use of Firefox’s resolution.

As an Android telephone person, Google Chrome has to have a spot on my telephone. Some websites simply don’t work effectively on Firefox, and the majority of Google’s properties are extra simply accessible via Chrome, particularly when logged in. Nevertheless, that is additionally a flaw.

I need to preserve my shopping exercise siloed in a unique browser. If I have to entry a Google property or information saved on a Google service, I exploit Chrome. If it’s anything, I’ll use Firefox or another.

If I have to sync my desktop and telephone shopping information, I don’t want Google. As a substitute, Firefox Sync supplies a helpful browser syncing different for folks like me utilizing a Mozilla account. This enables me to entry the identical Firefox expertise throughout a number of gadgets.

Because it’s a completely separate platform and requires a unique account, I can simply sync shopping information between my desktop and my Android telephone with out cross-pollinating my Google account information. I’m not a privateness nut, however I choose maintaining my shopping habits away from Google’s eye. Firefox permits me to do that.

Mozilla Firefox is on no account excellent. It’s why I’ve a collection of different browsers put in for hair-on-fire moments. Nonetheless, it’s an extremely versatile browser for Android. Though I’ve tried and loved a number of options, together with Arc Search and Courageous, I nonetheless depend on Firefox for my day-to-day on-line travels.