Mozilla released a new major stable version of its open source Firefox web browser on May 19th, 2026. Firefox 151 includes several new features and changes, including a new Firefox Home page (new tab page), an option to clear all data in private sessions, and more.
Most Firefox users should receive the update automatically via the built-in updating functionality. Those who do not want to wait can launch the browser and go to Menu > Help > About Firefox to run a manual check for updates. The update to version 151.0 should be picked up at that point and installed automatically.
The very first thing you may — or may not — notice after the mandatory restart is the new home page of the browser. Mozilla says that this is just the first step in a wider redesign of the new tab page. For now, you can play around with new wallpapers by clicking on the pencil icon on the page to customize what you see.
On the privacy front, there are two main changes:
- A new button in private sessions. Activate the fire-button in the taskbar to get an option to clear all data in the private session and start anew. Previously, you had to close the session and start a new one to do that. Mozilla reveals that this will delete the history, cookies, and all other site data when executed.
- Protection against fingerprinting. The standard enhanced tracking protection feature of the open source browser now protects against fingerprinting attempts as well. This limits the data that scripts and sites may retrieve about the device and browser by up to 49 percent. Standard is the default mode. Previously, this was limited to the strict tracking protection setting.
Other than that, Linux users may now also back up Firefox profiles locally, just like Windows users. Best of all, these backed up profiles can be restored across platforms. The built-in browsing proxy, which Mozilla calls a VPN for marketing reasons, now supports choosing a location rather than connecting to one that Mozilla picks automatically.
While the selection is limited in comparison to many standalone VPN tools and the rollout is happening over time, it is a welcome addition that should improve the feature for some Firefox users.
Firefox 151, and the simultaneously released ESR-versions, fix several security issues on top of that. The aggregate rating is high and you can check out the list for the stable version here.