Chipp.in Tech News and Reviews

Here is one way to stop binging on YouTube so much

Posted on February 6, 2024February 6, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Look at those cute cats. Just one more video and I’m done for the day. Promise! One of the many appeals of YouTube is the site’s vast assortment of videos. There is probably nothing that you cannot watch on YouTube, with the exception of prohibited content of course. If you find a video you like, there is a good chance that hundreds, thousands or even more videos exist that are similar.

Google does a good job of pushing video recommendations to users. You get them on the startpage, while watching videos, and even after watching videos. Some vides may also autoplay after you finish watching a video. While it does not mean that these recommendations are great, they are not sometimes, they do parade new content in front of your eyes all the time.

In fact, you could probably spend the whole day on autopilot on YouTube without ever running out of something to watch.

Google knows that recommendations are key to keep users on the site. The more it knows about its users, the more likely it is that the next video may be of interest. Yes, YouTube gets it wrong at times.

I get a lot of Turkish video recommendations on YouTube, even though I do not speak the language and never watched a single Turkish video on the site. Still, most of the time, you get more of the same, which many users seem to like.

Binging may be a problem for some, especially if it keeps you from something more important. Some YouTube users seek for ways to limit binging on the site. While it may be easy for some, all it takes is to close the YouTube tab and that is that, it can be really difficult for others.

Read on to find out about one way that may help you with your binging on YouTube, at least a bit.

Stop binging on YouTube

One of the ways that YouTube may get you is through recommendations on the homepage. Open the YouTube homepage and you will see a list of recommendations. YouTube uses the watch history to show recommendations. The main intent is to provide users with something new to watch. This keeps them on the site and Google earns money through video ads and other ads on the site.

If you turn off the watch history, and delete all watched items, then you won’t get any recommendations on YouTube’s homepage anymore. It is a simple option that does require a Google account.

You could create a simple Google account for that, if you don’t want to stay signed-in on YouTube.

Here is how you disable the watch history on YouTube:

Open the YouTube website.
Sign-in to a Google account, if you have not done so already.
Activate the profile icon in the top right corner and select “Your data in YouTube”.
Scroll down to YouTube controls.
Check the “YouTube Watch History” status. If it reads on, click on the “on” line.
On the page that opens, select “turn off”.
An overlay with information opens. It tells you that you can only pause the history, not stop it entirely. Scroll down until the pause button becomes active and activate it.
Select “Delete old activity” on the next page to delete information about previously watched videos.
Select “all time” on the page that opens.
Select “delete” on the next page to finally delete the information.
Select “Got it” to go back to the main page.

When you go back to YouTube now, you should see no recommendations on the startpage.

You could also hide YouTube Shorts, especially if you do not find Shorts useful on the site, but happen to tune in from time to time anyway.

Closing Words

Obviously, not everyone may want to stay signed-in on YouTube just to limit binging on the video site. Working on self-control may also help. You could, for instance, make sure that everything else is done already before launching YouTube.

Another option that you have is to download YouTube videos instead of watching them online. Use a program like Vividl and download the video that interests you. You can play it locally then and do not get any recommendations while playing the video or afterwards.

Now You: do you binge on something?

Is YouTube slow? Your adblocker may be the reason

Posted on February 5, 2024February 5, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Google implemented a change recently that makes YouTube slow for some users. This is not a bug, but a deliberate action by Google to punish visitors that use adblockers.

It is quite easy to find out. Visit YouTube and check what happens. If you stare at a blank page for seconds, then you’ve experienced Google’s punishment first hand.

The code is rather simplistic. You can break it down to 1) check for adblocker and 2) delay loading by 5 seconds if an adblocker is found.

It is interesting to note that this may also affect YouTube Premium subscribers. YouTube Premium subscribers do not see ads on the site. They pay a monthly subscription fee for that. If YouTube Premium subscribers have an adblocker installed, loading will be delayed as well.

Google wants you to disable the adblocker on the site. While this speeds up the loading of YouTube, it also enables ads on the site. Not a problem for YouTube Premium subscribers, who may try this to resolve the slow loading issue.

Thankfully though, there are some options to speed up YouTube without disabling adblockers on the site.

Options to fix YouTube’s slowness

Option 1: new filter

This is one of the easier options. You add a new custom filter to your adblocker and YouTube should load faster again. Most adblockers support custom filters, but some may not.

Here is the filter:

youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.EXPERIMENT_FLAGS.web_enable_ab_rsp_cl, false)

Add this filter to your content blocker, e.g., uBlock Origin or Brave Browser, restart the browser and YouTube should load fast again.

Here is how you add the filter to Brave Browser:

Click on the Shield icon in the Brave address bar.
Select Filter lists.
Scroll down on the page that opens and paste the new filter into the “create custom filters” field.
Select save changes.
Restart Brave.

This is the way if you use uBlock Origin:

Select the uBlock Origin icon in the browser’s toolbar.
Activate the “open the dashboard” button.
Switch to the “My filters” tab.
Paste the line into the field on the page.
Select “apply changes”
Restart the browser.

Option 2: Frontends or third-party clients

This is another option. Instead of using YouTube directly in a browser or the official apps, you’d use a frontend in the browser or a third-party app.

Check out my guide on bypassing ads on YouTube without adblockers for a list of suggestions.

The main difference between a frontend and an app is simple:

Frontends — can be opened in any browser. They work like the YouTube website in the browser for the most part. Some features, for instance some that may require a YouTube account, may not work.
Third-party apps — these install on mobile devices. Run them instead of the dedicated YouTube app or the YouTube website. They may also have limitations.

Video playback and searches work in all instances.

Option 3: switch to extensions that skip or speed-up ads

This type of extension is relatively new. It does not block ads on YouTube, but it either skips them, if supported, or fast forwards them.

Install an extension like Ad Speedup to use the functionality. You need to disable your adblocker on YouTube and the new extension will take over for it.

Closing Words

A cat and mouse game is going on between Google and adblock users. Google seems dedicated to make the life of adblock users as miserable as possible, at least where it comes to interactions with YouTube. Adblock users, on the other hand, need to find new ways to deal with those.

Now You: do you use an adblocker YouTube on?

Windows 10 issue: File system error (-2147219196)

Posted on February 4, 2024February 4, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Some Windows 10 users reported issues with certain apps on their devices that refused to launch. Users noticed that default apps would not launch anymore on their systems or crash shortly after launch. Some received the error message File system error (-2147219196), others no error at all.

One user reported the issue on Microsoft’s official Answers forum. The thread blew up quickly. 380 users confirmed that they had the “same question”, and 524 replied to the original message.

The thread starter noted that Microsoft’s official Photos app would crash a few seconds after launch on a Windows 10 system. Double-clicks on photos returned the error message File system error (-2147219196) instead of a view of the selected image.

File system error (-2147219196) — source Richard / Microsoft Answers forum

The apps, including the Photos app, were all native apps of the operating system. Even Microsoft’s Feedback Hub app, used to report feedback and issues, did not work anymore on affected devices.

To sum it up: affected users are no longer able to launch (select) native Windows 10 apps on their devices.

Bug hunting

Users reported the issues elsewhere, including on Microsoft’s Answers forum. There, it quickly became clear that the issue could not be resolved easily. Rollbacks of updates and even reinstallations of Windows did not resolve the issue for affected users.

More and more reports poured in and some users managed to find commonalities. It became clear quickly that the issue affected older systems only. Devices with Intel Core 2 Duo and and Quad processors, as well as older AMD Athlon chips were affected, while devices with newer processors were not. All of these processors shared another commonality, the lack of support for SSE 4.2.

Tip: you can use the free program Glow to list hardware information.

Windows 10’s list of officially supported processors does not include Core 2 chipsets. Microsoft did not introduce barriers in Windows 10 to prevent the installation of the operating systems on devices with unsupported hardware.

The company introduced compatibility blocks in Windows 11. The operating system cannot be installed on devices with unsupported processors, at least not without hacks.

Any attempt to install Windows 11 on a device with an unsupported processor is blocked.

Windows 10 gets installed on devices with unsupported hardware. It may run a bit slower, but that seems to be the only sideeffect.

Microsoft is working on a solution

Microsoft employee Mahmoud G Saleh confirmed the issue and revealed that Microsoft is working on a resolution.

He wrote:

Hi, the Visual C++ team has identified the problem as a regression in the vclibs framework package that the Photos app and other apps depend on. The problem affects computers with older hardware (that do not support SSE 4.2 instructions). Microsoft is currently working on validating a solution and it’s expected to rollout to affected customers soon.

He confirmed that the issue is caused by a regression in a framework package, and that devices with processors that do not support SSE 4.2 instructions are affected.

Saleh posted the information on February 2, 2024. It is unclear when Microsoft is going to roll out a fix to affected users.

Good news is that Microsoft is working on a fix. Bad news is that it is unclear when the fix will be released.

Is the main purpose of Windows 11’s Settings Home page advertising?

Posted on February 4, 2024February 4, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

I never really liked the Home page of the Settings app that Microsoft introduced last year in Windows 11. Back then, I described it as half promotion half pointless.

Windows 11 users who open the Settings app see the home page by default. It features a mix of quick settings, which Microsoft calls recommended, account information, and, in some cases, promotions.

These promotions focused on OneDrive cloud storage and Microsoft 365 up until now. One ad unit displays “Try Microsoft 365” to the user, if no Microsoft 365 is detected.

Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that unlocks additional cloud storage and gives users access to the most recent versions of Microsoft Office. A subscription includes other benefits, such as premium templates or a dedicated Microsoft Defender app.

Now it appears that Microsoft is adding another ad unit to the home page. Discovered by Twitter user PhantomOcean3, the new unit promotes the Microsoft Copilot Pro subscription.

Microsoft Copilot is part of Windows. Operating system users may launch it with a click on the Copilot icon on the taskbar or the keyboard shortcut Windows-C. Soon, they may also use the dedicated Copilot key on keyboards of select devices to do so.

Those who do not require Windows Copilot may disable it.

Get Copilot Pro

The new unit is not enabled by default at this time. It was spotted in development builds and it is unclear if and when it lands in stable versions. My guess is that it will land this year in Windows 11, maybe even as part of the upcoming Moment update.

The unit advertises Microsoft Copilot Pro. The subscription gives users priority access to Microsoft’s Copilot AI. It is available for $20 per month in select regions at the time of writing.

Copilot Pro gives users priority access to the AI. Apart from that, it gives users 100 boosts for Designer per day. Designer is an AI image creator and boosts prioritize requests. While boosts are not required to use Designer, using the tool without boosts may take longer.

The Settings home page

The Settings home page has the following sections:

Recommended Settings — displays recent and commonly used settings.
Cloud Storage — lists used and available cloud storage, powered by OneDrive.
Bluetooth devices — manage, add, and remove Bluetooth devices.
Personalize your device — option to change the color mode and a link to personalization.
Microsoft 365 — an advert to try Microsoft 365. Subscribed users see options to manage their subscription.
Microsoft Copilot Pro — an advert for the Copilot Pro subscription.

If you don’t count the Cloud Storage unit as an ad, you get two units on the page. This means that 1/3 of the page is used for advertisement. If you add OneDrive to it, you get 1/2 that is used for ads.

The non-ad units are not that useful. Recommended settings displays dynamic options. While these appear limited, most options are just a click or two away anyway on the system.

Hiding the home page in Settings

Windows users may hide the Windows 11 Settings home page. There is no toggle, though. To hide it, Windows 11 users need to add an entry to the Registry.

Here is how that is done:

Open the Start Menu.
Type regedit.exe and press the Enter-key.
Confirm the UAC prompt.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
- Note: If one of the keys does not exist, create it with a right-click on the previous key and the selection of New > Key. Name it accordingly.
Right-click on Explorer and select New > String Value.
Name it SettingsPageVisibility.
Double-click on the new entry and set hide:home as the value.
Close the Registry Editor.
Restart the system.

The home page of the Settings app is gone. Windows 11 opens the System page instead, which it used to in the past.

You may undo the change at any time by deleting the Registry key again.

Closing Words

The idea of a Settings home page is not bad in itself. It could display popular and often used preferences to the user. Customization options could further expand the usefulness of the Settings page.

It seems unlikely that this functionality is introduced in future versions of Windows.

Now You: do you use the home page of the Settings app?

Ad Free on Prime Video does not mean ad free, apparently

Posted on February 3, 2024February 3, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

When Amazon announced that it would introduce ads in Prime Video for all customers, it revealed that customers could pay a few bucks per month extra to avoid advertisement on the service.

Prime Video customers from the United States may see ads already when they view shows and movies on the platform. Soon, starting next week, customers from other regions will also see ads on Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon customers who do not want ads on the platform may purchase an add-on, which Amazon calls Ad free. It turns out now that adding Ad Free to the Amazon Prime subscription does not really remove all ads on the platform.

Amazon may show trailers for shows to customers, even if they pay for an ad free experience. Clearly, Amazon does not define these trailers as advertisement. At least some customers may have a different opinion on that, especially since it appears no longer possible to skip these to access the actual content.

When is an ad an ad?

Are trailers for other shows ads? Considering that these trailers promote other content on the platform, they can be considered advertisement.

Back in the days of DVD videos, companies used to put trailers in front of the actual film or TV show. These were often unskippable as well. Now, Amazon seems to use the very same strategy to push other shows on its platform.

At least some Amazon customers who paid the extra $3 think that this is unacceptable.

Amazon may run into trouble in other regions with the introduction of ads on the platform and the option to pay more to remove these again. In Germany, consumer protection organizations believe that this change should be considered a price increase. Price increases need explicit customer approval in Germany and several other European countries.

Several organizations plan to take legal action against Amazon. There is a good chance that the court will decide against Amazon in the case. While this may not help Amazon customers in the United States and, maybe some other regions, it may in some regions.

Closing Words

Streaming services started out as “better” replacements for Cable TV. Customers would get access to an ad-free experience for a monthly fee.

Some services showed ads on their platforms from the get-go. Amazon was one of them, provided that trailers are considered ads.

Now it seems, that streaming is quickly turning into the same behemoth that it initially thought to slay. Most major streaming platforms support advertisement plans now. These are cheaper, but viewers have to watch several minutes of ads each hour.

Streaming service hopping still works as a way to counter price increases and ads on platforms. Sign-up for just a month or two instead of longer periods, and switch services regularly. This guarantees that you don’t miss shows that you want to watch, but without breaking the bank.

Now You: do you use streaming services?

Amazon launches the AI Clerk Rufus

Posted on February 2, 2024February 2, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Amazon launched Rufus to a small audience in the United States today. Rufus, a “generative AI-powered expert shopping assistant”, adds something to the shopping experience on Amazon that has been missing until now.

Online shopping, as comfortable as it is, lacks interactions with clerks. Even simple questions may remain unanswered on Amazon and other shopping sites.

Amazon maintains a question and answers section on its site for products, and these help sometimes. While it may be easy enough to find out if a particular shoe is available in a specific size, questions about the difference between AMD and Intel laptops may not be answered at all on Amazon’s website at the moment.

Getting the answer or information is often not a problem at local stores. Ask the clerk, and if the clerk is knowledgeable, you will get an answer.

Amazon introduces Rufus for exactly this. Rufus is a conversational AI that is designed to help shoppers on the site shop and buy products.

The AI was trained on Amazon’s product catalog, customer reviews, the questions and answers of the community, and information from “across the web”.

In other words, it may answer some of the questions that users may have about a particular product on Amazon. It is still necessary to look closely at the AI before you start using it.

Rufus, the AI clerk

Rufus may “answer customer questions on a variety of shopping needs and products, provide comparisons, and make recommendations based on conversational context” according to Amazon.

Amazon announced Rufus on its About Amazon website. Rufus may help shoppers in several ways. It may answer broad questions, such as “what to consider when buying running shoes” to very specific questions, e.g., if a pair of running shoes are durable.

Amazon gives a few general examples regarding Rufus’ capabilities:

Learn what to look for while shopping product categories
Shop by occasion or purpose
Get help comparing product categories
Find the best recommendations
Ask questions about a specific product while on a product detail page

Rufus is available in the official Amazon mobile app for a small subset of U.S. customers. Amazon plans to roll out Rufus to all U.S. customers in the coming weeks. No word on expansion to other markets outside the United States at this point.

Amazon published a short video on YouTube that announces the AI.

Closing Words

Rufus adds something to Amazon that was missing until now: the option to communicate with “someone” to get answers to questions or advice. Whether Rufus is capable of filling the missing role of clerks at Amazon remains to be seen. It may take years before it is mature enough to be of use to the majority of Amazon shoppers.

AI’s like Rufus may replace store clerks in the long run. Think of talking to an Android instead of a human when shopping at Footlockers or another store.

AI introduces the risk of false information. While human clerks may also give bad advice, AI may hallucinate and this introduces another dimension to interactions.

There is also the risk that shopping sites manipulate AIs to push certain products. Again, this may also happen in Stores, but with AI, it is turning into large scale operations.

Now You: would you communicate with AI tools while shopping?

0Patch patches Windows vulnerability that Microsoft did not consider “patchworthy”

Posted on February 1, 2024February 1, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Not every Windows vulnerability requires patching according to Microsoft. When Microsoft analyses reported vulnerabilities, it may conclude that a vulnerability does not meet the bar for servicing.

Exactly this happened to a security researcher recently who reported a Windows Event Log vulnerability to Microsoft. Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in a crash of the Windows Event Log service. The vulnerability requires authentication but no special user privileges. Attacks may crash the service on local or remote devices.

The vulnerability affects Windows 10 and Windows Server 2022 devices according to the researcher. 0Patch discovered later that it affects more Windows systems. On the client side, all Windows operating systems starting with Windows 7. On the server side, all Windows server operating systems starting with Windows Server 2008 R2.

The researcher published a proof of concept of the vulnerability on GitHub. A short demo GIF is also available there.

0Patch steps in, creates free micro-patch

Micro-patching service 0Patch analyzed the issue. It discovered that the proof of concept was “remarkably simple” and that attacks did not take more than a second to execute.

The Windows Event Log service restarts if it stops, but this happens only twice according to 0Patch. Attackers may run the attack multiple times to stop it for the session.

No events are logged when the service is not running. This means that events cannot be read either while the service is down. 0Patch notes on its website that Windows keeps a separate record of security and system events when the logging service is down.

These are added to the log when it is up again. Company engineers discovered that the information persists across sessions, but that it gets lost when the system crashes.

To sum it up: a successful attack, which includes a crash of the system in the end, may prevent the logging of any events on the system. This makes forensic work difficult on attacked systems and may be exploited by malicious actors to cover their tracks even better.

0Patch writes:

During the service downtime, any detection mechanisms ingesting Windows logs will be blind, allowing the attacker to take time for further attacks – password brute-forcing, exploiting remote services with unreliable exploits that often crash them, or running every attacker’s favorite whoami – without being noticed.

0Patch created a free micro-patch that addresses the vulnerability in all affected versions of Windows.

The patch requires the installation of 0Patch Agent on affected systems. 0Patch continues to support some Windows systems that Microsoft does not support anymore. Windows 10 will also receive extended support by 0Patch, but also by Microsoft through its Extended Security Updates program.

Additional information, including vulnerability and patch details, are available on the 0Patch website.

Closing Words

Whether it is necessary to patch the vulnerability depends on risk assessment. Most home users are not targeted by sophisticated attacks, but this may be different for organizations.

The patch is free at the moment and it will stay that way. Only the release of an official patch by Microsoft may change that in the future.

PlayStation Network: passkey support coming soon

Posted on January 31, 2024January 31, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

PlayStation users may soon protect their account with a passkey. A support page is already available on the official PlayStation website, but some of the functionality is not yet usable.

Passkey is a new technology that promises to be more secure than username and passwords. One of the main advantages is that passkeys are created locally. Private information that is essential for the authentication process stays local. This means that attackers may no longer use phishing attacks to take over accounts. Other attack types, including server breaches or network spying, will also become useless in this regard.

When users create accounts with a password, a hash of the password is stored on the company’s server. This hash may be turned back into the password. The effectiveness depends on the strength of the user password and other parameters.

Passkeys offer another advantage: they remove the need to type passwords. While that may not be such a problem on computers, especially if password managers are used, it can be a nuisance when signing in to the PlayStation.

While there is more to security than strong passwords and two-factor authentication, or passkeys, it is without doubt of high importance.

PlayStation Network: Passkeys support

The official passkey page on Sony’s website describes the security feature. The prominent “activate now” button opens the security settings on the PlayStation website.

The option to generate a passkey is not yet available. The link to the FAQ returns a 404 not found error at this time. It is unclear when the functionality becomes available, but it cannot be long before Sony makes an official announcement.

Some information is revealed on the landing page. Sony writes:

A passkey is a password replacement that provides faster, easier, and more secure sign-in to your account for PlayStation Network. It allows you to access your account without a password. Instead, you sign in through your mobile device or computer using the same convenient device screen unlocking method like a fingerprint, face scan or PIN.

Once set up, PlayStation users may sign-in to their account using the passkey. Passkey support may be limited to biometrics or a device PIN. It is unclear if Sony plans to support hardware security keys as well.

These keys, like the Google Titan Security Key, are inserted into USB ports for authorization. Some have buttons that users need to press to complete the authentication process.

Sony confirms that the PlayStation 5 and the older PlayStation 4 will support passkeys.

Closing Words

More and more Internet services and companies add support for passkeys. It is an excellent new system that promises protection against common threats. While that is the case, there are things that make it less usable in some cases. Since passkeys are created on the local device, it may be necessary to generate them on all devices, copy them or find a way to sync them.

Now You: do you use passkeys already?

Bug or Intentional: Edge reportedly importing Chrome tabs automatically

Posted on January 30, 2024January 30, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

At least for a year, some Chrome users reported that Edge imported data from their browser automatically. Back in May 2023, user Cerevox reported the issue on the official Microsoft Community website.

Cerevox claimed that Edge imported bookmarks and passwords from Chrome automatically. In November, another user claimed that Edge imported favorites and browser data from Chrome. Both said that Edge’s auto-import feature was turned off on their system.

Tom Warren, Senior Editor at The Verge, published an article today about the issue. He experienced the issue first hand according to the article:

Last week, I turned on my PC, installed a Windows update, and rebooted to find Microsoft Edge automatically open with the Chrome tabs I was working on before the update.

A post on Twitter by Tom Warren reveals that it was the KB5034204 update. It is uncertain if the update has anything to do with the issue. I ran two tests locally and could not replicate the issue.

Warren says that the Edge feature that powers the auto-import of Chrome data was never turned on by him. He decided to check on another laptop and experienced the issue there as well. After installation of the update and the obligatory restart, Edge opened with all tabs from Chrome.

Warren could not replicate the issue on any other device he tested though, which makes the issue puzzling.

There are two main explanations for this: it is a bug or it is a feature that is either in testing or rolling out to everyone over time.

Checking Microsoft Edge’s auto-import feature

Microsoft Edge includes a setting to import browsing data from Chrome automatically. The feature is off by default. Edge users may verify this by loading edge://settings/profiles/importBrowsingData/editImportConsent in the browser’s address bar.

If you see “Turn On” next to “Import browser data from Google Chrome on each launch” on the page, then it is disabled. Since turning on does not necessarily mean launching Edge, it is easy to accidentally launch Edge unless you have precautions in place.

There is a chance that the feature may turn itself on automatically. Things like these happened in the past and there is a good chance that they will happen in the future again.

The auto-import feature supports Google Chrome only. Even other Chromium-based browsers are not supported. The main idea behind the feature is to make the use of Edge more comfortable for Chrome users. It may be useful if you use both browsers.

This import is local-only according to Microsoft. However, Edge users who sign-in using a Microsoft account and enable sync in Edge will have the data synced to the Microsoft cloud. From there, it is synced back to any device on which the Edge feature is turned on.

Closing Words

Warren said that he noticed a window appearing and disappearing after installation of the update. He did not have time to notice anything or react to it.

It is quite possible that the auto import from Chrome to Edge is a bug. It is also perfectly reasonable to assume that this is being rolled out to all Edge users on Windows. The thing that makes me think it is the former is that the auto-import feature in Edge was turned off.

Microsoft Edge is not a terrible browser, but Microsoft is still pushing users around as if it was Internet Explorer in its prime. It is time that companies accept a “no” the first time.

The EU considers Edge to be insignificant in the world of browser, which is why Edge is not considered a gatekeeper at this stage. Windows on the other hand is a gatekeeper.

In closing, there is little that users can do if a bug or forced feature changes things on their devices. Complete removal of the offending app, in this case Edge, may be an option. This will soon be easier for users from the EU.

Now You: which browsers do you use?

Firefox 122 for Android launches with secret local add-on install option

Posted on January 29, 2024January 29, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla released Firefox 122 for the desktop and for Android a few days ago. The desktop release was a light release. The highlight was a new -.deb package release for Linux users.

The Firefox 122 for Android release, on the other hand, introduced several improvements that are noteworthy. The official release notes list just a few of them.

The new mobile version of Firefox is already available. Mozilla lists just three of the improvements on its website:

The option to set Firefox as the default PDF reader on Android.
Support for Global Privacy Control. This is off in regular browsing mode by default, but users may enable the feature under Settings > Enhanced Tracking Protection > Tell websites not to share & sell data.
Firefox reports Android 10 as the operating system to reduce “user fingerprinting information” and “website compatibility issues.

Global Privacy Control may require an explanation. This relatively new initiative aims to move user consent from websites and services to the browser. It informs website operators that the user does not give it the right to sell or share personal information.

How to enable local add-on installations in Firefox 122 for Android

Mozilla changed its mind in regards to add-ons support. For some time, Firefox Stable for Android supported only a few dozen extensions. While these were some of the most popular add-ons for Firefox, it limited users significantly.

This changed last year when Mozilla unlocked full extensions support. Over 700 extensions are now available for Firefox.

Tip: check out these tips for extensions use in Firefox for Android.

A new change is the ability to install local extensions. It is a great option for developers and to integrate extensions that are not available officially yet.

It is necessary to unlock the Debug menu first. This is done by opening Menu > Settings > About Firefox. Tap five times on the Firefox logo on the page that opens to enable the Debug menu.

A new “Install add-on from file” option is added to the browser’s main settings page afterwards.

Select the option to display a file browser. Use it to pick the add-on that you want to install. Note that it needs to be stored locally already before you use the functionality.

Other improvements in Firefox 122 for Android

Sören Hentzschel published a list of additional features that Mozilla did not mention in the release notes. These are:

Cookie Banner Blocking supports Consent Management Provider (CPMs). This adds support for several widely used solutions to display cookie banners.
Audio Sandbox is now also active in Firefox for Android.
Firefox users may report add-ons to Mozilla now.

Closing Words

Firefox 122 for Android improves support for extensions further. The option to install add-ons from file in the stable version improves development and gives users of the browser additional options.

Not everyone needs these, as the list of add-ons grows significantly each week currently.

Now You: do you use Firefox on Android or another browser?