It does not mean Firefox can no longer be installed or run on non-certified or rooted Android devices, but it might mean that users on non-certified or rooted devices can’t access all AI features in Firefox for Android.
Important note
Oh no! Not the AI features!
Sooo... If I root my phone I don't have to deal with AI in Firefox?
Or you could... Press the disable AI button... The one Firefox added shortly after users pushed back on the added AI 'features'...
You mean the button that shouldn't even need to exist? That button?
The button added to disable something I didn't ask for, need or even wanted in the first place? You mean that button?
What a novel idea...
I despise most things about AI but people should be allowed to have the choice to use it if they want lol.
I do think it should be disabled by default / opt-in, but you're dumb if you think that "it just shouldn't exist!"
I am all for people having a choice, but a minority should not be bend over backwards for.
If they want ai in their browser there are several others that do have the option. Hell, they can just fork firefox and add ai that way.
Or you could install IronFox
Nobody wants that garbage anyway so no big loss.
Oh no! ... Anyway...
Wait what, this sounds like a win..?
I don't trust that. If they're implementing it for AI only now, they will likely let it seep into other areas of Firefox later
It's my understanding that forks like librewolf and waterfox won't be keeping this in for those of us that moved over when mozilla started changing its stripes should remain free from this particular anti feature.
That doesn’t help on Android since those forks don’t exist for that platform. There are Firefox Mobile forks for Android like Fennec, but I don’t know if those forks will be forced to keep this “feature” in place.
Waterfox doesn't exist on Android? So what is this browser I'm using? Lol
I didn’t realize Waterfox had been ported, thanks!
Ironfox?
Also I don't think they can add any proprietary library like those interacts with google play to fennce, as per f-droid rules.
IronFox uses their own F-Droid repository, meaning I'm pretty sure they can do whatever they want.
Apologies, I was talking about fennce, an official firefox version published on f-droid by Mozilla, not ironfox.
LibreFox might not exist on Android, but IronFox is a good option at least.
Waterfox is on the play store
Also straight from Github or its own website
Oh derp
I just followed the QR from the web browser
I should get the apk
Yay waterfox!
Fuck
Yes. Fuck.
Need this to hurry along.
Or servo
I haven't heard of this one yet.
Side note, curious who would down vote us over these comments...
For Ladybird I think due to politics of the/a lead developer. I haven't looked into it and don't know it it is well deserved or silly. Just enough of a thing that I have seen it complained about before.
For Servo I have no clue why someone would downvote over that.
Nowadays lemmy is getting some reddit energy so its probably a guy who has some strange vendetta against servo and decided that downvoting a comment in a random lemmy thread would be the correct decision...
Isn't that a neofascist browser?
I have no idea, tell me more
It's a bit of old news by this points so I had to go check, but basically ladybird dev is in the alt-right, qanon, trumpsucker end of the spectrum and the browser gets "pro-nazi funding" (eg.: Cloudflare), and more recently has started barfing "white replacement" mumbo jumbo.
At this point, Servo is a much better option than ladybird.
Yeah I don't want to use anyone's compute resources on AI, full stop. I wish LibreWolf had mobile apps or IronFox had a desktop client just so that I can stop maintaining two sets of customizations to achieve consistency. I tend to ratchet up IronFox's defaults a little and back down as many from LibreWolf as I bump up to get to where I want. LibreWolf never saving any cookies is an okay default if you are running like Tails on a luks mount but my threat profile doesnt justify that and im running debian. I want first party cookies to work more often than not. At least extrepo has it easily addable as an apt repo.
And what about Waterfox ? As far as I know, they have both an Android and a desktop app
Oh no, I can't use the AI features. Le Boo Hoo.. :P
Well, this just validates my decision to discontinue my Mozilla subscriptions a few months back. They may be throwing all independence from Alphabet out the window but hey, at least there's a cute new fox mascot, right?
Just as I was thinking of installing grapheneos. Ffs.
WaterFox and IronFox are still options no matter what the OS may be.
GrapheneOS ships with hardened Chromium (Vanadium)
Firefox still works when rooted, just the AI features don't (read the article for more info)
Any Firefox Android forks that improve the battery life?
Waterfox
A community for Lemmy users interested in privacy
Rules: