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Firefox

Free and open-source web browser by Mozilla / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source[11] web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and anticipated web standards.[12] In November 2017, Firefox began incorporating new technology under the code name "Quantum" to promote parallelism and a more intuitive user interface.[13] Firefox is available for Windows 7 and later versions, macOS, and Linux. Its unofficial ports are available for various Unix and Unix-like operating systems, including FreeBSD,[14] OpenBSD,[15] NetBSD,[16] illumos,[17] and Solaris Unix.[18] It is also available for Android and iOS. However, as with all other iOS web browsers, the iOS version uses the WebKit layout engine instead of Gecko due to platform requirements. An optimized version is also available on the Amazon Fire TV as one of the two main browsers available with Amazon's Silk Browser.[19]

Quick facts: Developer(s), Initial release, Stable release...
Mozilla Firefox
Developer(s)Mozilla Foundation and its contributors
Mozilla Corporation
Initial releaseNovember 9, 2004; 18 years ago (2004-11-09)
Stable release(s) [±]
Standard113.0.2[1] Edit this on Wikidata / 23 May 2023; 7 days ago (23 May 2023)
Extended Support Release102.11.0esr[2] Edit this on Wikidata / 9 May 2023; 21 days ago (9 May 2023)
Preview release(s) [±]
Beta & Developer Edition114.0b1[3] Edit this on Wikidata / 9 May 2023; 21 days ago (9 May 2023)
Nightly115.0a1[4] Edit this on Wikidata / 8 May 2023; 22 days ago (8 May 2023)
Repository
Written inC++, JavaScript, HTML, C, Rust, and others[5][6]
EnginesGecko, Quantum, and SpiderMonkey
Operating systemLinux
macOS 10.12 or later
Windows 7 or later
Android 5.0 or later[7]
iOS 13.0 or later
Included withVarious Unix-like operating systems
Available in97 languages[8]
TypeWeb browser
LicenseMPL 2.0[9][10]
Websitewww.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/ Edit this at Wikidata
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Firefox was created in 2002 under the code name "Phoenix" by members of the Mozilla community who desired a standalone browser rather than the Mozilla Application Suite bundle. During its beta phase, it proved to be popular with its testers and was praised for its speed, security, and add-ons compared to Microsoft's then-dominant Internet Explorer 6. It was released on November 9, 2004,[20] and challenged Internet Explorer's dominance with 60 million downloads within nine months.[21] It is the spiritual successor of Netscape Navigator, as the Mozilla community was created by Netscape in 1998, before its acquisition by AOL.[22]

Firefox usage share grew to a peak of 32.21% in November 2009,[23] with Firefox 3.5 overtaking Internet Explorer 7, although not all versions of Internet Explorer as a whole;[24][25] its usage then declined in competition with Google Chrome.[23] As of April 2023, according to StatCounter, it had a 5.65% usage share as a desktop web browser, making it the fourth-most popular desktop web browser after Google Chrome (66.1%), Safari (11.87%), and Microsoft Edge (11%).[26] Across all platforms, it again places fourth with a usage share of 2.77%.[27]