
Firefox
Free and open-source web browser by Mozilla / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Firefox?
Summarize this article for a 10 years old
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]
![]() | |||||
![]() Firefox 110 on Windows 11 | |||||
Developer(s) | Mozilla Foundation and its contributors Mozilla Corporation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial release | November 9, 2004; 18 years ago (2004-11-09) | ||||
Stable release(s) [±] | |||||
| |||||
Preview release(s) [±] | |||||
| |||||
Repository | |||||
Written in | C++, JavaScript, HTML, C, Rust, and others[5][6] | ||||
Engines | Gecko, Quantum, and SpiderMonkey | ||||
Operating system | Linux macOS 10.12 or later Windows 7 or later Android 5.0 or later[7] iOS 13.0 or later | ||||
Included with | Various Unix-like operating systems | ||||
Available in | 97 languages[8] | ||||
Type | Web browser | ||||
License | MPL 2.0[9][10] | ||||
Website | www![]() |
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[update], 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]