I don't understand why Mozilla artificially limits what addons can be used on android.
I've been using Tampermonkey on android for years, and it worked fine, just like other addons that don't happen to have yet been blessed so that users are granted the privilege of being able to choose to install them.
For reference, to work around mozilla's artificial restrictions, you have to use nightly. Once you activate the debug menu (about firefox > tap logo 5 times) there's the option to set a "custom add-on collection". You can make a custom collection on addons.mozilla.org using a firefox account. The two fields are the last two parts of the URL on your custom collection.
Not only is this very cumbersome (especially if you want to add another addon to your collection and have that propagate to your phone), but it's only available on nightly. And nightly has a nasty habit of breaking. It's not much fun when an update causes it to crash immediately on visiting certain websites; even worse when restarting causes it to try to load the tab that just caused it to crash.
So, it ends up in a dilemma: you can either have a browser that doesn't catastrophically break every few updates; or you can have the freedom to install whatever addons you like. But not both.
And that dilemma is entirely artificial and unnecessary. Mozilla could have a process of verifying that addons work correctly on android and warn if you try to install one that isn't so verified (like how Valve has "Deck Verified" but doesn't stop you installing anything you like). But that's not what they've done, and they don't show any sign of changing their minds.
Just FYI you can now use a custom addon collection on Firefox Beta for Android, if you want to use a slightly less cutting-edge version. Fennec from F-Droid is another option.
Yes, but it supports the custom addon collection feature. This way you can use it in a browser that isn't based on the beta/nightly branches, and should be less crashy. I run Fennec to access a few privacy redirect extensions, largely to make reddit and twitter less awful to browse without their respective apps.
It would be good if they explained this in their documentation. But I think you summed it up in your own message:
> […] you can either have a browser that doesn't catastrophically break every few updates; or you can have the freedom to install whatever addons you like […]
I think they don't want malicious and abandoned extensions to taint the Firefox experience. Users will only see "Firefox is broken" and not realize that it's caused by the extensions they installed.
I've been using Kiwi browser on Android for years. It supports like 80% of chrome extensions, never breaks on updates. The only major issue is that extension settings pages are rarely optimized for mobile.
They could trivially bury full add-on market access under 5 scary models and a password or something, but instead they use an absurdly cumbersome mechanism.
Recommended extensions, those that are currently available are vetted by Mozilla staff, not only for safety, but for utility and alignment with Mozilla's goals. These require no warnings or disclaimers.
Community approved extensions would be on AMO and approved by staff-selected community members for safety and policy compliance. No warnings, but a link/checkbox/toggle at the bottom of the extensions page.
All of AMO - this should need a toggle to turn on, and a warning that extensions have not been tested and could be unstable or malicious with a second checkbox to acknowledge.
Local install - this should be buried in the settings and called something like "I am an extension developer". Turning it on should pop up an additional warning about other peoples' code being dangerous. Actually installing an extension should require separate use of a file manager or command line, and then enabling it inside the Firefox UI.
The current approach reminds me of Apple's app store, except it's much harder to get on the recommended list than to get an iOS app approved.
There are only like 15 of us using Firefox mobile. It is safe to say that if you are using Firefox mobile, you are technically savvy enough to go "Ah, I installed some extensions and now Firefox crashes a lot".
Let extensions claim whether they work on mobile or not, and open the flood gates.
I find it very concerning that Mozilla has such an artificial limit on what addons can be used on Android. Do you know why they have set up such a limit?
I've been using Tampermonkey on android for years, and it worked fine, just like other addons that don't happen to have yet been blessed so that users are granted the privilege of being able to choose to install them.
For reference, to work around mozilla's artificial restrictions, you have to use nightly. Once you activate the debug menu (about firefox > tap logo 5 times) there's the option to set a "custom add-on collection". You can make a custom collection on addons.mozilla.org using a firefox account. The two fields are the last two parts of the URL on your custom collection.
Not only is this very cumbersome (especially if you want to add another addon to your collection and have that propagate to your phone), but it's only available on nightly. And nightly has a nasty habit of breaking. It's not much fun when an update causes it to crash immediately on visiting certain websites; even worse when restarting causes it to try to load the tab that just caused it to crash.
So, it ends up in a dilemma: you can either have a browser that doesn't catastrophically break every few updates; or you can have the freedom to install whatever addons you like. But not both.
And that dilemma is entirely artificial and unnecessary. Mozilla could have a process of verifying that addons work correctly on android and warn if you try to install one that isn't so verified (like how Valve has "Deck Verified" but doesn't stop you installing anything you like). But that's not what they've done, and they don't show any sign of changing their minds.