Mozilla has released version 72 of its Firefox web browser, introducing new features for Windows, Mac and Linux users, including a new option to delete telemetry data.
The latest version of the browser takes steps to make notification requests generated by websites less irritating and intrusive. Now, rather than a message popping up on screen to ask if you'd like to receive notifications from a particular site, Firefox will simply display an icon in the address bar to let you know that notifications are available.
For Mac and Linux users the picture-in-picture mode is now available giving users of these operating systems the option of watching videos in a little pop-out window while continuing to browse other sites.
Privacy options
For anyone who has kept up to date with the beta and nightly builds of Firefox, the changes in Firefox 72 will be familiar. The browser now no longer allows user fingerprinting – a technique used to track people online without their consent, and without using tracking cookies.
One of the most interesting features of Firefox 72 comes in response to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which came into force at the start of the year. The act is specific to California and it gives people the right to request that companies delete data that has been collected about them. Mozilla took the decision to not only respect this law in California, but to give the same option to user around the world.
With Firefox 72 installed, users are able to request that Mozilla delete telemetry data that the company has collect through the browser.
- How to enable dark mode for Firefox
- Firefox set to ban fingerprinters
- How to clear cache in Chrome, Firefox and Safari
At time of writing, Mozilla is yet to publish the full changelog for Firefox 72, but as soon as it is ready, you'll be able to check it out here.
You can download the latest version of Firefox here; if you already have the browser installed, check for updates by clicking the menu button to the upper right of the program window and select Help > About Firefox.
- Check out our roundup of the best browsers for 2020
