Mozilla is testing Firefox's new redesign, and you can get an early glimpse now

(Image credit: Mozilla)

We have known about Mozilla's plans to change the look of Firefox for a little while now. Over recent weeks, various elements of the new Proton UI have started to appear in preview builds of the browser, and this is something that is continuing.

In the latest nightly builds, you can see some of the work that has been done to update and streamline the hamburger menu in Firefox. It is also possible to enable the revamped 'New Tab' page experience which offers more personalization options than before.

Firefox's redesigned menu is much cleaner and simpler than it used to be. As we have been led to expect from mock-ups and design leaks, the menu is a quieter affair than before, with the icons that used to appear next to entries such as 'Options' and 'Print' removed. The menu is now completely text based.

But this isn't the only way in which Mozilla is cleaning up the menu. There are now fewer items included in the menu, making it slightly shorter than we have become used to. Gone, for instance, are the Firefox, Protections dashboard, Library and Customize entries. Other menu items have been renamed, and some have been moved to new positions.

Redesign time

With the redesigned 'New Tab' page, Mozilla is making it easier to customize this page. The new look adds a new Personallize button that displays an overlay which houses numerous settings. From here it is possible to change the number of rows of site shortcuts that are displayed as well as choosing whether things such as news snippets and Pocket recommendations are displayed or now.

You can enable the updated 'New Tab' experience using the following steps:

Launch Firefox and pay a visit to about:config
Type browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.newNewtabExperience.enabled into the search bar
Click the double-headed arrow button to toggle the setting to true
Restart Firefox

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Via Techdows

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Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

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