How to Get Extension Recommendations in Mozilla Firefox

[The AchieVer]

How to Get Extension Recommendations in Mozilla Firefox 

 

Like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox has one of the largest collections of browser add-ons out there, and in addition to a plethora of extensions, users can also install themes and plugins to further customize the browser.

Leaving aside the extension blunder that broke down browser add-ons in Firefox a few weeks ago, one of the priorities for Mozilla is to provide users with easy access to top-rated extensions, but at the same time, to boost the visibility of others.

This is how the Firefox Recommended Extensions program came to be, as the parent company wants to make sure that the best extensions are easy to discover.

Firefox already comes with a list of recommended extensions in the add-ons screen, but with the Firefox  Recommended Extensions program, the company is hoping to also encourage devs to create better extensions.

“This program will foster a curated list of extensions that meet our highest standards of security, utility, and user experience. Recommended extensions will receive enhanced visibility across Mozilla websites and products, including addons.mozilla.org (AMO),” Mozilla said when announcing the program.

Technically, extensions will be part of the browser if they are “really good” at what they do, “offer an exception user experience,” are “relevant to a general audience,” and are safe to use.
 

 

 

While Mozilla said the rollout of the program would take place in stages by the end of June, it looks like the company has already started experimenting with an early version as part of the Nightly build of Firefox.

In other words, you can give a try to the Firefox Recommended Extensions program right now by installing Firefox Nightly on any supported desktop platform. However, the feature isn’t enabled by default, so you have to activate it using the steps below.

First of all, make sure you are running the latest Nightly build. The tutorial here was tested on version
68.0a1 (2019-05-14), so any release newer than this should work too.

Then, in the browser’s address bar tab the following code to access the advanced flags:

about:config

Hit “yes” when prompted to advance because you understand the risks of messing with these advanced flags and next use the search box at the top to look for the following flag:

extensions.htmlaboutaddons.discover.enabled

By default, this flag is set to false, so as per TechDows, you need to switch it to true. Once you do that, the Firefox Recommended Extensions program should be active in your browser, and to check it out, follow this path in the browser:

Firefox menu > Add-ons > Recommendations

At this point, the UI here isn’t much different from the original implementation of recommended extensions, but there are new elements like ratings, number of downloads, and more straightforward information for each item.
 

 

 

“Here’s a selection Firefox recommends for exceptional security, performance, and functionality,” the UI reads. “Some of these recommendations are personalized. They are based on other extensions you’ve installed, profile preferences, and usage statistics.”

You can simply install an extension, theme, or plugin by simply clicking the “Add to Firefox” button.

The new feature should become available to all users by the end of the next month, so despite being offered in the Nightly build of Firefox, it should be promoted to the stable channel pretty fast.

The next stable version of the browser is Firefox 67, and it is due on May 21. Firefox 68, on the other hand, which is the version that is being used to test the new extensions program as part of the Nightly build, is scheduled to launch on July 9.

 

 

 

 

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