Firefox 120 Ready with Global Privacy Control, WebAssembly GC on by Default

The usual generic cautionary tales about installing pre-release build system artifacts apply here as well:

Firefox 120 hasn’t been released yet, and it’s possible that the installer linked by Phoronix will change by (presumably?) tomorrow when 120 is formally released. If the idea of installing a prerelease appeals (with all of the attendant burden that any packaging bugs or other last-minute flaws may incur), you’re probably better off switching to Beta where the release-ready changes launched weeks ago for final user testing.

For those wondering, what is Global Privacy Control?

"Global Privacy Control (GPC) is a proposed specification designed to allow Internet users to notify businesses of their privacy preferences, such as whether or not they want their personal information to be sold or shared. It consists of a setting or extension in the user’s browser or mobile device and acts as a mechanism that websites can use to indicate they support the specification. [0]

and

"WebAssembly GC is now enabled by default, which allows new languages, such as Dart or Kotlin, to run on Firefox. This makes it possible for reference cycles between the guest language and host browser to be collected." [1]

[0] https://globalprivacycontrol.org/#about

[1] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/120.0beta/releasenotes...

I'm glad Picture-in-Picture mode is getting corner snapping, probably one of my favourite firefox features.

Really hope they add some way of not having it stay on top of every other window though. Disabling "always on top" in GNOME doesn't do what I'd expect it to.

In Firefox for Android 1.120 they seem to have made some improvements for the upcoming extended addon support and have added a link to find more addons via addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/android.

Let's hope lots of apps are available soon, including including Firefox Translations.

"In anticipation of opening up the Firefox for Android extension ecosystem later this year, dozens of new mobile extensions will surface during the 120 release cycle as we continue guardrail testing." https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/android/120.0/releasen...

I’m curious as to why the global privacy header will supposedly have a different fate than the do not track header. I don’t understand the incentive structure here.

Seems like companies will happily ignore Sec-GPC header. You'd likely get a larger benefit in terms of privacy by disabling WebAssembly in the browser entirely.

Neither Mozilla "features" are helpful towards my privacy and security stances.

Is Google still paying their salaries?

I wonder if there's more passkey support. Passkeys with Bitwarden only worked with Chrome the last time I tried.