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Add Firefox to the Jolla Store

asked 2019-04-12 07:37:39 +0300

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updated 2019-04-12 07:37:39 +0300

The Sailfish browser is nice, but I'd prefer to use Firefox. I therefor ask to have it added to the Jolla Store so an adblocker can be used.

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3

Not against this, but why do you need it in the Jolla Store to use an adblocker? Firefox works with adblocking and any other android-compatible addons from addons.mozilla.org (including some I've written) wherever you load it from.

DaveRo ( 2019-04-12 09:00:25 +0300 )edit
1

I prefer to use Ublock Origin to block ads plus my phone Sony Xperia XA2 Dual sim doesn't have Alien-dalvik support yet so I'm kind of limited.

hamnisdude ( 2019-04-12 16:28:33 +0300 )edit

You are not limited. Just edit your hosts-file. You don't need any redundant addons to block ads.

bocephus ( 2019-04-12 18:04:45 +0300 )edit
1

@bocephus: Using hosts-based ad blocking is great for everything, but an adblocker add-on is still useful in web browsers even with the hosts file already blocking the ads themselves, because the hosts file doesn't get rid of empty blocks where ads were placed. Luckily uBlock Origin is very lightweight so there's virtually no impact on performance.

nthn ( 2019-04-12 19:26:04 +0300 )edit
6

@hamnisdude So what you actually want is for Firefox to run under Sailfish - nothing to do with the store. Well, I think we'd all like that, but it won't.

DaveRo ( 2019-04-12 22:34:33 +0300 )edit

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16

answered 2019-04-12 08:16:56 +0300

sausset gravatar image

For ad blocking, you can use Defender from openrepos. It's system wide, so working for the native browser and all the other apps, including alien dalvik!

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Defender is great, but I am not quite shure if it is still being actively developed.

LemD ( 2019-04-12 18:49:07 +0300 )edit
3

@LemD the app not, but the blocklists that it fetches are updated regularly.

bomo ( 2019-04-12 19:03:47 +0300 )edit
8

answered 2019-04-12 15:13:06 +0300

bocephus gravatar image

Why wouldn't you just use system-wide adblocking by updating your hosts file? A lot smarter, leaner and more efficient.

su-devel
mv /etc/hosts /etc/hosts.original
curl http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.txt -o /etc/hosts
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1

It's not just about adblocking, it's about maintaining privacy. Firefox has many more features in this regard than the default browser. I.e. third party cookie blocking, referrer washing (with addons), first party isolation, etc.

Fuzzillogic ( 2019-04-16 18:37:31 +0300 )edit

So compile a web proxy for Sailfish. I always ran Privoxy on my N900s, and it will take care of your needs a lot better than some crappy Android-browser will.

bocephus ( 2019-04-17 06:26:02 +0300 )edit

@bocephus a proxy is a relative blunt tool. Privacy handling of cookies or referrer headers often requires some finesse which only the browser can handle. Full first party isolation can't be handles by a proxy. If the "some crappy Android-browser" is Firefox (or derivative) with some extra tweaking, it will protect better than a proxy. With the added bonus that it's up-to-date security and specs wise, compared to the native browser.

Of course, a proxy still is a great tool for first line protection, with the very nice benefit that it'll protect across all apps.

Fuzzillogic ( 2019-04-17 18:52:11 +0300 )edit
7

answered 2019-04-13 01:01:01 +0300

Levone1 gravatar image

Most of this thread is about adblocking, but the title is about adding Firefox to Jolla Store. I guess it's possible, but it definitely would be there if there was a Firefox build that worked on Sailfish available. As DaveRo said, there isn't. I would imagine it should be possible, since I believe Mozilla provides sources to build, but my guess is that no one has decided to spend the time and effort to do it, (it's probably a big job). Meanwhile, Jolla Browser and Webcat, etc, are also Gecko-based, and in development, so more likely for anyone to put their effort into, and we may end up with something similar to Firefox as development continues...

Firefox forbAndroid is always an option...

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2

Firefox doesn't give a fuck about linux in general so don't expect it to care about such a small OS no matter all the crap their marketing team spills about privacy and supporting openness freedom or whatever.

Of course noone would stop an individual from writing a SFOS UI for firefox but i doubt its a task someone can easily accomplish.

ApB ( 2019-04-13 02:10:18 +0300 )edit

Just to add Firefox to the Jolla Store is there really so much effort necessary? I mean there are already many Android apps available, have they all been UI-rewritten for Jolla Store?

Pohli ( 2019-04-14 07:47:05 +0300 )edit

oh - you mean the Android version? Ha... I think everyone thought you meant a native Sailfish version... Whatever, I don't know how it's decided what apps can/can't be in Jolla store, but it's easy to get it anywhere ...

Levone1 ( 2019-04-14 09:45:03 +0300 )edit

I don't know what the OP means but when I read the OP from @hamnisdude I couldn't see that he definitely means an adapted native SFOS version.

Pohli ( 2019-04-14 13:49:35 +0300 )edit

oh yeah, sorry I didn't even notice it was someone else...

Levone1 ( 2019-04-14 14:44:11 +0300 )edit
0

answered 2019-04-14 00:27:52 +0300

Robberey gravatar image

I prefer AdBlock Browser, which is based on Android Firefox. Works very well with the Android Support on XA2 with Oulanka.

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Asked: 2019-04-12 07:37:39 +0300

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Last updated: Apr 16 '19