{"id":20449,"date":"2020-01-29T21:59:30","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T21:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/firefox"},"modified":"2026-09-18T10:18:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T10:18:39","slug":"firefox","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/firefox","title":{"rendered":"Firefox"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"boxpad alignright wp-image-79942 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/firefox-square.jpg\" alt=\"Firefox\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" style=\"margin-top:0;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/firefox-square.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/firefox-square-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Firefox<\/strong> is an open-source <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/browser\">web browser<\/a> developed by Mozilla. It can be used to access websites and web applications, manage tabs, save bookmarks, install extensions and synchronise certain data between devices.<\/p>\n<p>It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. <strong>Its main browser engine is Gecko<\/strong>, which Mozilla develops to interpret HTML, CSS, JavaScript and other web standards. The particular implementation may vary according to the operating system.<\/p>\n<p>Firefox forms part of a project focused on the open development of web technologies. Its source code can be examined and receive contributions from a community of professionals and independent contributors.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Firefox history<\/h2>\n<p>Firefox originated as a lighter alternative to the Mozilla application suite. <strong>The project began in 2002 under the name Phoenix<\/strong>, within the community that continued the open development work associated with Netscape and Mozilla.<\/p>\n<p>Its development includes several relevant milestones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2002:<\/strong> Phoenix 0.1 was released as an early experimental version of the browser.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2003 and 2004:<\/strong> The project was renamed Firebird and subsequently Firefox because of conflicts involving the earlier names.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2004:<\/strong> Firefox 1.0 was released on 9 November. This version established the browser as an independent product that could be extended with add-ons and themes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2017:<\/strong> Firefox 57, known as Firefox Quantum, introduced a major revision of the browser&#8217;s architecture, performance and interface.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Current development:<\/strong> Mozilla continues to update the browser&#8217;s compatibility, security and privacy features.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This development remains connected with the principles of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/open-source\">open source<\/a>. Firefox does not depend exclusively on a single internal team, although Mozilla coordinates its development, publication and maintenance.<\/p>\n<h2>Firefox features<\/h2>\n<p>Firefox combines standard browsing functions with its own customisation, privacy and development tools. Its main features include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Gecko engine:<\/strong> It processes and displays pages through its own implementation of web standards. This distinguishes it from browsers based on Blink or WebKit.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Open-source development:<\/strong> The source code can be examined, modified and distributed under its licences.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Extensions and customisation:<\/strong> On compatible platforms, add-ons, themes and settings can extend or modify its functions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Privacy and security:<\/strong> Enhanced Tracking Protection restricts certain trackers and tracking mechanisms. Total Cookie Protection separates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/cookie\">cookies<\/a> according to the website that creates them to reduce cross-site tracking.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Developer tools:<\/strong> It includes an inspector, console, debugger, network analysis and other tools for examining websites and applications.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Synchronisation:<\/strong> A Mozilla account can synchronise items such as bookmarks, passwords, open tabs and browsing history across compatible devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Firefox can be downloaded from its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firefox.com\/en-US\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">official website<\/a>. Particular functions and extension availability may differ according to the operating system and version.<\/p>\n<h2>Professional use of Firefox<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Testing a website in Firefox helps identify compatibility problems<\/strong> that may not appear in browsers based on other engines. A website should not be assessed in only one browser, particularly when it uses recent CSS, JavaScript, video, form or storage features.<\/p>\n<p>Tracking protections may also affect tags, third-party cookies, embedded content and other technologies used for advertising or analytics. <strong>This does not mean that Firefox prevents all measurement<\/strong>, but implementations should respect consent, reduce unnecessary third-party dependencies and verify which data are actually collected.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/private-browsing\">Private browsing<\/a> prevents certain session data from remaining on the device after private windows are closed. <strong>It does not provide complete anonymity<\/strong> or by itself conceal activity from the visited website, the internet service provider or other external systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Firefox is, its origins and how Gecko, extensions, privacy protections and web development tools work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":79944,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[165],"class_list":["post-20449","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-navegadores"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/20449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=20449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}