Activating Firefox as the default browser can be done automatically and from the same installationthanks to the new initial configuration screen that Mozilla is testing in the Nightly and Beta versions of the browser.

Global web browsing continues to be largely dominated by Chrome, and it doesn’t seem easy to dislodge it from that privileged position unless antitrust action against Google takes place. On the other hand, the runner-up, Microsoft Edge, has won users thanks to improvements to its latest version based on Chromium and – why not say it – using the monopoly of Windows and the “bad art” of Microsoft.

Firefox as default browser

Faced with two big, Mozilla developments lost market share and faces major challenges in acquiring new users. And this despite the fact that it is an excellent browser, the only open source one with a different engine. In an effort to reverse the situation, Mozilla is testing a new approach that could add users to the problem or rather consolidate them, as the new feature is designed to activate right after the installation process.

That way, if you install any of the Firefox trials (Beta, Developer, or Nightly), you’ll see a new splash configuration page that, in addition to highlighting that the browser is supported by a non-profit organization and works to protect privacy by preventing companies from secretly tracking you watched online, includes a new option “Set Firefox as Default Browser”.

If you leave this option enabled, Firefox will handle the installation process automatically using a unique identifier called a campaign ID, citing the source in the “installer helper” that you download from the Mozilla website. When users first launch the browser, the app detects the ID and matches the campaign “set firefox as default browser”runs a background task that is set as the default on the user’s computer.

This option is linked to another experiment to streamline the process and attract users who download Firefox through special marketing campaigns, and is clearly a more aggressive approach to regain market share. To be fair, even if it is not exactly the same technique and with the same transparency, it must be said that Mozilla has criticized “default” or “pre-selected” options in the past which Microsoft has (and still does) abuse when it comes to acquiring users for Edge.

These changes are expected to reach stable releases starting with Firefox 135.