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Waterfox Changelog

What's new in Waterfox G6.0.13

Apr 25, 2024
  • What’s coming to Waterfox:
  • Inspired by the web browsers of yore, and something I’ve been wanting for quite a while are tab previews in the vertical sidebar. This will be the default view when enabling the sidebar.
  • Sidebar tab preview:
  • You are also able to toggle the sidebar to be on the left or the right side of the browser window.
  • Keeping to its namesake, you are also able to have a tree style tab previews.
  • Tree style tab previews:
  • And of course, when the tabs become too numerous you can collapse them to the familiar text-only mode.
  • Familiar tree style tabs:
  • You will also have a myriad of customisations options as one would expect from Waterfox, styling your browser however you see fit.
  • Boosting Performance with Virtual Scrolling:
  • One of the key improvements made possible by this collaboration is the integration of virtual scrolling technology. This innovative approach addresses a long-standing performance bottleneck in TST. Previously, all tabs, even those hidden, were rendered in the background, consuming significant resources.
  • WHAT'S CHANGED:
  • With virtual scrolling:
  • Nodes are only loaded for visible tabs, dramatically reducing memory usage and improving rendering speed.
  • Cached sidebar content is no longer needed, further streamlining performance.
  • This optimization uncovers other potential performance issues, allowing for further refinement.
  • Beyond Waterfox: Open Source Collaboration in Action:
  • It’s important to remember that while this native integration brings incredible benefits to Waterfox users, it’s powered by the collaborative spirit of open source. Tree Style Tab itself is an open-source project, meaning its development thrives on community contributions and shared knowledge.
  • Waterfox’s Impact:
  • ”[The virtual scrolling architecture] is the largest benefit on the TST project… Current TST keeps DOM nodes as tabs in/around visible area in the sidebar, it improves total performance around rendering and initialization,” explains Yuki Hiroshi, the TST developer. He further adds, “Introducing virtual scrolling minimizes the RAM usage from such additional contents."
  • "Now I could develop TST at work time of my employer company, as a task sponsored by the Waterfox project, so I could take enough time to research how we can introduce virtual scrolling to the existing implementation without breakage.”
  • The Waterfox sponsorship allowed the TST developer to focus on crucial features like virtual scrolling and UI enhancements, which significantly improve performance and responsiveness, particularly noticeable for Waterfox users experiencing these features natively.
  • While Waterfox played a role in enabling these advancements, it’s important to note that the improvements benefit all TST users, regardless of their chosen browser. The virtual scrolling architecture reduces memory usage and enhances rendering speed, making tab management smoother and faster across the board.
  • Open source thrives on collaboration, and advancements made for one project often benefit the entire community.

New in Waterfox G6.0.12 (Apr 18, 2024)

  • Update GHA to use latest actions, debug session and runners.

New in Waterfox G6.0.11 (Mar 25, 2024)

  • WHAT'S CHANGED:
  • With virtual scrolling:
  • Nodes are only loaded for visible tabs, dramatically reducing memory usage and improving rendering speed.
  • Cached sidebar content is no longer needed, further streamlining performance.
  • This optimization uncovers other potential performance issues, allowing for further refinement.
  • Boosting Performance with Virtual Scrolling:
  • One of the key improvements made possible by this collaboration is the integration of virtual scrolling technology. This innovative approach addresses a long-standing performance bottleneck in TST. Previously, all tabs, even those hidden, were rendered in the background, consuming significant resources.
  • What’s coming to Waterfox:
  • Inspired by the web browsers of yore, and something I’ve been wanting for quite a while are tab previews in the vertical sidebar. This will be the default view when enabling the sidebar.

New in Waterfox G6.0.10 (Mar 20, 2024)

  • Remove `network.buffer.cache.size` prefs to prevent crashing on certa…
  • …in local HTML files.

New in Waterfox G6.0.9 (Feb 21, 2024)

  • Update the CWS script to work on the new store.

New in Waterfox G6.0.4 (Oct 11, 2023)

  • Allow homebrew to install python 3.11.

New in Waterfox G6.0.3 (Oct 3, 2023)

  • NEW FEATURES:
  • If you are closing more than 1 tab, you will now receive a prompt asking the below:.
  • Confirmation you want to be notified of closing multiple tabs.
  • Confirmation you want your session to be restored.
  • CHANGES:
  • Hovering over inactive tabs will once again show the close button.
  • Waterfox will be less strict with its public key pinning, which should resolve issues some users had connecting to certain websites.
  • The extension button should no longer be missing! For the time being, moving it around has been disabled.
  • When you click on the address bar, your top sites will now show.
  • Waterfox is now less aggressive with its optimisations, which should result in less performance oddities in rare cases.
  • UPCOMING CHANGES:
  • Waterfox for Android’s feature set has been finalised, but requires updating to the latest components. This is in progress and is due for release. iOS is now in the pipeline as well.
  • Privacy enhancements to some of the most popular search engines (wink wink, nudge nudge) are also in the pipeline, with more to be revealed soon.

New in Waterfox G6.0.1 (Sep 27, 2023)

  • Update privacy preferences.
  • Fixes issues with logging into websites that use a referrer.
  • Use standard tracking protection for now, to prevent issues with logging in.
  • Modify samesite rules so they're strict on non-http websites.
  • Remove Firefox view tour prompt.

New in Waterfox G5.1.12 (Aug 27, 2023)

  • Update build.yml

New in Waterfox G6.0 Beta 3 (Aug 23, 2023)

  • Allow memory pool for media to be larger on systems with > 8GiB of RAM.

New in Waterfox G6.0 Beta 2 (Aug 10, 2023)

  • NEW FEATURES:
  • Now testing a new logo and typeface. The reason for this change is that the existing logo was designed as a raster, meaning it's been difficult getting high resolution versions out of it. If you prefer the older logo, please comment here.
  • Performance Improvements
  • Improvements have been made when using the polyhedral optimiser1.
  • BUG FIXES:
  • Bookmarks → Folder Name → Open All in Tabs is now working again!
  • Waterfox's internal CSS should stop overwriting websites that use the same element names, such as the eBay listing submission page.
  • The default theme has been updated to version 7.5.0.
  • MISC:
  • The website has now been updated! It should be much more performant, while looking more professional.
  • UPCOMING CHANGES:
  • Some more performance oriented upgrades are in testing, but may not make it for final release.
  • Waterfox for Android's feature set has been finalised, but requires updating to the latest components. This is in progress and is due for release. iOS is now in the pipeline as well.
  • Privacy enhancements to some of the most popular search engines (wink wink, nudge nudge) are also in the pipeline, with more to be revealed soon.
  • Linux deserves some love too, and optimisations are in the works for the final release.
  • A complete revamp of the config options set by default is also on it's way.

New in Waterfox G6.0 Beta 1 (Jul 28, 2023)

  • The first Beta release of G6! With the never-ending focus on improving privacy and performance, this release is be a tasty one.
  • NEW FEATURES:
  • Waterfox now uses Oblivious DNS1 by default, a privacy preserving method for DNS queries.
  • PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS:
  • Waterfox is now compiled with PGO2 on Windows and macOS.
  • Waterfox is now compiled with a polyhedral optimiser3.
  • MISC:
  • Some bugs may be carried over from G5, please report them!
  • Themes have been updated, which should fix various bugs.
  • Waterfox is now based on ESR115.
  • UPCOMING CHANGES:
  • Waterfox's logo will potentially be updated in an upcoming beta release, so keep an eye out.
  • Alongside an update to the logo, the website is also getting a fresh lick of paint.
  • Some more performance oriented upgrades are in testing, but may not make it for final release.
  • Waterfox for Android's feature set has been finalised, but requires updating to the latest components. This is in progress and is due for release. iOS is now in the pipeline as well.
  • Privacy enhancements to some of the most popular search engines (wink wink, nudge nudge) are also in the pipeline, with more to be revealed soon.
  • Linux deserves some love too, and optimisations are in the works for the final release.
  • A complete revamp of the config options set by default is also on it's way.
  • Apologies for the delay on this release, setting up the privacy relay for ODNS as well as creating the toolchain for polly support took longer than anticipated. Waterfox's independence also contributed to the delay of this release, but it is a delay worth celebrating.

New in Waterfox G5.1.6 (May 10, 2023)

  • Bug 1770894 - Force update bindgen to 0.59. r=emilio

New in Waterfox 2022.11 Classic (Nov 16, 2022)

  • Bump version.

New in Waterfox G5.1 (Nov 14, 2022)

  • [WFX-594] Update Look & Feel preset buttons. (#2893)

New in Waterfox G5.0.1 (Oct 4, 2022)

  • NEW:
  • You can now verify files downloaded from the downloads page, by appending .sha512 to the end of the URL. This will download a SHA512 checksum.
  • FIXED:
  • There was an issue when upgrading from G3 onward where your theme would get reset to default. This is no longer the case.
  • Various preferences were incorrectly configured and these have now been changed.

New in Waterfox G5.0 Beta 4 (Sep 21, 2022)

  • FIXED:
  • Fixed an issue where Waterfox customisations would not be able to be applied
  • Fixed an issue where the Lepton theme would not apply unless preference was toggled

New in Waterfox G5.0 Beta 2 (Sep 7, 2022)

  • NEW:
  • You can now disable Waterfox's Lepton theme changes by toggling userChrome.theme.enable to false.
  • CHANGED:
  • Google Search will now provide suggestions when crafting a query directly in the browser search bars.
  • L10n is now back in Waterfox!
  • Bump to Gecko 102.3.0
  • KNOWN ISSUES:
  • New profiles created on beta have differently appended names (usually appended with .68-edition-default). If this doesn't cause issues with users updating - this may remain as is

New in Waterfox G5.0 Beta 1 (Aug 20, 2022)

  • NEW:
  • Waterfox is now awaiting approval from Google to be listed on the Play Store!
  • CHANGED:
  • Due to better understanding of compiler flags, the minimum supported processor version has dropped and is now set at SSSE3[1].
  • More speed! Waterfox now has further speed improvements on all platforms, with the largest increase on Linux.
  • KNOWN ISSUES:
  • Localisations are currently provided directly from Mozilla, meaning various strings will show Firefox instead of Waterfox.
  • Platform changes from G4 → G5:
  • Media Changes:
  • Full-range color levels are now supported for video playback on many systems.
  • Mac users can now access the macOS share options from the Waterfox File menu.
  • Support for images containing ICC v4 profiles is enabled on macOS.
  • Waterfox now supports the new AVIF image format, which is based on the modern and royalty-free AV1 video codec. It offers significant bandwidth savings for sites compared to existing image formats. It also supports transparency and other advanced features.
  • Waterfox PDF viewer now supports filling more forms (e.g., XFA-based forms, used by multiple governments and banks).
  • When available system memory is critically low, Waterfox on Windows will automatically unload tabs based on their last access time, memory usage, and other attributes. This helps to reduce Waterfox out-of-memory crashes. Forgot something? Switching to an unloaded tab automatically reloads it.
  • To prevent session loss for macOS users who are running Waterfox from a mounted .dmg file, they’ll now be prompted to finish installation. Bear in mind, this permission prompt only appears the first time these users run Waterfox on their computer.
  • Gecko introduces significant improvements in noise suppression and auto-gain-control, as well as slight improvements in echo-cancellation to provide you with a better overall experience.
  • You can now toggle Narrate in ReaderMode with the keyboard shortcut "n."
  • You can now move the Picture-in-Picture toggle button to the opposite side of the video. Simply look for the new context menu option Move Picture-in-Picture Toggle to Left (Right) Side.
  • Captions/subtitles display on YouTube, Prime Video, and Netflix videos you watch in Picture-in-Picture. Just turn on the subtitles on the in-page video player, and they will appear in PiP.
  • Picture-in-Picture now also supports video captions on websites that use Web Video Text Track (WebVTT) format (e.g., Coursera.org, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and many more).
  • HDR video is now supported in Waterfox on Mac—starting with YouTube! Waterfox users on macOS 11+ (with HDR-compatible screens) can enjoy higher-fidelity video content. No need to manually flip any preferences to turn HDR video support on—just make sure battery preferences are NOT set to “optimize video streaming while on battery”.
  • Hardware-accelerated AV1 video decoding is enabled on Windows with supported GPUs (Intel Gen 11+, AMD RDNA 2 Excluding Navi 24, GeForce 30). Installing the AV1 Video Extension from the Microsoft Store may also be required.
  • Reading is now easier with the prefers-contrast media query, which allows sites to detect if the user has requested that web content is presented with a higher (or lower) contrast.
  • Security Changes:
  • Waterfox can now automatically upgrade to HTTPS using HTTPS RR as Alt-Svc headers.
  • Improved web compatibility for privacy protections with SmartBlock 3.0: In Private Browsing and Strict Tracking Protection, Waterfox goes to great lengths to protect your web browsing activity from trackers. As part of this, the built-in content blocking will automatically block third-party scripts, images, and other content from being loaded from cross-site tracking companies reported by Disconnect.
  • Introducing a new referrer tracking protection in Strict Tracking Protection and Private Browsing. This feature prevents sites from unknowingly leaking private information to trackers.
  • RLBox—a new technology that hardens Waterfox against potential security vulnerabilities in third-party libraries—is now enabled on all platforms.
  • The Linux sandbox has been strengthened: processes exposed to web content no longer have access to the X Window system (X11).
  • Waterfox now ignores less restricted referrer policies—including unsafe-url, no-referrer-when-downgrade, and origin-when-cross-origin—for cross-site subresource/iframe requests to prevent privacy leaks from the referrer.
  • Operating System Specific Changes:
  • Waterfox for macOS now uses Apple's low-power mode for fullscreen video on sites such as YouTube and Twitch. This meaningfully extends battery life in long viewing sessions.
  • Power users can use about:unloads to release system resources by manually unloading tabs without closing them.
  • On Linux, improved WebGL performance and reduced power consumption for many users.
  • To better protect all Waterfox users against side-channel attacks, such as Spectre, Gecko introduced Site Isolation.
  • Waterfox supports the new Snap Layouts menus when running on Windows 11.
  • Reduced CPU usage on macOS in Waterfox and WindowServer during event processing.
  • Reduced the power usage of software decoded video on macOS, especially in fullscreen. This includes streaming sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
  • Waterfox now supports and displays the new style of scrollbars on Windows 11.
  • Video overlay is enabled on Windows for Intel GPUs, reducing power usage during video playback.
  • Scrollbars on Linux and Windows 11 won't take space by default. On Linux, users can change this in Settings. On Windows, Waterfox follows the system setting (System Settings > Accessibility > Visual Effects > Always show scrollbars).
  • Waterfox now allows users to use as many microphones as they want, at the same time, during video conferencing. The most exciting benefit is that you can easily switch your microphones at any time (if your conferencing service provider enables this flexibility).

New in Waterfox G4.1.4 (Aug 3, 2022)

  • Fixed:
  • Various stability, functionality, and security[1] fixes.

New in Waterfox 2022.06 Classic (Jun 27, 2022)

  • NEW:
  • Added support for some emojis added in Unicode 13.
  • FIXED:
  • Various security patches from the latest Mozilla Foundation Security Advisories.
  • Web compatibility improvements to fix breakages across a variety of websites. More to come on this front courtesy of @buttercookie42.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you'd like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.
  • Contributors for this release
  • @buttercookie42, @adamp01
  • Also from:
  • @MrAlex94
  • † As the differences between Classic and later Firefox versions grow, we are doing our best to patch the security advisories as we think apply to Classic. Not all patches apply cleanly or apply at all - but our better judgement is used. You can view unapplied security patches here.

New in Waterfox G4.1.3.1 (Jun 27, 2022)

  • Fixed:
  • Fixed issue with BootstrapLoader that resulted in failure to install legacy extensions.

New in Waterfox G4.1.3 (Jun 27, 2022)

  • Fixed:
  • Various stability, functionality, and security[1] fixes.

New in Waterfox G4.1.2.1 (May 26, 2022)

  • CVE-2022-1802: Prototype pollution in Top-Level Await implementation
  • Reporter:
  • Manfred Paul via Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
  • Description:
  • If an attacker was able to corrupt the methods of an Array object in JavaScript via prototype pollution, they could have achieved execution of attacker-controlled JavaScript code in a privileged context.
  • References:
  • Bug 1770137
  • #CVE-2022-1529: Untrusted input used in JavaScript object indexing, leading to prototype pollution
  • Reporter:
  • Manfred Paul via Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
  • Description:
  • An attacker could have sent a message to the parent process where the contents were used to double-index into a JavaScript object, leading to prototype pollution and ultimately attacker-controlled JavaScript executing in the privileged parent process.
  • References:
  • Bug 1770048

New in Waterfox G4.1.2 (May 3, 2022)

  • Fixed:
  • Various stability, functionality, and security fixes.

New in Waterfox G4.1.1.1 (Apr 20, 2022)

  • FIXED:
  • Fixed an issue where container tabs were not being restored properly

New in Waterfox 2022.04 Classic (Apr 14, 2022)

  • Fixed:
  • Various security patches in the Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2022-14.
  • Build issues resolved.
  • Bing should crash less frequently.
  • Signing into sync from about:accounts should work again.
  • Fixed sandbox crashing with glibc/libc6 >=2.35.
  • Copying text with the style "white-space: pre;" should now preserve white space.
  • Unresolved:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you'd like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.

New in Waterfox G4.1.1 (Apr 12, 2022)

  • FIXED:
  • Users who have DuckDuckGo as their default search should now have it as their default Private search as well.
  • Various links in the About Waterfox dialogue have now been updated.
  • A small cosmetic UI fix.
  • Please read G4.1.0 release notes.

New in Waterfox G4.1.0 (Apr 6, 2022)

  • NEW:
  • Addon version numbers once more show next to their names in about:addons
  • You can now disable automatic updates in about:preferences → General → Waterfox Updates
  • Startpage is now the default search when performance searches in Private Tab and Private Window.
  • Users on Linux who wish to use the HTML GeoLocation API can now enable it in about:preferences → Languages → Geolocation API
  • Tabs will now unload automatically when your system is running low on memory.
  • Tabs can now be manually unloaded after enabling the preference in about:preferences → General → Tabs. You can then right click on a tab and unload it.
  • FIXED:
  • Chrome Web Store extensions should now install properly once again.
  • Back and forward buttons on various mice now work properly in Waterfox, instead of acting as middle-click.
  • Sometimes non-private tabs would be restored as private tabs. This will no longer occur.
  • Various fixes to the default Lepton theme [1][2][3].
  • Various Japanese translation improvements by @surapunoyousei
  • CHANGED:
  • Minimum requirements have been slightly reduced to SSE4.1 from SSE4.2.
  • Unprefix -moz-fit-content. -fit-content show now work without the -moz prefix.
  • The HTML element is now enabled.
  • References to his and her have been replaced with their where relevant

New in Waterfox G4.0.8 (Mar 7, 2022)

  • NEW:
  • Added a toggle on about:preferences to force light/dark mode with Lepton theme.
  • FIXED:
  • Private tab will now correctly not store search suggestions and recently closed tabs.
  • Private tab icon will now only appear in Lepton theme, so should no longer appear on themes that do not have context menu icons.
  • Forcing dark mode in Lepton with ui.systemUsesDarkTheme on Linux distros should now work.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • Addon version numbers are not displayed next to their title in about:addons.
  • Auto updates can still not be completely stopped. PR is ready but we are just doing additional checks to ensure nothing breaks.
  • Contributors: @adamp01, @MrAlex94

New in Waterfox 2022.02 Classic (Feb 28, 2022)

  • FIXED:
  • Various security patches in the Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2022-05.
  • Build issues resolved.
  • Updated Widevine fallback URLs to v4.10.2391.0.
  • Timezones, certificates and HSTS/HPKP updated.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you'd like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.

New in Waterfox G4.0.7 (Feb 11, 2022)

  • FIXED:
  • You can now set Waterfox as the default browser again on Windows!
  • CHANGED:
  • The default theme Lepton has been updated, fixing various issues.
  • Note: The User Interface is now no longer compact by default. You can change this by going ☰ (Menu) → More Tools → Customise Toolbar. In the bottom left corner is the menu option for Density. Screenshot
  • The status bar is now visible when in Customise Mode.
  • Updated Gecko to 91.6
  • Unresolved:
  • Addon version numbers are not displayed next to their title in about:addons.

New in Waterfox G4.0.6 (Feb 11, 2022)

  • NEW:
  • Added default items to the status bar when enabled.
  • You can now toggle text contrast on the status bar in about:preferences → General → Language and Appearance → Status Bar.
  • FIXED:
  • Importing data from other browsers now works once again. (`File → Import From Another Browser)
  • Unresolved:
  • Addon version numbers are not displayed next to their title in about:addons.

New in Waterfox 2022.01 Classic (Jan 24, 2022)

  • Fixed:
  • Various security patches in the Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2022-02 and 2021-53.
  • Build issues resolved.
  • Unresolved:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you'd like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.

New in Waterfox G4.0.5.1 (Dec 21, 2021)

  • FIXED:
  • G4.0.5.1: Tabs toolbar and status bar will now be appropriately coloured when tabs toolbar set to bottom display with a dark theme.
  • G4.0.5.1: Tabs toolbar set to bottom display will now collapse correctly when entering DOM fullscreen mode (e.g. fullscreen video).
  • G4.0.5.1: Widget text in the status bar will be coloured correctly with dark themes.

New in Waterfox G4.0.5 (Dec 18, 2021)

  • NEW:
  • Added an option to about:preferences to prevent pinned tabs shrinking to icon size.
  • Added options to about:preferences to allow new tabs to be opened after all existing tabs.
  • FIXED:
  • Google search suggestions should now display again.
  • bloomberg.com should no longer display an out of date browser warning.
  • White bar no longer visible at the bottom of the browser window when using light themes.
  • More AVIF image types are now supported, which fixes issues of images not rendering on websites such as The Daily Mail.
  • CHANGED:
  • The default Lepton theme has been upgraded to its latest version, with improved visual changes.
  • The Firefox themes are now more identifiable by name.
  • The Firefox Modern Dynamic theme has now also been added.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • The status bar does not include default items (zoom, full screen, screenshot).
  • Addon version numbers are not displayed next to their title in about:addons.

New in Waterfox G4.0.4 (Dec 18, 2021)

  • FIXED:
  • Widevine has been updated to 4.10.2391.0 which should fix issues playing DRM protected content.
  • CHANGED:
  • You can view the commit Waterfox was built on at about:buildconfig.
  • Contrast has increased on Australis Light theme, to better differentiate tabs.
  • The way tab positioning and various other Waterfox features have been implemented has been improved.
  • Updated to Gecko 91.4.0, which includes various security patches.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • The status bar does not include default items (zoom, full screen, screenshot).
  • Addon version numbers are not displayed next to their title in about:addons.

New in Waterfox G4.0.3 (Dec 18, 2021)

  • NEW:
  • Plugins such as Flash can now be enabled, but require you to interact to have web pages run it for security reasons.
  • The address bar now makes it more obvious when a website is secure or insecure.
  • FIXED:
  • Issues installing bootstrapped extensions have now been resolved. You can find some here.
  • Copy tab URL should now no longer throw an error.
  • Title bar and buttons will be hidden correctly on Windows when you move the location of your tabs.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • The status bar does not include default items (zoom, full screen, screenshot).
  • Addon version numbers are not displayed next to their title in about:addons.

New in Waterfox 2021.11 Classic (Dec 14, 2021)

  • Fixed:
  • Various security patches in the Mozilla Foundation Security Advisory 2021-49.
  • Unresolved:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you'd like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.
  • Build issues generation installer and update files to handle changes automatically. When this is resolved, updates should be much timelier.
  • As the differences between Classic and later Firefox versions grow, we are doing our best to patch the security advisories as we think apply to Classic. Not all patches apply cleanly or apply at all - but our better judgement is used. You can view unapplied security patches here.

New in Waterfox G4.0.2 (Nov 2, 2021)

  • Since Waterfox Classic and Waterfox Current (now G4) diverged, they have both have separate goals.
  • G4 has its eyes set to the future - a modern browser, focusing on modern web compatibility without sacrificing speed, or the balance of privacy and usability.
  • Classic has focused on keeping the tried but tested available. Unfortunately, due to the rapid nature that the web is now expanding at, keeping Classic up to date with that is difficult.
  • To make sure the projects aren't falling over each other, Waterfox Classic will now be moved out of the main Waterfox development repository and into its own separate repository - updating the previously archived "Waterfox Old", now named Waterfox-Classic.
  • This has the following benefits by not having two versions of Waterfox sharing resources:
  • Contributors can clearly see what Classic development is ongoing
  • GitHub Actions will be clearly segregated, allowing easy viewing of ongoing builds
  • Waterfox Classic will have its own simple landing page
  • Issues can be opened in a separate tracker, not getting closed for not focusing on G4
  • An organised, clear list of what security patches haven't been fixed
  • A fair warning will be presented to all those who want to use Classic, that it may be vulnerable to multiple security issues - but the choice is given to the user to proceed at their own discretion.
  • This will keep Classic ongoing for as long as possible - but the success of this project will still rely on contribution.
  • Over the next week, infrastructure will be put in place for Classic to keep it running properly. We will let you know when this is complete.

New in Waterfox G4.0.1 (Oct 28, 2021)

  • NEW:
  • The Waterfox Classic styled theme "Australis" is now available! You can switch to it in about:addons → "Themes".
  • FIXED:
  • Linux users original profile location should now be picked up again.
  • Fixed an issue where Private Tab would conflict with extensions such as Simple Tab Groups.
  • https://addons.mozilla.org should recognise Waterfox once more and allow you to install addons directly.
  • You can now enable syncing of your settings. It is still off by default.
  • You can now modify the UI density.
  • CHANGED:
  • First Party Isolation is now off by default.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • about:preferences may be missing certain settings and render incorrectly.
  • The status bar is missing default items (zoom, full screen, screenshot).
  • Theme previews may show up in greyscale rather than their actual colours.
  • Addon version numbers are not displayed next to their title in about:addons

New in Waterfox G4.0.0 (Oct 20, 2021)

  • New:
  • Based on Gecko 91.3
  • "Lepton" theme based on an improved Photon theme.
  • You can now import specific Gecko-based profiles (Firefox, Waterfox etc.) from File > Import From Another Browswer
  • Changed:
  • System requirements bumped up to require a CPU with SSE4.2
  • Limited as many outgoing connections as possible to keep the browser operational

New in Waterfox 2021.10 Classic (Oct 13, 2021)

  • NEW:
  • Updated RegExp engine, with resulting perfomance improvement in JavaScript.
  • Fixed:
  • Fixed crashes for users on newer Linux distributions.
  • Fixed issues some users had when building Classic.
  • Changed:
  • TLS 1.3 compatibility mode is now enabled by default
  • Unresolved:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you’d like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.

New in Waterfox 2021.09 Classic (Sep 20, 2021)

  • NEW:
  • Enable V8 RegExp
  • Add toggling of scrollbar preferences
  • Available in ``about:preferences > Content > Srollbars`
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you'd like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.

New in Waterfox G3.2.6 (Sep 15, 2021)

  • CHANGED:
  • Latest Mozilla Foundation Security Advisories patched.

New in Waterfox 2021.08 Classic (Sep 15, 2021)

  • NEW:
  • Import V8 RegExp code (not yet enabled)
  • Add improvements for Canvas API
  • Implement Promise.allSettled()
  • Implement EventTarget() as a constructor
  • Align document.open() with the overhauled specification
  • FIXED:
  • Fixed problems with restoring session cookies.
  • Fixes for Internationalization API.
  • Fixed various media issues.
  • Fixed issues with CSS appearance
  • Various security issues from the latest v78 ESR.
  • CHANGED:
  • Update lz4 to 1.9.3
  • Updated user-agent overrides
  • Do not throw from PerformanceObserver.observe when none of the entryTypes are known.
  • UNRESOLVED:
  • DRM modules have been updated but no longer seem to work on macOS. If you?d like to watch DRM protected content such as on Netflix, Prime Video, etc. you will need to upgrade to Waterfox G3.