![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Firefox_89_screenshot.png/640px-Firefox_89_screenshot.png&w=640&q=50)
Mozilla Firefox
free and open source web browser / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Firefox, Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source[17] web browser that is made by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It works on common operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. With Firefox, browsing features can be added or removed and users can customize Firefox to fit their needs. This was done to make Firefox safe and simple to use.
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![]() Firefox on the English Wikipedia. | |||||
Developer(s) |
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Initial release | September 23, 2002; 21 years ago (2002-09-23) | ||||
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Repository | ![]() | ||||
Written in | C++, JavaScript, HTML, C, Rust[3] | ||||
Operating system |
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Included with | Various Unix-like operating systems | ||||
Engines | Gecko, SpiderMonkey | ||||
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Standard(s) | HTML5, CSS3, RSS, Atom | ||||
Available in | 90 languages | ||||
Type | Web browser, feed reader | ||||
License | MPL 2.0[16] | ||||
Website | www |
On most operating systems, Firefox uses the Gecko layout engine to load web pages, which uses up-to-date web standards.[18] However, Firefox for iOS, which was released in late 2015, does not use Gecko due to Apple's restrictions which only allow third-party web browsers to use the WebKit-based layout engine that is built into iOS.
Firefox was created in 2002, under the name "Phoenix" by the Mozilla community members who wanted a standalone browser rather than a bundle of different Mozilla applications. Even in its beta phase, Firefox proved to be popular with its testers and was praised for its speed, security, and add-ons compared to Microsoft's then-popular Internet Explorer 6. Firefox was released in November 2004[19] and was highly successful with 60 million downloads within nine months, marking the first time that Internet Explorer's popularity was being challenged.[20] Firefox is considered the spiritual successor of Netscape Navigator[21] since the Mozilla community was created by Netscape in 1998.