Firefox 72.0 is the latest stable version of the web browser; it was first released on January 7, 2020 which makes it the first stable release of the web browser in 2020. The next stable release, Firefox 73.0, is scheduled to be unveiled on February 11, 2020.

All Firefox channels are updated around the same time; this means that Firefox Beta, Dev and Nightly, as well as Firefox ESR will also receive updates. Firefox Beta and Dev are moved to version 73.0, Firefox Nightly to version 74.0, and Firefox ESR to version 68.4.

Check out the overview of the Firefox 71.0 release in case you missed it.

Executive Summary

Tracking Protection blocks fingerprinting scripts by default for all users.

Notification requests are toned down to reduce user frustration.

Picture-in-Picture mode is now also available on Mac and Linux devices.

Firefox 72.0 download and update

The official release date for Firefox 72.0 is January 7, 2020. Users will be able to download and install the new version of Firefox on that day, or use the built-in automatic update functionality to get Firefox updated automatically.

Note: the browser may not be available officially at the time of writing but it will become available later on January 7, 2020.

Once released, you may run a manual check for updates in Firefox by selecting Menu > Help > About Firefox. Firefox opens a new window that runs a check for update and either suggests to download and install it, or does to automatically.

The following pages list direct downloads for supported Firefox channels.

Firefox 72.0 Changes

Making notification requests less disruptive

Many sites display notification requests to users to be able to send push notifications to the users system. Designed as a way to update users, the feature has been abused by a lot of sites that display requests the moment the page is loaded requiring users to interact with the request.

That's a bad user experience and browser makers decided to tone this down to improve the experience. Instead of displaying the popup prompt, Firefox displays an icon in the address bar instead if the user did not interact with the page prior to the notification request firing.

Regular notification prompts are displayed if the user interact with the site, e.g. if a link or button was clicked on the page and the notification request fires after that.

Other changes

The built-in Tracking Protection of Firefox blocks fingerprinting scripts by default for all users to improve privacy further.

Mac and Linux users that use Firefox may use the picture-in-picture mode of the browser now.

Windows administrators may enable (experimental) support for loading client certificates from the operating system's certificate store. This is done by setting the preference security.osclientcerts.autoload to true .

to . It is no longer possible to block the loading of images from individual domains.

Firefox for Android

not yet released

Firefox 72.0 known issues

none at the time of writing.

Developer Changes

The timings tab of the Network Monitor of the Developer Tools shows queued, started, and downloaded times for resources.

Scratchpad has been removed.

CSS Shadow Parts are now enabled, CSS Motion Path has shipped.

Notification.requestPermission() and PushManager.subscribe() can only be called after user gestures.

MediaDevicers.getDisplayMedia() can only be called in response to user gestures.

BatteryManager interface no longer exposed to web content.

HTTP Public Key Pinning is no longer supported.

image/webp added to default HTTP Accept header.

X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff applies to top-level documents (some pages may be downloaded instead of rendered).

Security updates / fixes

Security updates are revealed after the official release of the web browser. You find the information published here.

Additional information / sources

Summary Article Name Firefox 72.0 release information Description Firefox 72.0 is the latest stable version of the web browser; it was first released on January 7, 2020 which makes it the first stable release of the web browser in 2020. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo

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