Firefox's Proton UI will give the web browser a fresh coat of paint

Mozilla, the non-profit organisation that develops the popular and privacy-friendly Firefox Browser is now working on revamping the application’s interface as part of a new look that the company has internally called Proton.

Long-time Firefox users will remember that this is not the first time that Mozilla is sprucing up the browser interface, it first refreshed the old interface in 2013 with the Australis UI and then with Photon UI in 2017. Mozilla is already working on Proton UI and has added some of the changes into the browser’s Nightly channel, according to a report from Techdows.

While Firefox is far from being the number one browser today (that title is secure with Chrome for the foreseeable future) the browser itself could do with a fresh coat of paint, while making the interface a little more user friendly. The Proton UI could also help less technical users who switch to Firefox, while navigating the currently crowded menus and settings menu.

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Mozilla is also working on a redesign of the New Tab Page, which will allow users to pick themes, backgrounds and configure the new tab screen itself - just like the menu that pops up on GMail before you dive into the full settings section. The hamburger menu is also expected to receive an overhaul and switch to a more rounded UI for the tabs interface instead of the curved ones that arrived with the last visual overhaul in 2017.

If you have the Firefox Nightly installed, simply head over to the address bar, type about:config and then use the search option to find browser.proton.tabs.enabled and browser.proton.appmenu.enabled, set these options to “true”. However, do keep in mind that Firefox’s Nightly builds, can be unstable and cause issues, modifying the configuration could cause other issues between the browser’s daily updates.