Firefox 85 Review 2021

Mozilla released Firefox 85 on January 26, 2021. This is the first major browser update in 2021. Mozilla continues to roll out new browser updates every month this year as it did in 2020. There were a few notable changes in Firefox 85 which I will cover in this Firefox Review.

Firstly, Firefox now protects you from super cookies which are a type of online tracker that can stay hidden, in your browser and track you online even after you’ve cleared your cookies.

 By isolating super cookies Firefox prevents them from tracking your web browsing, from one site to the next. You can read more about it in this blog post.

Secondly, there were some small improvements, in Firefox Bookmarks. If you bookmark a webpage in Firefox, it adds it to the "Other Bookmarks" folder and will place this folder in the Bookmarks toolbar.

Many users didn’t like this when it was first implemented, so Mozilla has made an option available to hide it. You can right-click on it and uncheck "Show Other Bookmarks" to hide this in the future. Also, Firefox now remembers your preferred location for saved bookmarks.

Thirdly, in the Firefox Password Manager you now will notice this new option to remove all logins. This can come handy, especially if you want to delete all your logins at once.

And finally, Firefox 85 spells the end of support for Adobe Flash. As I had mentioned, in my previous Firefox update Firefox 85 onward will not include support for Adobe Flash. You can check this article  from Mozilla to learn more about it.

So these were a few notable changes in Firefox 85. You can check the list of detailed changes in the Release Notes. In terms of the Browsermark Benchmark test results, the overall performance of Firefox declined slightly compared to the earlier version. On the other hand, Google Chrome has continued to outperform.

CREDITS: Browser Benchmark Tests Performed Using Browsermark from Basemark | Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images and graphics used are public domain via Pixabay unless otherwise mentioned | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

How to Backup and Restore Bookmarks in Firefox

Mozilla has been making significant efforts, over the past couple of years, to increase the performance and security of the Firefox browser. They introduced Firefox Quantum in November 2017, as the all new, fast and fierce browser.

I've been closely keeping track of all the major browser releases and creating and publishing my Firefox Reviews on my YouTube channel.

Based on my own personal experience testing all the versions of Firefox Quantum, I can say it's made a big difference in overall performance.

Apart from the performance improvements, there have been many changes to the browser user-interface. And if you've not used Firefox in a long time, you will find it quite different.

Anyway, in this blog post, you will learn How to Backup and Restore Bookmarks in Firefox. If you'd rather watch a video tutorial, check this video below. If not, you will find the written instructions further down this blog post. It's always a good idea to backup your bookmarks, especially if you've accumulated many and have taken the time to organize them.

So first let me start by showing you How to Backup Bookmarks in Firefox:

1. Click the Bookmarks icon (in the toolbar)
2. Next, choose the "Show All Bookmarks" option
3. Click "Import & Backup" (in the dialog box)
4. Choose "Backup" and it will give a default name
5. Finally, click "Save".

Make sure not to change the name of the backup JSON file. Also, remember the folder where you saved the backup file. Preferably save it on a USB or an external drive.

NOTE: If you don't see the Bookmarks icon in your toolbar, click the Menu button (top-right corner) and choose "Customize". You will see the Bookmarks icon among many other icons. Once you locate the Bookmarks icon, just drag and drop it to the toolbar.

Now, let me show you How to Restore Bookmarks in Firefox. We will use the same backup JSON file that we backed up (as an example):

1. Click the Bookmarks icon (in the toolbar)
2. Next, choose the "Show All Bookmarks" option
3. Click "Import & Backup" (in the dialog box)
4. Choose "Restore" and click on "Choose File"
5. Navigate to the location where you saved the backup
6. and finally, click OK

And that's pretty much it. It's important to backup your Bookmarks because you never know when you may require it. So get into the habit of backing up your Bookmarks whenever you've made significant changes or additions.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section. And if you found this blog post useful, consider sharing it with others. Thanks for stopping by!

CREDITS: Firefox information and logos used under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) | Images and graphics used in this video are public domain via Pixabay or belong to the author | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.