Mozilla has started rolling out Firefox 156, continuing the browser's newer fortnightly release rhythm. This particular update is relatively modest, with only a handful of user-facing additions, but it arrives at an interesting moment for Firefox users. Mozilla is moving faster than ever, while a growing collection of Firefox-based browsers offers everything from slower release cycles and stronger privacy to radically different interfaces and support for ageing operating systems.
That makes Firefox 156 less interesting for what it changes and more interesting for what surrounds it. The Firefox ecosystem has become unusually diverse, giving users a surprising amount of choice depending on whether they care most about stability, privacy, customisation, compatibility, or simply escaping Mozilla's rapid-update schedule.
Firefox 156 Keeps the Changes Small
For macOS users, Firefox 156 adds an option inside Settings to launch the browser automatically when the user logs in. It is not exactly groundbreaking, particularly because macOS already provides system-level controls for startup applications, but having the option directly inside Firefox may still be convenient for people who want the browser available immediately after signing in.
The other visible addition affects users running Firefox in French, German, or Italian. Firefox Suggest can now surface local-language Wikipedia results directly in the address bar, alongside suggestions from Mozilla's commercial partners. Those who prefer a cleaner address bar can disable these recommendations through the Firefox Suggest settings.
Neither feature dramatically changes the browser, and that seems to be the theme of this release. Firefox 156 feels more like another maintenance step in Mozilla's faster release cadence than a major milestone.
Thunderbird 156 Brings Slightly More Practical Changes
Thunderbird 156 arrives alongside Firefox and contains several improvements that may be more immediately useful to its audience. Troubleshooting information around OpenPGP has been expanded, which should make encrypted-email problems easier to diagnose when something goes wrong.
OAuth support for POP3 and IMAP accounts has also been broadened, giving administrators and users more flexibility when connecting mail providers that increasingly discourage conventional password authentication. Enterprise environments gain additional policies for controlling filters and user customisations as well.
Again, these are not dramatic headline features, but they fit Thunderbird's role well. Email clients benefit more from reliability and administration improvements than constant visual reinvention, particularly in organisations where the application may remain deployed for years.
Not Everyone Wants a New Browser Version Every Two Weeks
Mozilla's faster update cycle will suit users who want features and security changes as quickly as possible, but it is not ideal for everyone. Businesses, institutions, and people who simply value predictable software may prefer fewer large upgrades and less frequent behavioural change.
Mozilla itself provides an answer through Firefox ESR and Thunderbird ESR. Extended Support Release builds receive security fixes while major feature changes arrive much less frequently, generally on an annual schedule. At the moment, both Firefox ESR and Thunderbird ESR are based on version 153.
For organisations managing hundreds or thousands of computers, ESR can be much easier to validate and deploy. Users who dislike the feeling that their browser changes every few weeks may also appreciate the slower pace even without an enterprise environment.
Betterbird Is the Main Alternative for Thunderbird Users
Firefox may have spawned a huge number of browser forks, but Thunderbird has considerably fewer descendants. The most prominent is Betterbird, which positions itself as an enhanced version of Thunderbird rather than a completely different mail client.
Its current builds are based on Thunderbird ESR 153 and are available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Windows users can even choose a portable edition that runs without installation or administrator privileges, allowing the program and its message database to travel on removable storage.
Betterbird is particularly appealing to people who like Thunderbird's overall design but want fixes or enhancements that have not yet appeared upstream. It follows Thunderbird closely enough to remain familiar without simply being identical.
Waterfox Remains One of the Best-Known Firefox Forks
Waterfox has a long history of serving users who wanted Firefox without every decision Mozilla made. It became especially popular after Firefox 57, better known as Firefox Quantum, dramatically changed the extension architecture and broke many legacy XUL extensions.
Waterfox Classic preserved support for those older extensions long after Mozilla abandoned them, giving users and extension developers time to transition. That branch has been unmaintained since 2022 and should no longer be used for normal browsing, but the current Waterfox project continues actively.
Modern Waterfox is currently based on Firefox 153 ESR, giving it a slower-moving foundation. It also removes much of Mozilla's AI-related functionality, includes a built-in ad blocker, supports tree-style tabs, and retains compatibility with traditional global menu bars on environments such as Ubuntu Unity or customised Xfce desktops.
For users who want something recognisably Firefox but calmer and less cluttered, Waterfox remains one of the more practical options.
LibreWolf Pushes Firefox Further Toward Privacy
If privacy matters more than slowing down releases, LibreWolf takes a different approach. It stays close to current Firefox development while applying a collection of privacy-focused changes, including reduced telemetry and stronger default protections.
Because LibreWolf generally tracks Mozilla's release pace fairly closely, it will not appeal to users who specifically want fewer updates. Instead, it is aimed at people who like Firefox technology but would prefer more aggressive privacy defaults without manually adjusting dozens of settings.
That makes LibreWolf one of the easiest recommendations for users who want a familiar browser without quite as much data collection. The experience remains recognisably Firefox, which also means most extensions and normal browsing habits carry over without much adjustment.
Floorp Is for People Who Think Firefox Needs More Features
Japanese browser Floorp takes almost the opposite philosophy. Instead of stripping Firefox down, it expands the interface with extra sidebars, customisation options, layout controls, and productivity features that Mozilla itself does not provide.
Floorp follows its own release cycle, with the current version sitting at 12.17.2 while incorporating changes from Firefox 155. Its extensive interface controls make it attractive to people who enjoy customising their browser almost as much as using it.
Multiple sidebars are one of its more distinctive features, allowing users to keep web panels, tools, or other information available alongside the current page. For users who think modern browsers have become too visually minimal, Floorp offers a much more configurable alternative.
Zen Browser Goes in the Opposite Direction
If Floorp feels too busy, Zen Browser is worth considering. Zen uses Firefox technology underneath but embraces a much cleaner, more minimal interface, with an emphasis on reducing visual clutter.
Its standout feature is built-in page tiling, allowing multiple websites to be displayed side by side within the same browser window. This can be particularly useful for research, comparing documents, following dashboards, or keeping reference material visible while working elsewhere.
Users already comfortable with tiling window managers may not consider this essential, but having the feature directly inside the browser can still be convenient. Zen has also matured substantially since its earlier releases, becoming much more than a visual experiment.
Mullvad Browser and Tor Push Privacy Much Further
The Mullvad Browser is another Firefox-derived option, developed together with the Tor Project and designed around minimising tracking and browser fingerprinting. You do not need to subscribe to Mullvad VPN to use it, although the browser naturally fits well with privacy-focused network tools.
For users requiring stronger anonymity, the Tor Browser remains the more extreme option. It routes traffic through the Tor network and applies aggressive protections designed to make users difficult to distinguish from one another.
That level of protection comes with trade-offs in speed, website compatibility, and everyday convenience, so Tor Browser can feel excessive for normal browsing. Still, its existence demonstrates just how broadly Mozilla's codebase has been adapted to completely different priorities.
Some Firefox Forks Exist Mainly to Preserve Older Ideas
Not every Firefox derivative is focused on privacy or modern interfaces. Some exist because users actively prefer older versions of Firefox's design and extension model.
Pale Moon, for example, forked from Firefox long before Quantum and preserves an interface and architecture reminiscent of Firefox versions 4 through 28. It remains actively maintained and appeals to users who never liked many of Mozilla's later interface changes.
Basilisk takes a similar route but originated from a somewhat newer Firefox codebase. Both projects continue supporting certain older operating systems and extension technologies that modern Firefox has left behind.
These browsers are niche, but that niche exists precisely because software redesigns do not automatically make every previous workflow obsolete.
Old Windows Machines Still Have Firefox-Based Options
One of the more unusual strengths of the Firefox ecosystem is how many projects keep relatively modern browsers running on operating systems that mainstream vendors have abandoned.
MyPal68 continues supporting Windows XP, including 32-bit systems, while also working on newer Windows versions. The project remains in active development and has reached version 78.1.0.
R3dfox targets users who prefer Windows Vista or Windows 7 and currently tracks Firefox 153 ESR. Browsers like these obviously cannot make an unsupported operating system safe by themselves, but they can make old hardware considerably more usable for specialised or offline purposes.
For enthusiasts maintaining retro PCs, laboratory systems, or legacy applications, this kind of continued browser support can be extremely valuable.
Older Macs Have Their Own Firefox Family
Legacy Mac users have a similarly unusual collection of choices. Momiji currently uses Firefox 140 ESR technology while running on systems as old as OS X 10.7 Lion, continuing the work previously associated with Firefox Dynasty.
Powerfox is aimed at Intel-based Macs and uses a newer Firefox 153 ESR foundation. The same project also provides Powerfox Classic, designed for PowerPC Macs stretching all the way back to Mac OS X 10.3 Panther.
For even older PowerPC systems, Aquafox continues ideas from the long-running TenFourFox project, bringing a more modernised browsing experience to machines that Apple and Mozilla stopped supporting many years ago.
These projects are obviously aimed at enthusiasts rather than mainstream users, but they illustrate the longevity Mozilla's open codebase makes possible.
SeaMonkey Keeps the Pre-Firefox Mozilla Idea Alive
One of the most fascinating survivors is SeaMonkey, which continues the old Mozilla Internet Suite concept from before Firefox became a standalone browser. Rather than providing only web browsing, SeaMonkey combines a browser with email and USENET, IRC, RSS, and a WYSIWYG HTML editor.
It remains actively maintained and is available across major operating systems, although it now requires 64-bit environments. Its biggest limitation is the age of its Gecko rendering foundation, which can create compatibility problems with increasingly complex modern websites.
Still, SeaMonkey represents something largely absent from today's software world: a complete internet application suite rather than a collection of unrelated apps. For users who miss that integrated model, few modern alternatives exist.
Not Every Fork Is Still Worth Using
The openness that allows so many Firefox derivatives to exist also means some projects eventually disappear. Users should therefore check maintenance status carefully before installing a niche browser.
The Ghostery Private Browser, for example, ended development in 2024. The privacy-focused Mercury Browser stopped around version 129, while Cyberfox, once notable for providing 64-bit Firefox on Windows before Mozilla did so officially, has been dormant for years.
Plasmafox, an Arch-based Firefox variant designed to integrate more naturally with KDE Plasma, similarly stopped after version 88.0.1. Browsers that no longer receive security updates should generally be avoided for normal internet use, regardless of how appealing their interface or legacy compatibility may be.
A browser is one of the most exposed applications on any computer. Maintenance status matters more than nostalgia.
Betterfox Offers Another Route Without Changing Browsers
Users who like Firefox itself but dislike some of its defaults do not necessarily need a full fork. Betterfox takes a different approach by providing configuration files that can be applied to an existing Firefox installation.
These settings adjust privacy, performance, and behaviour while leaving the underlying browser intact. For users comfortable editing configuration files, this can deliver many of the benefits associated with privacy-oriented forks without leaving Mozilla's official release entirely.
It also avoids another potential problem with smaller forks: waiting for maintainers to integrate upstream security patches. Official Firefox receives those updates directly, while configuration changes can remain layered on top.
Firefox's Fragmentation Is Also One of Its Strengths
At first glance, the sheer number of Firefox forks can make Mozilla's ecosystem look fragmented. Chrome and Chromium certainly have their own enormous family of browsers, but Firefox's descendants often exist for much more specific reasons: protecting privacy, preserving legacy extensions, supporting obsolete operating systems, changing the interface, or slowing down the release cycle.
That diversity is possible because Firefox remains open source. When Mozilla changes direction, users and developers do not necessarily have to follow. They can take the underlying technology and build something better suited to their particular priorities.
The result is that dissatisfaction with Firefox does not always mean moving to Chromium. There is often another Gecko-based browser waiting nearby that addresses the exact reason someone wanted to leave.
Final Thoughts
Firefox 156 itself is a relatively quiet release. Automatic startup on macOS and expanded Firefox Suggest support for several European languages are useful enough, while Thunderbird 156 receives some practical OpenPGP, OAuth, and enterprise-management improvements.
The more interesting story is the ecosystem surrounding Mozilla's rapidly changing products. Users who dislike the faster fortnightly release cycle can remain with Firefox ESR or explore Waterfox. Privacy-conscious users can move toward LibreWolf or Mullvad Browser, while interface enthusiasts have Floorp and Zen. Legacy-system users have an entire collection of specialised builds keeping Firefox technology alive on machines that mainstream browsers abandoned years ago.
Not every fork is equally useful, and abandoned browsers should be treated cautiously because security updates matter enormously. But the breadth of actively maintained alternatives remains impressive.
Mozilla may be moving Firefox faster than some users would like, yet the openness of its platform gives those users something increasingly rare in modern software: the ability to disagree with the vendor and still keep using the technology underneath.
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