Mozilla Firefox is now available on the Microsoft Store for Windows 11 and 10

Mozilla has announced that the Firefox browser is now available for download on the Microsoft Store on Windows 11 and Windows 10. This gives Firefox a new way to download the browser, which is potentially easier than opening another browser and finding the right website.

This is big news because Firefox is one of the first browsers to take advantage of Microsoft’s new policies for the Store. For years, Microsoft only allowed developers to publish browsers that used EdgeHTML, the same engine used by the old Edge browser. This made even less sense when Edge itself transitioned to the Chromium engine, but with the new Microsoft Store, any kind of browser and app can be published.

Firefox isn’t the first well-known browser to show up on the Microsoft Store, as Opera is available there right now. However, it is the first one with its proprietary Gecko engine, while most other browsers are using Chromium. That includes Microsoft’s own Edge browser, so Firefox presents itself as a true alternative for users who want things done differently.

In fact, Mozilla has been at the forefront of presenting alternatives to Edge on Windows 11. When Microsoft made it much harder to switch default browsers on the new operating system, Mozilla reverse-engineered Microsoft’s approach and made it possible to set Firefox as the default browser with a single click. Now, downloading Firefox is also easier, and you don’t have to open Edge even once before downloading an alternative browser.

As to why you should consider Firefox, the team highlights security features like Total Cookie Protection, Enhanced Tracking Protection, and support for DNS over HTTPS. Firefox also has some convenience features like a Multi Picture-in-Picture mode to watch multiple video streams at once.

While Firefox isn’t the first third-party browser to come to the Microsoft Store, there are some big names still missing. The most notable of them, of course, is Chrome, which is the most popular web browser out there. Vivaldi is also a relatively popular alternative that has yet to launch on the Microsoft Store. Hopefully, more and more alternatives will show up over time now that Windows 11 is officially out and the new Microsoft Store is also heading to Windows 10.

The post Mozilla Firefox is now available on the Microsoft Store for Windows 11 and 10 appeared first on xda-developers.

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