Posted:
By JAMIE TUCKER Consumer Technology Reporter
Like most people, I browse the internet primarily with the Google Chrome app on my phones and iPad. It’s the most popular browser in the world but sometimes I wonder “is there something else I’d like better?”
Firefox is a solid choice for a browser app. PC users may love the Edge browser and many iPhone users love Safari. I found another browser option that’s perfect for certain times when I need to concentrate on a project or research.
It’s Firefox Focus for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. The idea is simply to give you less clutter as you browse the web and to hide your tracks from search engines and advertisers.
Rather than having a bunch of tabs open on Chrome or another browser, Firefox Focus has only one. I’ve found it prevents me from quickly opening a tab where LinkedIn is loaded, or that ESPN tab that stays at the top of my browser so I can check baseball scores.
If I need to single-task, Firefox Focus keeps me on track. Since there’s only one tab open at a time, my browser is faster too.
Another reason to use Firefox Focus is its privacy features. None of my web activity is shared with or tracked by advertisers. Anything I do, anywhere I go online is protected. This also speeds up the browser since it isn’t constantly sending information to third parties.
When I’m finished with a project or I’m just ready to log off, there’s a trashcan icon that, if I tap it, deletes my entire web history. I don’t have to go into settings and find the option like I would on Chrome or another browser. The clear history button sits right on the screen.
Since it blocks ads on websites, the web pages load beautifully. This is particularly noticeable when using the app on an iPad or tablet. Since there are no ads, when I loaded “Rolling Stone”, all I saw were images of articles that are available to read.
You can still use Google, Safari, or DuckDuckGo as your search engine and you can select which one you want as the default.
Firefox Focus is a free web browsing app. If you’re browsing on a computer though you’ll need to use the Firefox browser as there’s no Firefox Focus for PC.