Mozilla uploaded to its servers yesterday the final version of Firefox 138 for all major platforms, ahead of the official release date today. This update brings several features designed to optimize the experience for both regular users and those who make the most of the browser.
With the arrival of this edition, Users find new tools aimed at managing profiles and obtaining prior information about links, as well as adjustments focused on facilitating navigation, improving accessibility, and addressing the needs of developers and mobile devices.
Advanced profiler for multitasking users
One of the big additions in Firefox 138 is the gradual integration of the new profile manager. This feature, available to a small group initially but activated from about:config (parameter browser.profiles.enabled), allows you to create and modify different profiles in the browser. Thus, Each user or activity can have its own environment with history, bookmarks and tabs., simplifying the organization between personal life, projects or shared accounts on the same team.
Smart link previews using local AI in Firefox 138
Another notable novelty is Link Preview, which was already being seen in nightly versions and is now starting to reach Firefox 138. Once activated in about:config with browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled, this feature offers a brief description of the links before clicking, simply by placing the cursor over them. The peculiarity is that it uses a local artificial intelligence supported by WebAssembly technology and the SmolLM2-360M language model, which is downloaded to the system to operate without depending on external servers. For now, the processing of detailed summaries is more polished in English, although support can be extended to other languages ​​such as Spanish or German by modifying the corresponding configuration (browser.ml.linkPreview.allowedLanguages).
This feature allows you to know at a glance if a link is relevant., reducing the number of unnecessary clicks and promoting faster and safer browsing. Although it's still in development, it's expected to be available for the Android version of Firefox soon.
New accessibility options and improved autocomplete
Firefox 138 adds revamped contrast controls from the settings menu, allowing you to choose more legible and customized color schemes across all websites. It also improves the autofill of addresses and card data, dynamically displaying fields after selecting country or card type, facilitating form management.
Advanced tab management and quick actions
On systems like Linux and macOS, the Ability to copy tab links in the background directly from the context menu, simplifying the management of multiple open sites. The browser also Regain access to Quick Actions and Firefox Labs in Settings, allowing experiments like Picture-in-Picture to be triggered on active videos when switching tabs.
Furthermore, The search bar can now display search terms on the results pages. and search shortcuts can be managed more flexibly through the settings menus.
Specific updates for Android and Windows 11
In Android, the authentication using TLS certificates, the option to share downloaded files or URLs, and on tablets, desktop mode is enabled by default. For Windows 11, acrylic menus are included for pop-up windows, thus aligning with the aesthetics of the system.
Firefox 138 introduces developer and security features
Firefox 138 also introduces New utilities for web developers, such as support for error.captureStackTrace, Error.isError and import attributes in modules, as well as the ability to set the downgrade method in video encoding or advanced network cache clearing via the header Clear-Site-Data.
It is also incorporated a new column in the network panel which shows the complete path of the requests, facilitating their detailed analysis.
Small extras and other improvements in Firefox 138
In the main menu it is now possible report pages with problems so Mozilla can act on them and improve the experience for the entire community. Additionally, the tab group management integration introduced in the previous version has been refined, adding context menu entries to more easily move tabs in or out of a group.
For now, some features, such as the weather forecast in the address bar, are only available in the United States, but are expected to be rolled out to more regions in future updates.
Firefox 138 is now available for early download from the Mozilla server on Linux systems (32-bit, 64-bit, and ARM64), and will officially arrive via OTA for Windows and macOS after the official release. Linux users will have to wait until our distribution's packages are updated.
This release not only introduces innovative tools like local AI for link previews, but also strengthens the security, accessibility and customization, making Firefox 138 an update that responds to both technological trends and the real needs of users.
For more information on past releases, visit our article on v137.