Firefox Has Integrated Brave's Adblock Engine

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Firefox has begun integrating Brave’s Rust-based adblocking engine to enhance its built-in tracking protection, prompting renewed comparisons with third‑party tools like uBlock Origin and concerns about how this might affect extension support. Many commenters see strong adblocking as Firefox’s main differentiator and worry about a future deprecation of Manifest V2 APIs, while Mozilla’s statements emphasize they are only experimenting with the engine and have “no plans” to drop MV2 or full-featured blockers. The change also reignites broader debates over browser engines, privacy, trust in Mozilla versus Chromium-based alternatives like Brave and Vivaldi, and how much crypto, AI, and commercial “extras” users are willing to tolerate.

Impact on uBlock Origin and Built‑In Blocking

  • Some wonder if Firefox’s new adblock engine benefits users of uBlock Origin or could be exposed to extensions.
  • Observations: current implementation seems to rely on uBO-style lists but lacks cosmetic filtering, leaving empty ad slots.
  • Several expect Mozilla is still integrating it and that it will primarily power Enhanced Tracking Protection rather than replace full adblockers.

Manifest V2/V3 and Extension Future

  • Strong concern that native blocking may be used to justify dropping MV2, limiting advanced adblockers.
  • Others argue:
    • Firefox’s MV3 keeps powerful APIs (e.g., webRequestBlocking) that Chrome removed.
    • Most MV2-only issues relate to Chromium, not Firefox.
  • Mozilla’s statement (via Reddit) says:
    • They are testing Brave’s Rust component to process tracker lists.
    • They have “no plans” to abandon MV2 and want adblockers to “work best” in Firefox.
  • Some distrust “no plans” language, reading it as eventual deprecation.

Browser Choice, Privacy, and Ecosystem

  • Many see uBlock Origin on Firefox as the gold standard; some say it’s the main reason to use Firefox.
  • Others have switched to Brave, praising speed, integrated blocking, and scriptlets, but often disable or distrust its crypto, ads, and promotional toggles.
  • Debate over whether Firefox is “alienating” users vs. unfairly singled out compared to Chromium browsers that add similar features.
  • Some advocate Firefox forks (LibreWolf, Waterfox, IronFox) but note they are dependent on Mozilla’s upstream work.

Alternatives and Network‑Level Blocking

  • Alternative browsers mentioned: Brave, Vivaldi, various Chromium forks on Android (Cromite, Ultimatum, Helium, Elixir), plus experimental engines like Ladybird.
  • Mobile users want Firefox‑level blocking and extensions on iOS/Android; iOS’s WebKit requirement limits parity.
  • Network/MITM proxies are proposed as browser‑independent blockers, though increasingly challenged by same‑domain ads and encrypted content.

Politics and Ethics

  • Some object to Firefox adopting technology from Brave given past controversies around leadership.
  • Others counter that open‑source reuse doesn’t benefit individual leaders directly and can reduce Brave’s competitive edge.