Mozilla engineers are testing three new features in Firefox called Containers, SnoozeTabs, and Pulse, and if users react positively then we will see them in upcoming releases.
All three features are part of Test Pilot, a Mozilla program that allows users to try out experimental features by installing a special add-on. The Test Pilot add-on then allows users to choose which of the seven features they want to try out.
In addition to Containers, SnoozeTabs, and Pulse, the program also includes Min Vid, Page Shot, Activity Stream, and Tab Center. Most of these features were launched during 2016.
SnoozeTabs
The first of three new features launched in 2017 is called SnoozeTabs and is an add-on that will allow users to send tabs for future use.
By “future use” we mean that users will be able to click a button in Firefox and “freeze” a tab for a period of time. Once a tab is selected it will disappear and reappear after the freeze period expires.
In other words, it's just like the Pocket add-on, which allows users to save links, and restores the tabs after the countdown timer ends.
Mozilla has been working on SnoozeTabs for at least two years, building a first draft of the feature last August 2015, and through an add-on that was available for internal testing.
Pulse
The second experimental feature is called Pulse and is a tool that will likely not be included in Firefox.
We say this because Pulse allows users to rate how pages load and behave in Firefox, data that is sent back to Firefox engineers.
Pulse seems like a feature you'd expect to see in Firefox Nightly or Developer builds, rather than a stable version of Firefox, as it helps Firefox engineers understand how Firefox works around the world, rather than bringing anything of value to end users.
Containers
The third and final Firefox feature called Containers, formerly known as Container Tabs, is a feature that was added for a short time in version 50 of Firefox Nightly.
Containers allows users to launch tabs in separate “boxes” (containers), each with its own database for storing cookies, browsing cache, IndexedDB data, and localStorage.
Data exchanged between boxes includes bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords, saved searches, form data, licenses, certificates, TGV flags, and OCSP responses.
The feature supports four separate buckets: Personal, Work, Banking, and Shopping. The names of these buckets mean nothing, as they have the same level of separation and security, and are there only to guide users and nothing more.
A hidden feature of Firefox Containers is that you can use the boxes to log in to the same websites with four different credentials, one different for each box.
If you're confused about what the Containers feature actually is, imagine it as separate "browsing connections" that exist within the same browser, or if you prefer, as four Private Browsing modes, but without privacy protection.
Don't forget! To enable these hidden features, you must first install the Firefox add-on, Pilot Test , and then choose which features you want to test.
