Mozilla unveiled a major visual and functional overhaul of Firefox on Wednesday, the browser's largest redesign since 2020, with changes to its appearance, privacy settings, and AI controls expected to roll out later this year.
Across desktop and mobile, the initiative — known inside Mozilla as Project Nova — encompasses changes to tabs, icons, spacing, color choices, and settings. Tab shapes are becoming rounder and softer, with a gradient effect lending the active tab greater visual prominence; the surrounding interface — including menus, panels, and controls — is being brought into alignment for a unified feel. For color, Mozilla drew inspiration from fire, moving away from flatter hues toward a combination of deep smoky purples and warmer, lighter shades.
Privacy tools are also getting attention, with the Settings menu being reworked so that data controls are simpler to locate and interpret. Built-in VPN access and private browsing options will occupy a more visible position within the interface, and a dedicated kill switch will let users shut off all AI-related functionality if they choose. The language used to describe Enhanced Tracking Protection options is being simplified to make the tradeoffs between privacy and usability easier to grasp.
According to Mozilla, blocking third-party trackers has contributed to a 9% reduction in load times for key page content over the past twelve months, since fewer external scripts means less code for a page to process. Workflow features including tab groups, vertical tabs, and split view are being surfaced more prominently. A denser Compact mode — dropped by Mozilla some years ago and long requested by users who favor tighter layouts — will be reinstated.
Mobile users are not left out: a common set of colors, icons, and underlying design components will tie the phone and desktop experiences together. New themes and wallpapers are on the way, and Mozilla has indicated it intends to give users greater control over the appearance of individual interface components, including tab shapes, in future updates.
The broader context for the redesign is a browser market where Firefox holds a small share. Browser makers including Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity have been racing to build AI-powered browsers , raising questions about user privacy and security. Mozilla has positioned Firefox's optional AI features — with the ability to turn them off entirely — as a deliberate alternative to that approach.
Those eager to try the new look can already do so, as Neowin reports that the Nova changes are live in Firefox's experimental Nightly channel. Activation requires opening about:config, creating a new boolean entry called "browser.nova.enabled," and toggling it to true before restarting — though anyone doing so should be aware that Nightly is a pre-release channel and instability is possible.
