Firefox 71 rolls out: Windows 10 picture-in-picture video plus wider VPN beta for $4.99
Mozilla has released Firefox 71, once again hammering home its message about online privacy and what it's doing to improve security for users.
Mozilla boasts that Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox has now blocked one trillion tracking requests since launching in July.
Firefox users will now see notifications when the browser blocks web-based crypto-miners. Users also get a running tally of blocked trackers in the dashboard behind the shield icon.
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Mozilla has also now launched the next stage of its Firefox Private Network Beta, for those who didn't get included in the first group when it launched the FPN extension this September to become its first commercial service.
Mozilla is offering 12 hours a month free time for FPN usage, which encrypts connections on untrusted Wi-Fi networks, such as at the airport or cafes. The free 12 hours is a limited-time offer for US users with a Firefox account.
Anyone interested can join the waitlist for a link to access the VPN at an introductory price of $4.99 per month. Mozilla says it's evolving its pricing and platform availability. Currently the VPN is only available to Windows 10 users in the US.
The new product comes as Mozilla's search revenues evolve. Last week Mozilla reported that Mozilla Corporation generated $435m from royalties, subscriptions and advertising revenue, compared with $542m in 2017.
Mozilla said in the report its eventual goal for FPN is to offer "a seamless free or paid hybrid subscription service globally to Firefox users globally across any of their connected devices".
Firefox 71 does come with one multi-tasking improvement called picture-in-picture. It lets a video run its own windows so that the user can still switch tabs and continue to see the video. It's only available on Windows 10 for now, but will come to macOS and Linux in January 2020.