Mozilla launches Advance – a forward button for your web browser

Mozilla has launched an experimental new extension for Firefox that suggests pages you might enjoy in real time while you browse the web.

Advance works like a 'forward' button, providing a list of articles based on your browsing history and the page you're currently reading. It's like visiting Wikipedia and spending hours happily following a trail of links to fascinating subjects you've never heard of before.

It might sound rather like Mozilla's Pocket Recommendations, but there are some differences. Pocket offers suggestions when you open a new tab, whereas Advance shows results in a sidebar while you're reading.

Advance's recommendations are based purely on relevance (there's no sponsored content), and if you see anything you don't like, you can flag it or give direct feedback to Mozilla.

It's worth noting that while Pocket produces recommendations without sharing data with Mozilla or any third parties, Advance sends your browsing history to machine learning startup Laserlike. Thankfully, this is all quite transparent; you can see what information Laserlike has about you, and delete it any time.

Become a Test Pilot

Advance is part of Firefox Test Pilot – a program that lets you try Firefox features and plugins that are still in development and give Mozilla your feedback.

Not everything trialled in Test Pilot will be released as a finished product, but it's a great way to try some fun and unusual extensions and help shape the future of Firefox. Anyone who uses Firefox can join – just sign up with your email address and start experimenting.