Firefox 47 arrives with synced tabs sidebar, improved YouTube playback and more

Mozilla has launched Firefox 47 for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. The changes effect versions on both PC and Android. They also include improvements to YouTube playback and a new sidebar for synced tabs that will be helpful when Firefox is open on multiple devices. On its desktop version, an improved video experience on YouTube includes smoother playback, less bandwidth use and an overall improvement in battery life, writes VentureBeat. As far as Firefox for Android is concerned, there are quite a few minor but notable improvements. The biggest improvement the team has made is the removal of the favicons that are visible in the URL bar of a web browser. Mozilla insists that this has to be done because it’s a necessary security move. Sometimes, unsecured sites copy images from legitimate sites and trick users into thinking they’re real sites in order to obtain sensitive information. Mozilla prevents these sites from doing that. For those users who are concerned about their data usage, another feature allows you to show or hide web fonts accordingly. Another important update comes in the form of support for Google’s Widevine content decryption module (CDM) on Windows and OS X. The Widevine CDM is used to distribute and display copy-protected content such as movies and music videos on a browser with the help of a plug-in. This is a significant as Widevine offers users a way of accessing and playing locked down content without needing to rely on Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight  reports Computerworld. This will also be the last version to support Android Gingerbread. Firefox as a browser will still remain functional on Gingerbread devices, but users will not be able to upgrade their browser past Firefox 47. Mozilla ensures that the company releases a new version of Firefox every six to eight weeks. Firefox 48 is currently slated to be released in early August this year. Firefox 47 for desktop is available for download on Firefox.com, and the Android version on the Play Store.