Here is a screenshot of the plugins I would like to know more about.

You can find some special 'feature' extensions on this page in the Firefox source code.

• https://dxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-release/source/browser/extensions/

You can open each extension's folder and look at its README file to see a description.

These special extension are installed in the features folder, either as an included system addon in the browser/feature folder in the Firefox program folder or in the features folder in the Firefox profile folder.

That's a good question. I don't know if there is a good summary anywhere.

The email address is a unique ID for the extension.

The extension files are located on disk here (depending on 32-bit vs. 64-bit installer):

• C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\browser\features
• C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\browser\features

The .xpi files can be opened in a ZIP archiving program for examination, but you may find the following sufficient:

• Activity Stream / activity-stream@mozilla.org
  • install.rdf: "A rich visual history feed and a reimagined home page make it easier than ever to find exactly what you're looking for in Firefox."
  • Note: The Activity Stream appears on the default new tab page and home page in Firefox 57.

• Application Update Service Helper / aushelper@mozilla.org
  • install.rdf: "Sets value(s) in the update url based on custom checks."
  • Comment: that's pretty mysterious. I didn't try to understand bootstrap.js in detail, but it checks some aspects of the CPU and whether you have Websense software, and sets various flags related to different known causes of crashes.

• Click-to-Play staged rollout / clicktoplay-rollout@mozilla.org
  • install.rdf: "Staged rollout for Click-to-Play Flash."
  • Note: this change from "Always Activate" to "Ask to Activate" should be completed by now.

• Firefox Screenshots / screenshots@mozilla.org
  • See: Take screenshots in Firefox

• Follow-on Search Telemetry / followonsearch@mozilla.com
  • install.rdf: No description
  • Note: Telemetry is an optional data sharing feature. See: Mobile - Manage Firefox data collection and privacy settings.

• Form Autofill / formautofill@mozilla.org
  • See: Automatically fill in your address on web forms

• Multi-process staged rollout / e10srollout@mozilla.org
  • install.rdf: "Staged rollout of Firefox multi-process feature."
  • Note: I think this has been in many, many releases by now.

• Photon onboarding / onboarding@mozilla.org
  • install.rdf: No description
  • Note: Photon is the code name for the new user interface design in Firefox 57. This seems to have arrived in advance.

• Pocket / firefox@getpocket.com
  • See: Save web pages for later with Pocket for Firefox.

• Shield Recipe Client / shield-recipe-client@mozilla.org
  • See: About Studies

• Web Compat / webcompat@mozilla.org
  • install.rdf: "Urgent post-release fixes for web compatibility."
  • Note: I can't tell whether this is doing anything at the moment.

Hello Jeff,

Wow thank you very much for your time and research - I truly appreciate the additional knowledge you passed on to me.

The reason I asked such a question is that I have been in tech for over 20 years and I like to know exactly what things are doing.

Great job have a great day!

Regards, CS

cor-el said

You can find some special 'feature' extensions on this page in the Firefox source code.

• https://dxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-release/source/browser/extensions/

You can open each extension's folder and look at its README file to see a description. These special extension are installed in the features folder, either as an included system addon in the browser/feature folder in the Firefox program folder or in the features folder in the Firefox profile folder.

Thank you for your time and answer!