The issue:
Android users with Firefox can’t access Google Search (including intl sites and localized domains like google.de, .co.uk, .com.br). Instead, they see a blank page.
Cause:
A server-side bug on Google’s end related to User-Agent (UA) sniffing, which serves an empty page to newer Firefox versions.
Affected versions:
All Firefox versions on Android (>= 65) including Mobile 121.0, Nightly 123, and older.
Chrome not affected:
The bug is specific to Firefox.
Solutions:
- Use a different browser (Chrome, etc.) or search engine (DuckDuckGo).
Advanced users can:
-
Change Firefox’s UA in developer settings or with add-ons.
-
Request the desktop version of Google from Firefox settings (region-dependent).
Status:
- Problem identified as critical and escalated.
- Still unresolved at the time of reporting.
Additional notes:
- Disabling Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection doesn’t fix the issue.
- Some users report google.co.in loading the desktop site instead of mobile.
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Even if it’s for only a short period of time, it’s enough to do a lot of damage. Especially as people are becoming privacy conscious and are looking to start using Firefox.
What does this mean, I’m confused?
Yes. So was I when I wrote this comment. I don’t know why I wrote Chrome… 😑
Makes way more sense now, lol.
Google:
Or you know, Don’t use fucking Google?
Nowadays Google sucks ass anyway
I tried signing into Google today on Firefox and got ‘sigin in using a safe browser. This is not a safe browser’. I refreshed the page and it was gone and I was able to sign in. What the heck.
Google should follow their own advice and kill the user agent.
I really don’t understand why Google isn’t being taken to court over the obvious monopolistic strategies they’ve been implementing.
@JokeDeity they are in court right now with the USA.
I’m on 121.0 mobile and have no issues accessing Google.com. Not that I use it anyway but figured I’d test.
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Weird, I suppose it makes sense though as I only really use Google if I absolutely have to which is almost never. So I likely wouldn’t have noticed it if I didn’t see it here first.
Real professional engineers at Google. Reading the browser name is just so hard.
Thank you for the screenshot of a blank page.
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ah yes, a “bug”
It’s not a bug. It’s a feature.
