14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla is trying to inform users on their new "Push Notification" feature that makes it easier for websites to send notifications even when the tab is not loaded.
Some of you will ask why you would want such an intrusive feature present in your browser, but the truth is that all the other cool kids are doing it too. Also, it can be helpful sometimes for users who want to see when they receive mail, without checking the email client or opening the website.
There are a number of legitimate uses for Push Notifications, and they are not all bad. The problem with features like this one is that they tend to get abused by websites or ignored by users. This is why Mozilla is not trying to raise awareness that Firefox also has them, although they could have done a better job at not hiding this option so well.
All platforms get notifications
Even if Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux treat notifications in different ways, Firefox seems to do a good job at handling them. They look slightly different from one platform to another, but not in any significant way. The main idea is that they need to be approved and that it's a way too convoluted process.
"Firefox for Windows, Mac and Linux now lets you choose to receive push notifications from websites if you give them permission. This is similar to Web notifications, except now you can receive notifications for websites even when they’re not loaded in a tab. This is super useful for websites like email, weather, social networks and shopping, which you might check frequently for updates," a blog entry on the official Mozilla blog reads.
The settings can be found in the Control Center, and I dare you to find it without looking it up on the Internet. Users will have to click on the small left icon in the address bar and then on the small arrow on the right side of the notification. From there, you can choose the notifications for each website you visit.