Mozilla has announced another extension for Firefox ESR 115 support on aging operating systems, pushing the end-of-life deadline to March 2026.
This decision affects users running Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and macOS versions 10.12 (Sierra) through 10.14 (Mojave), ensuring they continue receiving critical security patches for another six months.
Mozilla engineer Ryan VanderMeulen highlighted the organization's ongoing efforts to reduce forced obsolescence by supporting software on operating systems long after their official vendor support ends. Mozilla had initially planned to end Firefox ESR 115 updates for these systems in September 2024, later pushing that to 2025, and now extending again until March 2026.
This additional support window offers extra time for users unable to upgrade to a modern OS, while still receiving essential security updates that protect against web-based threats. However, Mozilla continues to advise users to migrate to a supported platform in order to access newer Firefox features and receive long-term browser stability.
Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) is a special Firefox version aimed at organizations, educational institutions, and users who prioritize stability and security over new features. ESR builds follow a slower release cycle and are typically supported for around a year. Firefox ESR 115, released in July 2023, is the last version compatible with the aforementioned legacy operating systems.
Windows 7 still accounts for about 3.6% of the global Windows OS usage, more often found in enterprise environments, embedded systems, and regions where hardware constraints make upgrading difficult. Similarly, macOS 10.12–10.14 are no longer supported by Apple, leaving users reliant on third parties for browser-level protection.
Mozilla’s willingness to continue security patching for such platforms positions Firefox as one of the few remaining mainstream browsers offering secure usage on deprecated operating systems. Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge have already dropped support for these platforms, leaving Firefox ESR as the only safe option for users unwilling or unable to upgrade.
This move aligns with Mozilla’s broader philosophy of user agency and access. Earlier this year, Mozilla also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Manifest V2 extensions, a framework critical to the functioning of powerful privacy tools like uBlock Origin. While Google is actively deprecating Manifest V2 in Chrome, causing widespread disruption among privacy-conscious users, Firefox will continue to support both Manifest V2 and the newer Manifest V3, preserving full-featured ad blocking and advanced content filtering.
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