6.6.8 - Tab unloading & passkeys

This release adds manual tab unloading (useful for freeing memory without closing tabs) and improves how unloaded tabs are represented, fixes a few import/UI issues, and includes platform specific improvements for macOS and Windows.

General

• When importing data from another browser, empty profiles no longer appear in the selection list.
• Added an Unload Tab option to the tab context menu to free memory without closing the tab.
• Unloaded tabs now show a wireframe preview (after the tab has been active at least once).
• Fixed an issue where the Show duplicate tab menu item option did nothing on the Settings page.
• Updated search engine aliases so they no longer take over single-character shortcuts, allowing you to assign them as you wish:
  • Google: @g → @go
  • Bing: @b → @bi
  • Ecosia: @e → @ec
  • Mojeek: @m → @mo
  • Qwant: @q → @qw
  • Waterfox Private Search: @w → @wps
• JPEG XL images should look better (thanks to @goodusername123):
  • The decoder now uses a higher quality blue noise dithering pattern to cut down on visible banding, and its upscaling step clamps overshoot to avoid haloing when enlarging images.
  • Color handling is more reliable; improved ICC/CMYK processing means images with embedded color profiles should match their intended colors more consistently.
  • General JPEG XL stability/performance tweaks from the upstream library: tighter buffering and math paths that should make decoding a bit smoother and less crash-prone.
• Security fixes for MFSA 2026-03

macOS

• Waterfox on macOS now supports Web Authentication (passkeys) for compatible sites.
• With the future release of macOS 26.3 and later, Waterfox will work with the iCloud Passwords extension.

Windows

• Windows builds now come bundled with the required Visual Studio redistributable files, meaning Waterfox will run on a fresh Windows install even if no other programs have been installed yet.
• Removed the survey checkbox from the uninstaller.