New Update Zen Browser Updates

Release build - 1.17.1b (2025-10-22)

Fixes​

  • Fixed a regression with collapsed tabs not expanding the full width of the window
  • Fixed an issue with warnings for unsigned extensions not displaying correctly
  • Fixed compact mode getting stuck after updating to 1.17
  • Fixed a border at the top of the window appearing in some cases
  • Other minor bug fixes and improvements

Changes​

  • Control centers will look more native on linux / windows for a more 'flat' appearance
 
Release build - 1.17.2b (2025-10-23)

Fixes​

  • Fixed wheel-clicking on pinned tabs not closing them if they are unloaded.
  • Fixed macos traffic light buttons "mirroring" themselves when using certain settings.
  • Other small quality of life improvements and bug fixes.
 
Release build - 1.17.3b (2025-10-24)

New Features​

  • Buttons on the control center has changed orders for faster access to frequently used buttons

Fixes​

  • Fixed bookmarks popup not opening
  • Fixed a memory leak while using glance tabs
 
Release build - 1.17.4b (2025-10-30)

Security​

Various security fixes

New Features​

  • Updated to Firefox 144.0.2
  • Added a new 'Clear Tabs' button to the sidebar to quickly close all open unpinned tabs.

Fixes​

  • Fixed dragging links inside the sidebar causing it to flicker in compact mode.
  • Fixed double toolbar urlbar permission icons not being centered vertically.
  • Fixed performance and video playback issues on macOS 26 (Tahoe) that occurred when the system was under heavy load.
  • Fixed a startup crash affecting Windows users with Avast or other security software installed.
 
Release build - 1.17.5b (2025-11-03)

New Features​

  • Advanced preferences 'zen.urlbar.single-toolbar-show-copy-url' and 'zen.urlbar.show-pip-button' has been added to control the visibility of the 'Copy URL' and 'Picture-in-Picture' buttons in the URL bar.
  • The site control center is now opened on click instead of on mouse down so the link can be dragged
  • If a site is bookmarked, the control center will now show a filled icon instead of an empty one.

Fixes​

  • Stability and performance improvements, specially on glance
 
Version 1.17.7b
November 15, 2025
  • Security Various security fixes.
  • Fixed Set workspace id of duplicated essential tab to current active workspace Issue #10457
  • Fixed incorrect element picker tooltip description Issue #8998
  • Updated to Firefox 145.0
  • Added Swiping back or going back in history now closes the tab if it has been opened from another tab
  • Added Control center will now show on new tab pages
  • Added theme commands for the urlbar commands
  • Added 'Open Link in Glance' option to link context menu
  • Added the options to make Ctrl+Tab cycling to keep within essentials/regular tabs only, and another option with the same behavior but for pending tabs
  • With the new Open links from apps next to your active tab setting, you can have links from other applications open next to your active tab instead of at the end of the tab strip.
  • Added Enhanced Bounce Tracking Protection's stateless mode is now enabled by default in ETP Strict, blocking more advanced tracking techniques based on redirection
  • Added For most Windows users, the existing desktop shortcut for launching Zen has been replaced with the desktop launcher, a small program that will launch Zen if it is installed

 
Release build - 1.17.8b (2025-11-19)

New Features​

  • Updated to Firefox 145.0.1
  • Improved the feel for drag-and-dropping tabs inside folders
  • Close buttons now only show when hovering over tabs
  • Tabs separator will always show if an unpinned tab is present

Fixes​

  • Fixed an issue with glance opening from the wrong location
  • Fixed various issues with the URL bar and its commands
  • Fixed memory leaks with split view and glance

Known Issues​

  • Double-click to open a new tab is currently broken on windows, as a workaround the preference 'zen.view.draggable-sidebar' has been added to disable the sidebar dragging feature and make double-click work again
 
Release build - 1.17.9b (2025-11-24)

New Features​

  • Added an update success notification after updating to a new version. (zen.updates.show-update-notification in about:config)

Fixes​

  • Fixed folders not remembering their name and icon changes after app restart.
  • Fixed glance being activated when alt+selecting a link
 
Release build - 1.17.10b (2025-11-25)

New Features​

  • Updated to Firefox 145.0.2

Fixes​

  • Fixed download animation not showing
  • Fixed ctrl/shift+click on a link not activating glance properly
 
Release build - 1.17.11b (2025-11-28)

New Features​

  • Enabled the new styled status panel by default just for macOS users for now.

Fixes​

  • Fixed double clicking on the sidebar not opening a new tab on Windows.
  • Fixed fullscreen having a border at the top on windows on secondary monitors.
  • Fixed very slow page loading in cases where http/3 connections failed but did not properly fall back to http/2.
  • Fixed pinned tabs restoring incorrectly and crashing when quitting on macOS.
 
Release build - 1.17.13b (2025-12-11)

Security​

Various security fixes

New Features​

  • Updated to Firefox 146.0
  • You can now choose monochrome themes and customize the color algorithm on the theme picker
  • Zen now natively supports fractional scaled displays on Linux (Wayland), making rendering more effective.
  • MacOS users now have a dedicated GPU process by default. This includes WebGPU, WebGL, and Zen's own WebRender. With this feature enabled, fatal errors in graphics code will no longer crash the browser, and will instead transparently restart the GPU process.

Fixes​

  • Small performance improvements and bug fixes.
 
Release build - 1.17.14b (2025-12-14)

New Features​

  • Added a preference (zen.downloads.icon-popup-position) to control the position of the download icon popup in compact mode.

Fixes​

  • Fixed startup hangs on macos systems having webrenderer disabled.
  • Fixed an issue when setting certain sites as default search engines being overwritten on restart.
  • Fixed minor issues with the update notification being used alongside the media player and improved overflowing space icons feel when hovering.
 
Release build - 1.17.15b (2025-12-20)

Security​

Various security fixes

New Features​

  • Updated to Firefox 146.0.1
  • Added support for Norwegian Bokmål (nb-NO), Slovak (sk), Romanian (ro) and more languages.

Fixes​

  • Fixed an issue where fingerprinting protection caused incorrect font rendering on popular websites.
  • Improved overall stability by fixing crashes related to browsing, graphics, and accessibility features.
  • Fixed opening a link from an external application not creating a new tab in some cases.
  • Fixed 'Create new split' not working from the command bar.
 
Release build - 1.18b (2026-01-23)
This update includes window sync and other nice improvements! Window sync is a way to keep your windows organized across multiple monitors. If you wan't a blank window, you can do so by using opt+cmd+N (for mac), ctrl+alt+N (for linux) and alt+N (for windows). Enjoy!

You can read more about window sync in our documentation here

New Features​

  • Updated to Firefox 147.0 and 147.0.1
  • Merged window syncing! Now, when you open multiple windows of Zen, they will stay in sync with each other. Changes made in one window will automatically reflect in all other open windows. (Experimental, some features such as glance still can't sync yet.)
  • Session restore now remembers which space each window was in.
  • Closing a tab will now focus the last accessed tab instead of the tab to the bottom
  • Tabs can now have custom icons (set via right-click context menu).
  • Implemented new tab drag-and-drop system, making it easier to rearrange tabs specially when multiple layers of folders are involved.
  • You can now collapse all pinned tabs by clicking on the space name below the essentials.
  • Before, only pinned tabs could be renamed; now, any tab can be renamed via right-click context menu or double-clicking the tab title.
  • New MacOS profiles will now have 'switch to N space' keyboard shortcuts filled by default (control+number).
  • Improved native menu bar integration on MacOS (and Windows/Linux if applicable), adding a 'Spaces' menu item for easier access to space-related actions.
  • Enabled de-cluttering preference for context menus.
  • WebGPU support is now enabled for devices with Apple Silicon processors on all supported macOS versions.
  • Improved video playback performance on systems with AMD GPUs by enabling zero-copy playback for hardware-decoded video where supported, bringing them to parity with Intel and NVIDIA GPUs.
  • Zen now supports the Safe Browsing V5 protocol and is migrating from Safe Browsing V4 to the local list mode of Safe Browsing V5 protocol.
  • Added an 'Essentials DnD Promo' card, shown when dragging a tab to the top of the sidebar if there are no essentials.

Fixes​

  • Improved startup time when restoring large sessions.
  • Improved rendering for background gradient rendering / mixing when using three color gradients.
  • Fixed split views resetting their layout / sizes on startup. (#9978)
  • Fixed pinned tabs losing their icons when being unloaded or at startup.
  • Fixed sub-folders separating from their parent folders when restoring in some cases.
  • Fixed a possible memory leak with mods.
 
Release build - 1.18.1b (2026-01-24)

Fixes​

  • Fixed an issue with new profiles not properly migrating the session files

Changes​

  • Changed the default keyboard shortcut for a new blank window to cmd+shift+N (for mac), ctrl+shift+N (for linux/windows)
 
Release build - 1.18.2b (2026-01-27)

Security​

Various security fixes

New Features​

  • Updated to Firefox 147.0.2
  • Added 'close to the most recently used tab' option to the tab management settings.

Fixes​

  • Fixed blank windows when opening Zen for the first time or new windows on some occasions.
  • Fixed an issue where essentials would disappear intermittently.
  • Fixed pinned tabs not restoring to their base URL at startup.
  • Other minor bug fixes and stability improvements related to window sync and its respective migration system.
 
Release build - 1.18.3b (2026-01-29)

Fixes​

  • Fixed auto-focusing on inputs not working for popup windows, such as Bitwarden's login prompt. (#11377)
  • Fixed not being able to drag and drop tabs between different windows if WS is disabled.
  • Added extra migration backup checks to prevent possible data loss during migration.
 

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