Browsers and email clients are among the most frequently used applications in daily computing. Ubuntu 26.04 ships with Firefox and Thunderbird by default, and you can install other options as needed.

Firefox Browser

Firefox is the default browser in Ubuntu 26.04, pre-installed as a Snap package.

Basic Usage

Firefox works out of the box and supports:

• Multi-tab browsing
• Bookmark and history management
• Built-in password manager
• Privacy-protecting tracker blocking
• Extension/add-on support

Account Sync

If you use Firefox on other devices, signing in to a Firefox account lets you sync:

• Bookmarks and history
• Saved passwords
• Open tabs
• Extensions and settings

Click the menu icon in the upper-right corner > “Sign in to sync”.

Language Settings

The Firefox Snap version usually matches the system language automatically. To set it manually:

1. Open the about:preferences page
2. In the “Language” section, click “Set Preferred Languages”
3. Add your preferred language

Firefox Performance Optimization

# Type about:config in the address bar

# Enable hardware acceleration (if your GPU driver supports it)
media.ffmpeg.vaapi.enabled = true

# Enable WebRender
gfx.webrender.all = true

Notes on Snap Firefox

Snap Firefox has sandboxed file access permissions:

• Uploading/downloading files works normally when using the system file picker
• If certain directories are inaccessible, you can fix it through Snap permission management:

# View Firefox Snap connections
snap connections firefox
 
# Grant access to removable media
sudo snap connect firefox:removable-media

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers worldwide and can be easily installed on Ubuntu.

Installing Chrome

Download the .deb package from the official Google website:

# Download
wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
 
# Install
sudo apt install ./google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

After installation, Chrome automatically adds the Google apt repository, so future updates are handled via sudo apt upgrade.

Chrome & Google Account Sync

After signing in to your Google account, you can sync bookmarks, passwords, extensions, history, and other data across all your devices.

Useful Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts

Chromium Browser

Chromium is the open-source version of Chrome and does not include Google’s proprietary components.

Installing Chromium

# Snap version (recommended)
sudo snap install chromium
 
# The chromium-browser apt package is just a transitional package;
# running it still installs Chromium via Snap (it is the Snap build under the hood)
sudo apt install chromium-browser

Chrome vs. Chromium

Recommended Browser Extensions

The following extensions are available for both Firefox and Chrome/Chromium:

• uBlock Origin: Efficient ad and tracker blocker
• Bitwarden: Open-source password manager
• Dark Reader: Enable dark mode for websites
• Tampermonkey: Userscript manager

Thunderbird Email Client

Thunderbird is the pre-installed email client in Ubuntu 26.04 — full-featured, free, and open-source.

First-Time Setup

1. Open Thunderbird
2. Enter your name, email address, and password
3. Thunderbird will automatically detect mail server settings (IMAP/SMTP)
4. Confirm and start sending/receiving emails

Supported Email Services

Thunderbird supports virtually all email services:

• Gmail / Google Workspace
• Outlook / Microsoft 365
• Yahoo Mail
• Self-hosted mail servers (IMAP/POP3/SMTP)

Thunderbird Core Features

• Multi-account management: Manage multiple email accounts simultaneously
• Calendar integration: Built-in calendar with CalDAV sync support
• Contact management: CardDAV sync support
• RSS subscriptions: Built-in RSS/Atom reader
• Mail filters: Create rules to automatically sort emails
• Encrypted communication: OpenPGP end-to-end encryption support

Thunderbird Keyboard Shortcuts

Setting the Default Browser

If you have multiple browsers installed, you can set the default:

1. Open “Settings > Default Applications”
2. In the “Web” section, select your preferred browser

Or use the command line:

# Set default browser
sudo update-alternatives --config x-www-browser
 
# Or use xdg-settings
xdg-settings set default-web-browser google-chrome.desktop

Summary

Ubuntu 26.04 offers a rich selection of browsers and email clients. Firefox as the default browser provides excellent privacy protection, while Chrome/Chromium brings seamless integration with the Google ecosystem. Thunderbird is a powerful email client that handles all major email services. Choose the tool combination that best fits your needs.