Firefox for Android adds shake gesture to trigger AI page summaries using Mistral Small 3.1

Tired of long reads? Firefox for Android now lets you shake your phone for a summary

Users can now get a summary of the webpage they're on by shaking their phone. Mozilla recently released a new update (version 152.0) for Firefox. Along with the update, Mozilla rolled out a new feature that could save you some time while on a webpage. That new feature is called "page summaries" and it's available for Android. The new page summaries feature does exactly what it sounds like: it uses AI (Mistral Small 3.1) to summarize the webpage you're on. Not a revolutionary idea, but it's a nice party trick to say the least. The feature is triggered with a simple shake of your Android phone. However, you can also summarize the page from the address bar or from the three-dot menu by tapping "Summarize page." You won't be able to summarize every webpage. Mozilla notes that the tool has a length limit of 5,000 words. You also won't be able to use it to read paywalled content. Two other limitations are that you won't be able to use it in private mode, for now, and summaries are only supported in English. The company also warns that since the tool uses AI, summaries may not always be accurate. Mozilla says the page summaries feature is enabled by default. If you keep accidentally triggering the feature, you have the freedom to turn "Shake to summarize" off. For those who hate using AI tools, you can also completely disable page summaries. To do so, you'll need to open the three-dot menu, go to Settings, tap on Page summaries to find the toggles for Summarize page and Shake to summarize.

Firefox just added a feature that lets you shake your Android phone for page summaries

Karandeep Singh Oberoi is a Durham College Journalism and Mass Media graduate who joined the Android Police team in April 2024, after serving as a full-time News Writer at Canadian publication MobileSyrup. Prior to joining Android Police, Oberoi worked on feature stories, reviews, evergreen articles, and focused on 'how-to' resources. Additionally, he informed readers about the latest deals and discounts with quick hit pieces and buyer's guides for all occasions. Oberoi lives in Toronto, Canada. When not working on a new story, he likes to hit the gym, play soccer (although he keeps calling it football for some reason🤔) and try out new restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area. AI-powered browser summarizers aren't all that new, but Firefox's latest implementation to trigger said feature most definitely is. The browser, for reference, gained a 'Shake to Summarize' feature on iOS last year. Now, the feature has started landing for Android users as well. I built my perfect browser with Firefox extensions -- and now I can't go back I customized my browsing experience to fit my workflow Posts 3 By Anu Joy As it sounds, the feature lets you physically shake your Android device to summarize the web page you're on. It works best for articles, like ours, which are 5,000 words or lower. With its initial iOS-only implementation, the summarization worked via Apple Intelligence. For all other devices, which now includes Android devices, the summarization is processed by "Mozilla's cloud-based AI" that is powered by Mistral-Small. As pointed out by the folks over at PiunikaWeb, the feature went live with Firefox 152 on June 16. This is a cool new shortcut for those that use their Android device to do their reading online, though it isn't compulsory for summarization needs. If you prefer touch over gestures, Firefox will let you go into the browser menu and tap 'Summarize page.' Additionally, for users that find themselves triggering summarization even when not intended, Firefox will let you disable the gesture-based feature. You'll have the option to disable 'Shake to Summarize' under the 'Page summaries' tab. The new feature's UI is live for me on my Pixel 8, but the implementation isn't. My device registers the shake seamlessly, and then tries to summarize the page, only for it to return with an error. "Can't summarize right now. Try again later," reads the error. I've tried the regular troubleshooting steps, including force stopping the app and restarting my device, but the error still persists. This could suggest that the feature is still being rolled out in stages. Has the feature rolled out to you? If yes, is it working as intended? Let us know in the comments below!

Firefox's weirdest shortcut yet is rolling out to Android

Other browsers have quietly added AI page summaries over the past couple of years. Firefox decided to make you work for it instead. Mozilla's Firefox shake to summarize feature first showed up on iPhone last year. It's now rolling out to Android too. Shake your phone while reading a long article, and Firefox generates a quick summary. No more scrolling through the whole thing just to find the point. You don't actually have to shake anything if that feels silly in public. Tapping the lightning bolt icon in the address bar works just as well. There's also a Summarize Page option tucked into the three-dot menu. On Android, every summary runs through Mozilla's cloud-based AI. There's no on-device option like Apple Intelligence to lean on here. Mozilla picked the Mistral Small 3.1 model to handle that job. There are limits worth knowing about. The Firefox shake to summarize feature only works on pages under 5,000 words, and paywalled content is off the table. Private browsing mode isn't supported yet either, and summaries are currently English only. Some Rough Edges Already Early testing hasn't gone perfectly smooth. At least one reviewer ran into a "Can't summarize right now" error on a Pixel 8. The app still threw that error even after a restart. That points to a staged rollout more than a broken feature, but it's worth setting expectations if it doesn't work right away. If you'd rather skip the gesture, Firefox lets you turn off just the shake trigger while keeping tap-based summaries active. You can also disable page summaries entirely under Settings. Worth noting that Chrome's Gemini overlay has offered a near-identical summary shortcut on Android for almost two years, minus any gesture. Shaking your phone is really the only new idea in Firefox shake to summarize, not the AI part underneath it. Firefox for Android has been picking up small AI touches all year, and this one's at least memorable. If the shake doesn't work, there's always the much less exciting tap.