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Review: Joomla 3.9

updated 21 October 2026

Joomla 3.9 was called "The Privacy Tool Suite": tools for data protection, plus a log of user actions and, according to its announcement, more than 250 improvements. For this review we installed Joomla 3.9.28 of 6 July 2021, the last version of this line, and photographed it.

Series "Joomla history" · minor version · part of the series: Review: Joomla 3.0 · back to Review: Joomla 3.8 · next: Review: Joomla 3.10

Released30 October 2018 (Joomla 3.9.0)
Last version3.9.28 of 6 July 2021 (29 versions)
Followed byJoomla 3.10 on 17 August 2021
RequirementsPHP from 5.3.10
TemplatesProtostar (default), Beez3; Isis in the backend, Hathor
Included in the installation183 extensions
End of supportEnd of Life: Joomla 3.x

What was new in Joomla 3.9

According to the Joomla 3.9 announcement:

  • Ask for consent to the privacy policy and terms and manage it with an expiry date.
  • Manage requests for information and removal; export or anonymise data.
  • Extensions can report which data they collect.
  • The user actions log: who did what and when in the backend.
  • Notes on articles, search in article text, loading modules by ID and repeatable custom fields.
Joomla 3.9: The privacy dashboard
The privacy dashboard.
Joomla 3.9: The users' consents
The users' consents.
Joomla 3.9: The user actions log
The user actions log.

The installation

Joomla 3.9 installer: step 1
Step 1: site name and login.
Joomla 3.9 installer: step 2
Step 2: the database.
Joomla 3.9 installer: step 3
Step 3: the ownership check – Joomla asks you to delete a file in the "installation" folder.
Joomla 3.9 installer: step 4
Step 4: the overview with sample data and server check.
Joomla 3.9 installer: step 5
Step 5: done.

The website

Joomla 3.9: home page
The freshly installed website with the sample data.
Joomla 3.9: Sample Sites
The page "Sample Sites".
Joomla 3.9: Getting Started
The page "Getting Started".
Joomla 3.9: Using Joomla!
The page "Using Joomla!".
Joomla 3.9: Using Extensions
The page "Using Extensions".
Joomla 3.9: Components
The page "Components".
Joomla 3.9: Home
The home page on a smartphone.

The backend

Joomla 3.9: The backend login
The backend login.
Joomla 3.9: The control panel
The control panel.
Joomla 3.9: The
The "Content" menu.
Joomla 3.9: The article list
The article list.
Joomla 3.9: Editing an article with TinyMCE 4.5
Editing an article with TinyMCE 4.5.
Joomla 3.9: The categories
The categories.
Joomla 3.9: The items of a menu
The items of a menu.
Joomla 3.9: The modules of the website
The modules of the website.
Joomla 3.9: The plugins
The plugins.
Joomla 3.9: 183 extensions in a fresh installation
183 extensions in a fresh installation.
Joomla 3.9: The template styles
The template styles.
Joomla 3.9: The global configuration
The global configuration.
Joomla 3.9: The user groups
The user groups.
Joomla 3.9: The Media Manager
The Media Manager.
Joomla 3.9: System information – with PHP 7.4 from our test environment
System information – with PHP 7.4 from our test environment.
Joomla 3.9: Joomla Update
Joomla Update.

2018 and today

For comparison: the same views in a fresh Joomla 6.2.

Joomla 3.9.
2018Joomla 3.9.
Joomla 6.2.
2026Joomla 6.2.
Editing an article in 3.9.
2018Editing an article in 3.9.
Editing an article in 6.2.
2026Editing an article in 6.2.

All 29 versions of Joomla 3.9

According to the Joomla downloads:

  1. 3.9.030 Oct 2018
  2. 3.9.127 Nov 2018
  3. 3.9.215 Jan 2019
  4. 3.9.312 Feb 2019
  5. 3.9.412 Mar 2019
  6. 3.9.59 Apr 2019
  7. 3.9.67 May 2019
  8. 3.9.711 Jun 2019
  9. 3.9.811 Jun 2019
  10. 3.9.99 Jul 2019
  11. 3.9.1010 Jul 2019
  12. 3.9.1113 Aug 2019
  13. 3.9.1224 Sep 2019
  14. 3.9.135 Nov 2019
  15. 3.9.1417 Dec 2019
  16. 3.9.1528 Jan 2020
  17. 3.9.1610 Mar 2020
  18. 3.9.1721 Apr 2020
  19. 3.9.1821 Apr 2020
  20. 3.9.192 Jun 2020
  21. 3.9.2014 Jul 2020
  22. 3.9.2125 Aug 2020
  23. 3.9.226 Oct 2020
  24. 3.9.2324 Nov 2020
  25. 3.9.2412 Jan 2021
  26. 3.9.252 Mar 2021
  27. 3.9.2613 Apr 2021
  28. 3.9.2724 May 2021
  29. 3.9.286 Jul 2021

Joomla 3 at a glance

VersionFirst releaseLast releaseVersions
Joomla 3.027 Sep 20123.0.4 · 23 Apr 20135
Joomla 3.123 Apr 20133.1.6 · 6 Nov 20137
Joomla 3.26 Nov 20133.2.7 · 1 Oct 20148
Joomla 3.330 Apr 20143.3.6 · 1 Oct 20147
Joomla 3.424 Feb 20153.4.8 · 24 Dec 20159
Joomla 3.521 Mar 20163.5.1 · 5 Apr 20162
Joomla 3.612 Jul 20163.6.5 · 13 Dec 20166
Joomla 3.725 Apr 20173.7.5 · 17 Aug 20176
Joomla 3.818 Sep 20173.8.13 · 9 Oct 201814
Joomla 3.930 Oct 20183.9.28 · 6 Jul 202129
Joomla 3.1017 Aug 20213.10.12 · 11 Jul 202313

Still running a website on Joomla 3?

It gets no security updates any more. We bring it to Joomla 6 – we name the effort after an inventory.

See Joomla update and migration

How we did it: Joomla 3.9.28 in the original package from downloads.joomla.org, locally in Docker with PHP 7.4 and MySQL 5.7, reachable only on our own machine, files unchanged, with the "Learn Joomla" sample data. PHP error display is switched off so that notices about outdated functions do not cover the pictures. The red warning that our PHP is outdated only appears because we run the old version today – we closed it with its own button before taking the picture.

Sources: Joomla 3.9 announcement, Joomla downloads and our own screenshots. As of 21 October 2026.

All versions of Joomla 3

All parts of the series "Joomla history"

  1. Part 1: Joomla 1.0 (2005)
  2. Part 2: Joomla 1.5 (2008)
  3. Part 3: Joomla 2.5 (2012)
  4. Part 4: Joomla 3.0 (2012)
  5. Part 5: Joomla 4.0 (2021)
  6. Part 6: Joomla 5.0 (2023)
  7. Part 7: Joomla 6.0 (2025)
Ufuk Avcu

Owner and developer of the Joomla Agency. Has been building and looking after Joomla websites since 2009.

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