• Firefox is a privacy-friendly alternative to Chrome, using its own browser engine (Gecko) and offering strong privacy protections compared to Chromium-based browsers.
  • Despite its benefits, Firefox relies on Google for funding, raising concerns about its future, and some recent privacy decisions have drawn criticism.
  • Switching from Chrome to Firefox is simple, and alternatives like Mullvad Browser offer even stronger privacy for those seeking more protection.
40 points

There’s also arkenfox or librewolf

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16 points

I use librewolf (and have for a while) the extra privacy really isn’t intrusive, there are some sites that don’t work correctly, on it, but I just open up regular Firefox and throw the URL there if that’s the case.

The only thing I don’t like is how long it takes to build whenever there’s an update. I only update it 1-2 times a month but it’s still a 20-30 minute process each time

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4 points

I switched to arkenfox since the librewolf package lagged a bit on arch and I didn’t want to build myself. If sites really break bad (usually I can get around it by disabling some ublock settings), I just open a blank firefox profile

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10 points

Arkenfox is not a browser, but a set of technical settings.

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7 points

Just out of interest, how do those browsers, and other forks, get funding? All voluntarily development or donations?

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8 points

See this relevant article on Firefox and Mozilla’s funding.

https://slrpnk.net/post/12621021

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2 points

Librewolf explicitly reject donations.

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2 points

They just patch Firefox

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10 points

That’s…not really an answer to the question asked.

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5 points

That’s great. Want to tell us more than their names?

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-1 points

No

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4 points

arkenfox

arken what?

Oh, I see.

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39 points

Sorry, I can’t switch to Firefox, as I’ve never not used Firefox.
I used it already when it was called Netscape. Before that I used Mosaic, which itself is not entirely stranger to Netscape creation.

Also, FF is not “a great alternative to Google Chrome”. FF is a great browser in its own right. (Almost) always has been. And how could it be considered an alternative to anything when it was there first (or second, right after Mosaic)?

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6 points

This is the way.

I solely used Netscape Navigator since it came out and after it fell I chose Firefox. My interface has always been modded to look permanently like Firefox 3.6.

Everything is where I want it to be and everything works perfectly.

Many moons ago my employer tried to force us to use only Internet Explorer / Edge for reasons they were unable to explain - since there were none, technically or otherwise. I rebelled and remotely installed Firefox with Adblock / uBlock Origin to every personal computer (I was the unofficial IT guy) and told my co-workers to try it out.

At the next meeting we were told that the use of Firefox is not only approved but recommended. The magic of an “ad free browser” had taken hold, people found it vastly superior and had been vocal about their newfound dislike of MS browsers.

To my surprise I wasn’t even reprimanded in any way.

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3 points

Wait… Firefox was Netscape?!

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8 points

Not just was Netscape, Mozilla was straight up founded by Netscape people https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla

On January 23, 1998, Netscape announced that its Netscape Communicator browser software would be free, and that its source code would also be free.[4] One day later, Jamie Zawinski of Netscape registered mozilla.org.[5] The project took its name, “Mozilla”, from the original code name of the Netscape Navigator browser—a portmanteau of “Mosaic and Godzilla”,[6] and used to coordinate the development of the Mozilla Application Suite, the free software version of Netscape’s internet software, Netscape Communicator.[7][8] Zawinski said he arrived at the name “Mozilla” at a Netscape staff meeting.[9] A small group of Netscape employees were tasked with coordinating the new community.

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4 points
*

I remember using Mosaic on Silicon Graohics machines back in the early ‘90s. It’s was fab for the time.

And yes, Mosaic became Netscape, became Firefox. From the wiki page at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator

The business demise of Netscape was a central premise of Microsoft’s antitrust trial, wherein the Court ruled that Microsoft’s bundling of Internet Explorer with the Windows operating system was a monopolistic and illegal business practice. The decision came too late for Netscape, however, as Internet Explorer had by then become the dominant web browser in Windows. The Netscape Navigator web browser was succeeded by the Netscape Communicator suite in 1997. Netscape Communicator’s 4.x source code was the base for the Netscape-developed Mozilla Application Suite, which was later renamed SeaMonkey.[4] Netscape’s Mozilla Suite also served as the base for a browser-only spinoff called Mozilla Firefox.

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2 points

Sorry, I can’t switch to Firefox, as I’ve never not used Firefox.

You still can! Just uninstall Firefox, switch to an alternative browser. Now you are in a position where you can switch to Firefox. To make it more believable, open your favorite website with the new browser, close it and uninstall it. Install Firefox, so you can switch to it. All of this takes only a few minutes and can be done by virtually anyone.

Modern problems require modern solution. Thank me later, alligator.

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2 points

Clever 8^)

But I still have to install FF from time to time, like I did today — best way to spend one’s Sunday, reinstalling the Mac :/

Speaking installation, whenever I do an installation Firefox is always the second app I install on fresh machine. The first one being my password manager.

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1 point

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19 points

I appreciate the effort but posting this in here is pointless as most people in here are already in Firefox or any other browser that is not Chrome itself.

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32 points

Hey, it shows up in people’s “All” feeds as well. I’m not subscribed here and I saw this post (but I do also already use Firefox).

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8 points

Not subscribed and saw the post. Still a Chrome user but probably need to bite the bullet and move over.

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7 points

With the deprecation of UBlock Origin, it’s time.

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1 point

I’m waiting for adblockers to stop working, or maybe when I have the time, but I have way too much shit going on to switch just now.

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25 points

Nah I disagree, people can also send articles to friends

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14 points

I don’t really understand all these articles explaining how to switch to Firefox. You install firefox and use it, that’s all. During all those years when firefox was the black sheep, I tried chromium again and never felt any real difference in speed or productivity. Software is all about habits. 2 weeks with one browser and you forget that another exists. Might as well go for the cleanest.

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3 points

I don’t really understand all these articles explaining how to switch to Firefox. You install firefox and use it, that’s all.

They don’t give a crap about the article usefulness, that’s just more ads to sell.

Why do you think the web is so much riddled with crap content? More and more of it generated by clueless AI? It’s not to be helpful to their readers, that I can tell you ;)

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12 points

I think we should spread this message and the guide in other communities or on other platforms. I don’t think posting this in the Firefox community will achieve much.

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11 points

I look at All and this is great info for me.

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6 points

Lemmy is quite good at not being too “tribal”. Why not embrace a message as expressed, instead of worrying about where it is … posted?

For me, one of the worst issues affecting t’internets is tribalism. Us humans are hardwired to go all in on tribal affiliation. It is generally harder to find inclusive measures than it is to find exclusive measures.

If you are here then you may not be exclusively: Firefox user ⊆browser user ⊆human. Note that browser user can have multiple browsers.

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