Waterfox is a browser, obviously based on Firefox, but without default “junk” that Firefox comes with.
Don’t see many mentions to Waterfox at all in this community? Are there any specific reasons for it? Seems like a neat version of Firefox, with development based out of the UK.
- Worthwile blogpost on their independence and future updates: https://www.waterfox.net/blog/waterfox-in-2023/
- Project: https://www.waterfox.net
- Flathub: https://flathub.org/apps/net.waterfox.waterfox
Waterfox was bought by an ad company.
Edit: According to this page it’s no longer the case, though I still am not completely comfortable with it.
They were, but as I understand they are once again independent. I’d still rather stick with Librewolf, but I’m glad there are options.
Yeah I found that out as I was looking for sources, but you guys are quick to comment, aha!
not anymore, they became independent again in 2023
I hate to break it to you but Mozilla, Google and Microsoft are all Advertising companies.
All big tech is. They got big for a reason. Though I find Mozilla much less of a thread than other corps like Google, Meta, Microsoft. Meta I find easy to block as none of their services are actually useful. Google is a tad bit harder, and Microshit creeps in on every spot and I don’t like it.
Meta I find easy to block as none of their services are actually useful.
Oh honey. Meta is still collecting your data, even if you never use their site.
But if you use a private browser and a VPN you’re probably OK.
I think that is fair. However, you shouldn’t trust Mozilla more than any other company
Don’t discuss Geopolitics on Lemmy. It is a bad idea
Mozilla makes money from Firefox pocket and the sponsored part if the Firefox home screen. You can turn those off but it is still advertising
Oof… 🚩🚩🚩 fool me once…
Using niche browser forks is often not a good idea. These are extremely fast moving projects that need to constantly be updated to stay secure.
This is especially true for Firefox forks, as Firefox allows you to customize it to the point that it is almost the same as many of these forks.
There are exceptions to this - for example, LibreWolf has a fairly good track record and Mullvad Browser needs to fork Firefox to (try) ensure all users have the same fingerprint.
I feel like this argument is the same argument people use to tell you never to leave the Microsoft ecosystem
You must use Edge, Office, Defender and Azure
No it’s a security and fingerprinting tradeoff.
The more your browser acts to hide your behaviors and limit tracking, the more unique your fingerprint is. The most private browser setup is one which appears to be identical to all the other traffic in a non unique way, or noise. This definitionally lacks information for tracking.
Also security flaws and tracking exploits need to be constantly patched.
This is a fundamental tradeoff for privacy. Using more obscure browsers can (not always) then expose you to behavioral fingerprinting because they look different and react to web pages differently.
I much prefer Librewolf. They are a little more transparent about it is, an independent, open source repackaging of Firefox with Arkenfox(ish) patches applied to it, rather than an entity which signs up for deals with other businesses.
Waterfox has had some bad press. I don’t remember details but here’s something to read :
- https://www.ghacks.net/2023/07/04/waterfox-browser-cuts-ties-with-system-1-to-celebrate-independence/ (2023)
- https://www.waterfox.net/blog/waterfox-has-joined-system1/ (2020)
I prefer to stick to the no nonsense LibreWolf and when some things don’t work fall back to Firefox :
I don’t view the ghacks.net article as badpress myself after reading it. Also the System1 deal, which is no longer a thing, is the same company who bought Startpage, which is still recommended over at privacyguides.org
Startpage, which is still recommended over at privacyguides.org
For now. There is an open pull request to remove it due to Startpage fingerprinting users (I didn’t delve into it to see if it’s true, but that was the reason given). And just because it’s been suggested doesn’t mean it will be removed, so time will till.
https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org/pull/2577
Waterfox is a neat project, but is often slow to implement security patches from Firefox upstream.
