TLDR;#

I’m not using Firefox anymore… instead I use… well, you’ll have to read the article to find out 😜

Context#

I’ve recently switched from Linux to MacOS and while the transition has been mostly smooth, it’s also a good time to reevaluate some previous choices. I’ve used Firefox from the start (I didn’t remember my previous browser, on Windows it was probably IE but on Linux ?) and until recently, it has served me really well: an open source browser that respects user privacy, is extensible with plugins, is available on all platforms I use, count me in ! I’ve seen the rise of Chrome and despite using it sporadically, I stayed on Firefox until very recently.

And then, something changed… the browser is still mostly the same but the company behind it not anymore. You’ve probably seen the news but IA is coming to Firefox and they don’t respect user privacy anymore. There is a lot of trust when choosing a web browser (given the enormous time I spend in the browser) and I don’t trust Mozilla anymore. So here we are, I’m ditching Firefox and it’s time to search for a new browser.

New browser#

The initial contenders were: Safari, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi. It turns out I chose none of them. I could go into great length describing why, but in a nutshell, there was always “something” that bothered me: extensions on Safari, Chrome, Edge and Vivaldi are all based on V8 and al. meaning they contribute to a monopoly which is at odd with the promise of an open web.

Orion#

Orion is browser by Kagi (a premium search engine) based on Webkit (the engine that powers Safari) and support Firefox and Chrome extensions which is quite unique. It’s more targeted at Apple devices for now but support for Linux and Windows is “coming soon” according to their website. It’s not truly open source for now which is not that great for those seeking to use “pure” open source software but according to their FAQ, they are working on it.

I’m currently using Orion both on MacOS and iOS and it works great. It’s not as “native” as Safari and I didn’t install that much extensions (which surprised me at first). The one feature I really love is vertical tab which can also be found in other browsers (more on this later) but it was my first real exposure and it’s quite nice.

Ladybird#

Ladybird is a truly independent web browser, using a novel engine based on web standards. I really like the idea of creating a new browser from scratch. The only problem right now is that it’s still in active development, so you have to build it yourself if you want to use it, which reminds me of the time I had to compile the Linux kernel (yeah I know, a long long time ago…).

I’ll keep an eye on it and once they have a proper installer, I’ll try it and see how it fits in the current landscape of browsers.

Zen#

Zen is a slick Firefox-based browser which is packed with features like vertical tabs, picture-in-picture, split view, workspaces, … Being based on Firefox, you can install all the extensions you know and love. It’s a great alternative to Firefox: in fact, I’m currently using it in conjunction with Orion as I haven’t elected a winner for now.

Unfortunately there is no iOS version but I use a small “trick” to send tabs from iOS to MacOS: once you’ve installed Firefox on iOS and you are connected to your Firefox account, it integrates with the “Share” menu which means I can easily share a tab from Safari or Orion on iOS to Zen on MacOS.

Just the browser#

Note that if you still want to use a “popular” browser like Chrome or Firefox, but want to remove the “bloat” like IA features, telemetry, … you can use just-the-browser.