Discussion Best web browsers that respect your privacy?

[Hoppipolla]

For starters, a lot of the basic features that I had on chrome don't work the same on FF. I can't search for images or translate a webpage without plugins, which I wouldn't mind except for the fact that they slow down my browser. I also don't care for the history tab being a sidebar, I find it inconvenient to navigate. The homepage also isn't brilliant.

It's not a horrible browser, there's just little quality of life things that get on my nerves after awhile. I'm not at all tech-savvy so I'm sure there's workarounds for most of my issues.

I guess I quite like browsers that don't have too much bundled with them. It's personal preference I suppose.

I'd think that whether a plugin slows down the browser much or not is mostly dependent on the plugin itself.

It's probably possible to find ones that are more lightweight or efficient.

 

[KHHVcel]

I use Brave

 

[Hoppipolla]

I'm trying to boycott Google as much as possible because (well, for one, big tech) but also their ridiculous tendency to change completely functional features for the sake of change. That "Google Lens" thing infuriates me, as well as all the AI features they shove down people's throats.
What features in particular are bad about brave though?

I don't know what Google Lens is or their AI as I haven't used Chrome in a long time. Back on Windows I think I used Brave.

I hear that both jpeg xl and adblockers aren't supported by Chromium and it seems to me like Google is pushing through changes that benefit themselves. It doesn't feel very in-keeping with the spirit of open source, to me.

Bloat in Brave... it has stuff to do with their cryptocurrency and other similar things as I recall. Little unnecessary things that just feel a bit like "noise".

It wouldn't completely put me off using it but it's a bit of a downside for me. As I say I quite like a browser that is simple with as little extra stuff as possible. Maybe I'm just a boomer, lol

 

[HeinzKell]

I don't know what Google Lens is or their AI as I haven't used Chrome in a long time. Back on Windows I think I used Brave.

I hear that both jpeg xl and adblockers aren't supported by Chromium and it seems to me like Google is pushing through changes that benefit themselves. It doesn't feel very in-keeping with the spirit of open source, to me.

Bloat in Brave... it has stuff to do with their cryptocurrency and other similar things as I recall. Little unnecessary things that just feel a bit like "noise".

It wouldn't completely put me off using it but it's a bit of a downside for me. As I say I quite like a browser that is simple with as little extra stuff as possible. Maybe I'm just a boomer, lol

I don't have much experience with using different browsers, but I agree with you. I just want a browser that cuts as much fat as possible, provides decent privacy, and provides basic functionality for casual browsing. It's quite frightening how anti-consumer big tech is getting now, and even more frightening is how people support them in spite of their practices.

Google especially has spent years cultivating an obnoxious cult of personality around their products. I remember making a post on r/chrome questioning the functionality of their Google Lens feature and was screamed at by their rabid fanboys. They will vehemently defend big tech till their dying breath.

 

[Hoppipolla]

I don't have much experience with using different browsers, but I agree with you. I just want a browser that cuts as much fat as possible, provides decent privacy, and provides basic functionality for casual browsing. It's quite frightening how anti-consumer big tech is getting now, and even more frightening is how people support them in spite of their practices.

Google especially has spent years cultivating an obnoxious cult of personality around their products. I remember making a post on r/chrome questioning the functionality of their Google Lens feature and was screamed at by their rabid fanboys. They will vehemently defend big tech till their dying breath.

I didn't even realise that Google has fanboys, lol

I bet even Microsoft have fanboys and I think Windows 11 is shocking.

 

[HeinzKell]

I didn't even realise that Google has fanboys, lol

I bet even Microsoft have fanboys and I think Windows 11 is shocking.

Being a slave to a brand is just pathetic. It's one of the few things that really grinds my gears

 

[Hoppipolla]

Being a slave to a brand is just pathetic. It's one of the few things that really grinds my gears

As a kid I used to do it more I think.

I loved Sega and some other companies.

I have realised as I've gotten older though that companies often change so much over time. Way more than people, typically! And so the company you liked in 2010 might be totally different by 2020.

It's interesting how you get people who donate lots of money to companies and organisations and stuff. Like I noticed recently how many people donate to Linux Mint. Maybe that's where the love of companies comes from. You like their products and what they're giving to the world and so you want to support it.

 

[HeinzKell]

As a kid I used to do it more I think.

I loved Sega and some other companies.

I have realised as I've gotten older though that companies often change so much over time. Way more than people, typically! And so the company you liked in 2010 might be totally different by 2020.

It's interesting how you get people who donate lots of money to companies and organisations and stuff. Like I noticed recently how many people donate to Linux Mint. Maybe that's where the love of companies comes from. You like their products and what they're giving to the world and so you want to support it.

It's completely fine if you want to support a company that consistently releases quality products, my issue is with the people who will support them with no strings attached. Like if Sega started to make games and consoles with a noticeable drop in effort and quality, I guarantee there will be a handful of people who will defend their decisions because they're emotionally invested with Sega as a brand, not with the quality of their products.

 

[Hoppipolla]

It's completely fine if you want to support a company that consistently releases quality products, my issue is with the people who will support them with no strings attached. Like if Sega started to make games and consoles with a noticeable drop in effort and quality, I guarantee there will be a handful of people who will defend their decisions because they're emotionally invested with Sega as a brand, not with the quality of their products.

Yeah very true.

Maybe old habits die hard. Even this thing with Firefox... I find it hard to bad-mouth Firefox and Mozilla because they're a company that I've really liked in the past and they did a lot of amazing things. So maybe it's like that.

 

[iRespectproudweeb]

You probably shouldn't use an older version of the browser like at all, ESPECIALLY when going on onion sites because they can just be riddled with vulnerabilities that are already patched even with noscript active.

I don't browse the onions, so I don't see what the issue is.

 

[Hoppipolla]

I don't browse the onions, so I don't see what the issue is.

I guess that going on obscure/untrustworthy websites can always be a risk. I don't rush to upgrade my browser either but I'm mostly going on sites I trust anyway. And I'd use something like VirusTotal if I'm really uneasy about a site.

All that being said the only security issue I've ever had that I remember were due to me actually running a bad file.

 

[iRespectproudweeb]

I guess that going on obscure/untrustworthy websites can always be a risk. I don't rush to upgrade my browser either but I'm mostly going on sites I trust anyway. And I'd use something like VirusTotal if I'm really uneasy about a site.

All that being said the only security issue I've ever had that I remember were due to me actually running a bad file.

Yeah, I don't download anything from sites that exhibit a Tor mirror. I don't trust that.

 

[Scatius Deletus]

Israel.com

 

[Riinku]

I use Brave

 

[Knajjd]

Lynx is quite nice, very configurable, easy to build robots and GPLv2.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_(web_browser)