The logos of all the browsers in this roundup; all logos belong to their respective owners. Putting this notice here because some asshole would probably try to fucking sue me if I didn't.
The Internet is an everchanging landscape - and in many ways, it changes for the worse. While much of this can be attributed to people relying on services like Weebly and Wix to build their shitty sites for them, another major factor is at play - browser monopolies.
From Microsoft trying to force everybody to use its Shiternet Exploder browser in the 1990's to Google trying to force everybody to use Gurgle Crumb now - companies trying to take total control over what browser people use, and thus total control over the Internet itself has been a problem for the World Wide Web essentially from its infancy. Those who watched Microsoft squash Netscape may assume the browser wars are history - but this is a battle that is far from over - and it's not going to be over any time soon. For my fellow Internet users who will always stand by our right to choose what browser we want to use, I highly recommend checking out the Any Browser campaign.
And while you are free to use any browser you want, here are my reasons why I believe most of the mainstream web browsers popular today suck eggs:
Do I even need to say a single thing about this piece of spyware? Even if you're not a privacy freak, you probably know that Google is one of the largest privacy destroyers in the entire world - and no, that is NOT going to change any time soon. Needless to say, Google Chrome collects your entire browsing history (and a lot more) to sell off to advertisers.
Just in case you needed proof that Chrome is spyware, check out this article from the Spyware Watchdog. They have a ton of articles on other web browsers and software programs too, so I highly recommend checking them out.
I fucking despise Mozilla. Almost as much as I despise TikTok. I could write an entire article tearing Mozilla to shreds, but it looks like this guy saved me a lot of energy by beating me to it.
But what are my personal reasons for hating Mozilla? It boils down to one thing: despite their claims, Mozilla does NOT support a free and open Internet, and is ultimately a complete and utter fraud. It's one thing to build a company based on spyware you aren't subtle about, like what Apple has done - but claiming to be a beacon of Internet freedom and privacy while serving spyware to the very users trying to get away from it is completely despicable and logically indefensible.
Also, the fact that the layout in modern versions of Firefucks is complete dogshit certainly doesn't help either.
Yet another Chrome reskin, but with a layout that feels even more clunky and restrictive than Google's. Owned by a Chinese consortium, so not only does Google get to spy on all of your browsing history, so does Opera and however many advertising and governmental partners they have. It also has a 'built-in VPN' - what this 'VPN' really is, is a clever way to deceptively market yet another false privacy initiative to people.
YET ANOTHER Chrome reskin - and not only that, it's yet another Chrome reskin owned by a Chinese company. Off hand I'm not sure what information it collects about its users since I can't get their stupid privacy policy to load, but it's definitely worth noting that the Chinese government is one of the biggest enemies of privacy (and I'm sure that any even remotely notable company based in China will be happy to comply with any government requests for user information), so I wouldn't use this browser.
The layout sucks on iOS, kind of like iOS itself. I haven't even looked at the desktop version for a very long time, as in a 'before Apple switched to their shitty flat and boring theme' time - but it is known that Apple is a partner in US government surveillance programs, so it might be a good choice if you don't mind Uncle Sam constantly breathing down your neck.
What is it with all these goddamn Chrome reskins? One way or the other, Vivaldi claims to protect your privacy - and according to them, apparently assigning you a unique installation ID and making over 100 unsolicited requests on startup counts as 'protecting your privacy'. No thanks.
Think I forgot about you, Micro$oft? The privacy policy straight up says in the first fucking paragraph that Microsoft Edge lets you 'send information to us, like browsing history, to make the experience as rich, fast, and personal as possible.' More like 'to send you as many targeted ads, spyware, and other bullshit as possible'.
They claim that you can turn off the feature that sends your browsing history to Microsoft, but since Edge is completely closed source, there's no telling if turning it off from the browser will actually stop doing so, or if there's other hidden spyware features in Edge. All in all, another browser to stay away from.
And while I'm at it, Internet Explorer? Doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned. Even Microsoft wants to forget about it now.
Now on to some web browsers I actually like:
In my opinion, Pale Moon provides the best balance between functionality and being a decent choice for privacy. Works with all sorts of privacy-enhancing browser extensions including ηMatrix (a fork of uMatrix), uBlock Origin, NoScript and others. Uses the Goanna rendering engine, a fork of earlier versions of Firefox (which Pale Moon's layout also resembles), so there's no chromium anywhere.
It should be noted that while Pale Moon has some built in privacy protection, it also has some spyware built in including an extension blocklist that tries to block the installation of NoScript, and unsolicited OCSP querying connections to cs9.wac.phicdn.net every time you open a website. Sadly these spyware 'features' are opt-out rather than opt-in, but at least all of this crap can be disabled.
An all around great browser in my opinion, since it's extremely lightwight (even compared to Pale Moon), has a clean and customizable layout, and even maintains support for Windows XP - something that is rare in a world where some browsers including Brave are now dropping support for Windows 7. Has some privacy features built in including a basic ad blocker, and runs on the Goanna rendering engine. Doesn't work with as many extensions as Pale Moon, but it will work with some important ones including NoScript and uBlock Origin.
When you start up K-Meleon, it will make unsolicited connections to the IP address 104.18.11.128. If we look up information on this IP address, we will see that it is operated by Cloudflare. I have no idea why K-Meleon makes these connections, if it is some sort of telemetry, security checks similar to Pale Moon's OCSP querying or what, but for a browser that claims to be telemetry-free, it is a noteworthy observation.
UPDATE: So it turns out that uBlock Origin DOES NOT work properly with K-Meleon. Apparently someone started a github thread back in 2018 about the issue, and no fix ever came out of it unfortunately. Quite a shame since NoScript 5.1.9 DOES work, although the pop up menu in the bottom right corner of the screen is non-functional so you have to manually add every site you use to the whitelist through the Options menu. Until K-Meleon catches up in its development you'll probably be better off using Pale Moon if you want a Goanna-based browser (there is also a special build of Pale Moon for Windows XP).
Otter Browser itself is an excellent choice for privacy, since it makes no unsolicted requests, and has some privacy features built in. The layout (being a recreation of classic versions of Opera) is also very clean and it's a pretty lightweight browser.
Addon support is basically nonexistent - that means no uMatrix, uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, NoScript... the list goes on.
A Chrome reskin, but unlike Chrome this browser actually cares about your privacy. All of Google's spyware is removed and it makes no unsolicited requests.
When I say ungoogled-chromium is a chrome reskin, I'm using that term literally here: it's a literal carbon copy of Google Chrome sans Google's spyware. Because Chrome was obviously not created with the intention of being a privacy-friendly web browser, ungoogled chromium doesn't really have any privacy features out of the box - although if you plan on installing privacy extensions (as I would do), this won't be an issue of course.
It's another Chrome reskin, but at least Brave makes a half-assed attempt to actually care about your privacy. Has privacy protections out of the box, although I should note that this browser is NOT the best for privacy overall. Regardless, I do think Brave is an excellent choice for the semi-privacy conscious user looking for a browser that 'just works', but for the extreme privacy conscious user I would recommend using it only as a last resort for websites that don't work in other browsers.
The browser has telemetry (although most of it can be disabled at least) but more notable is that there's definitely been some shady and hypocritical stuff going on with Brave themselves. I wouldn't call them as egregious as Mozilla - but ultimately, you will have to decide if you trust their privacy claims or not.
And now for an uncomfortable truth:
Yep. There is not any web browser that is perfect for both privacy and functionality - nor is one likely to exist any time soon. Any browser maintained by an independent developer or team of developers is never going to be able to keep up with the 'modern' internet as well as a browser developed by a corporation that actually has the resources to do so, and some websites will flat out never work properly without allowing their spyware code to execute. I should also note that choosing ANY web browser ultimately boils down to you putting your trust in the developer - even if a browser is verified to make no unsolicited requests, there's always the chance that spyware 'features' could be rolled out in a future update.
Ultimately, you should choose the web browser that works the best for you, not any sleazy corporation or government. Hell, if you want to stick with Google or Mozilla's spyware then go ahead and make your day. But if we don't let it be known now that we appreciate our freedom to choose what browser WE THE PEOPLE want to use - we will lose that freedom sooner rather than later...
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