A week ago, Mozilla updated the Firefox Terms of Use. No one has really understood the meaning behind the change, but we now know that Mozilla reneged on promises to never sell your data. If you see this as a potential problem too, it’s time to look for a more trusted browser.
What could you use instead of Firefox?
For me, the Firefox story ended the moment they defiantly left Facebook. It got even worse when Mozilla started pushing questionable legislative initiatives and fighting for social justice. Familiar functions disappeared from the browser, services that many users liked were suddenly shut down, but the foundation’s management again and again rewrote its own manifesto, which no one was following at that moment and wasn’t going to. Developers were regularly thrown out into the cold, and effective managers were regularly hired in their places, but all their attempts to earn money again and again came down to accepting multimillion-dollar handouts from Google. By the way, Mozilla apparently used this money to pay for lawyers, who then bombarded Google with antitrust lawsuits. And every time another autocrat resigned, I believed that someone adequate would take his place. No one adequate has come so far. And when it seemed that no one could be worse than Mitchell Baker, someone knocked from below.
Mozilla was not satisfied with the financial growth. Yeah, it’s hard to grow financially when your only source of income is your main competitor. For many years Google has been throwing more and more money to Firefox, and this is not surprising, because with this financial help Google could refute its dominant position in court: «We are not monopolists. Look at how much money we spend on paying for the default search engine in Firefox. Gosh!». But don’t try to find logic in this: Mozilla tried to stop Google from paying for default search engine in independent browsers, clearly realizing that the money from Google is their main source of income.
I am not surprised by the scandals that Firefox regularly gets into. I’m not even interested already. I’ve been looking at them for about 15 years now, and I’ve seen it all. The only thing I haven’t seen is adequate damage control and any attempt to build a sustainable long term strategy.
The Terms of Use changes and subsequent scandal didn’t surprise me too. And even more: I’m sure the ToU was changed post facto. Don’t forget: Mozilla is also about the ad network now. Yeah, we haven’t seen Mozilla’s innovative advertising yet, but do you really believe that someone will spend money on something that won’t make a profit?
What? Mozilla is a non–profit organization, isn’t it? Don’t be ridiculous!
There are enough complaints about Firefox, but Firefox is the only truly independent browser. Maybe not financially, but at least at the level of technology. And that means that anyone who isn’t thrilled with Google’s total dominance will have to support Firefox. They have geeks, and they have linuxoids. Mozilla knows this and sure that’s never gonna change.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like it. Not enough to run to delete all my data, but enough to think about replacing the browser with something more trusted.
So, which browser should you look out for if you’re tired of Firefox’s controversial top-management moves?
1. Librewolf and Waterfox
If you like Firefox and still want to support the latest independent browser, Librewolf is perfect for you. It’s still the same Firefox, but with a normal privacy policy and normal default privacy settings.
Old-school fans can try Waterfox. He looks like Little wolf, but he came out much earlier and has never been involved in any scandals during this time. And for us, the absence of scandals is one of the main criteria when choosing a browser right now.
2. Zen and Floorp
If you like Firefox, but you’re not thrilled with the lack of noticeable changes, try to install Zen or Floorp. These are new browsers with a good reputation and an active fan base. It’s Firefox, but with a fresh new interface. If Mozilla is copying the features of no-name browsers in the latest Firefox releases, they have a pretty good future. So, read reviews and look at screenshots. If you like it, it’s a good choice right now.
3. Brave and Vivaldi
If the Firefox policy disappointed you so much that you don’t really want to spend your energy and nerves on supporting the latest independent browser, take a look at the Chrome-based Brave and Vivaldi.
Brave is like Chrome, but with a normal privacy policy, a great build-in ad blocker and good reputation. The only serious scandal I can recall was referral links for some websites. In my oppinion, it’s not the worst sin.
Another Chromium-based browser I can trust is Vivaldi. Do you remember the classic Opera on Presto? This is the same team. They’ve already lost their browser once, and now they’re developing a new one, but with their own money.
To be honest, Vivaldi is my default browser. I like the browser and I like the community around the browser. So I’m not really objective here: I love Vivaldi and will always support it!
4. Otter, Palemoon и Falkon
Disappointed with modern browsers? Miss the old days when the trees were big and the grass was green? Ready to suffer? OK, let’s go!
Otter is a reincarnation of the classic Opera, an attempt to bring back the same interface with modern technologies. It looks good and very familiar, but there is a very small team behind the browser, and many familiar features are not available yet. I tried to use it for at least a couple days, but it didn’t work with some of the websites I need.
Falkon is a browser from the KDE Community. It looks nice, but a bit childish. This is probably one of the most modern and at the same time lightweight browsers. So. it’s a good choice for KDE fans and for those who still have to use an outdated PC, but not perfect yet.
And then Palemoon. This is an attempt to resurrect classic versions of Firefox, before all Quantum and extension reforms. If you’re willing to sacrifice convenience for nostalgia, you should try it.
Next, I would like to hear the opinion of those who have already used these browsers. Not a couple days like I did, but at least a few weeks or months. Leaving a browser you’ve used for years and looking for a new home isn’t fun, and I’d rather know the pros and cons before I install something I can’t use.
For example, synchronization. As I know, almost all Firefox-based browsers use Firefox accounts to sync your data. Correct? Or do some of them use their own synchronization? Between devices or via a server? And what about a mobile version?
Russian-speaking users already know how I will finish this text:
If you have experience interacting with any of these browsers, feel free to share your opinion in the comments. I’m sure it will be really useful for someone.
March 6, 2025