this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2025
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I read somewhere that Librewolf is not recommended because they are a small team and slow to patch vulnerabilities / integrate security fixes from Firefox.
Is it true? (Sincere question)
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Ironfox for Android?
Too new to recommend, IMO.
Added
There’s also Servo by the Linux Foundation and Ladybird.
These are actual different browsers and engines all together compared to FF spin-offs.
I'm excited for these to mature but they are still developing and would not recommend them for regular use
I'm still super waiting for Lady Bird. I cannot wait to give it a try, but it's gonna be like 2026 before they start rolling out builds for general use.
Isn't Librewolf tied to Firefox' TOS?
No.
I'm checking right now, but it's kind of unclear. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like Librewolf picks and chooses what to use from Firefox, yeah?
I'm also looking into the TOR browser.
All the forks pick and choose but features can be enabled or disabled, or removed entirely. Telemetry is always removed, whereas DRM or cookie settings can be turned off by default.
If you want some kind of Tor browser without all the Tor thing, Mullvad has its fork too from Tor (like the fixed display as a rectangle to prevent fingerprinting).
It’s free and open-source but it’s probably a bit annoying to use daily and it’s barebones: https://mullvad.net/en/browser
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The thing about open-source software is that if you fork the software, then your fork can have its own rules.
You can even make the fork of the software fully closed source except for the open source software that you used to originally develop it.
You can sell open source software as if it were proprietary.
You can basically do anything you want with it as long as you respect the original source from the code that you have taken.
Once the software is no longer in Mozilla's hands, then Mozilla's portion of the license no longer applies.
That's what I thought, but there are many people in this very thread saying the opposite. From what I read on Librewolf's site, it seems to back up what you are saying.
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You can always install a ~~fork~~ different browser
https://mullvad.net/en/browser
~~librewolf.net~~
I have been advised it's not a fork but a reconfig of default firefox, therefore it would technically be subject to the same ToS.
Edit: here's where I got that (with a link to the cfg) https://lemmy.world/comment/15368938
Depending on how the requirement to accept the ToS is implemented, a config file might be able to disable it and any features that depend on it.
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Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression it didn't call out to mozilla servers if you didn't enable sync.
I guess Mullvad would be the next popular browser yeah?
afaict Mullvad browser doesn't support plugins which - it does some adblock by default (more ifyou have the VPN) and so on but i gots to have my DarkViewer so it's a sometimes browser for me atm.
It does work with Firefox plugins, there just isn't a button to open the extension "store" in the extensions settings page like stock Firefox has. You can add them by manually going to the url though, it's just recommended that you don't since that increases your risk of adding a malicious plugin or being fingerprinted, etc. I still added a few plugins that I really dislike not having though, like a password manager and darkreader, just because I valued the convenience slightly more than the added security.
Nice, thanks!
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I see it said agian and agian. because its true. Firefox is one of, if not the best of the mainstream browsers. (Not included its many forks) but Mozilla is a horrible caretaker of it. Mozilla does not focus on firefox and they dont care/believe in it nearly as much as its users or devs who fork it.
The motivations of a company are extremely important, and has Mozilla does not care for a lightweight, good, privacy centric browser, the enshitification will and has corrupt firefox.
It's only a matter of time until it is as bad as chromium or flat out joins it.
I don't know why they haven't floated the idea of some kind of subscription or one-time payment (though a subscription might be just as infuriating). I'm not above paying for software and if it was a reasonable price, say $10 one-time, I'd much prefer that over it becoming the new Chrome.
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Considering how critical a browser is these days.
I'm surprised there isn't a very popular Open-Source one that everyone is using.
Ive seen a few foss options but they generally lack certain features alot of people have gotten used to either because they cant implement them or it was committed for privacy/resource reasons.
So it becomes a balance of features vs privacy and right now fire fox has been a good enough balance there hasn't been enough backing for a "good" feature rich foss that less computer adept users can easily install and migrate to.
It's because it's hard to maintain a browser. There's lots of protocols and engines and other moving pieces; I remember when web pages would render in Netscape but not Internet Explorer, for example.
We take for granted how seamless and ubiquitous the internet is, but there were lots of headaches as internet devs decided to adopt or include different users (or not).
And now, it would take a lot of effort and market upset to convince the capitalist overlords to include something new in their dev stack. The barrier to entry is monumentally high, so most people don't bother to try inventing something better.
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