I’ve always been a Chrome user, mainly out of habit. But recently, I’ve noticed that my 16GB computer struggles a bit when I have 10 to 15 tabs open at the same time, so I’ve been wondering if switching to a different browser would actually make a difference.
I’ve seen people recommend Firefox for privacy protection, Brave for its built-in ad-blocking feature, and some even say that Edge now performs better in terms of memory usage. But I’ve also heard that Chrome is still the best when it comes to its extension ecosystem and website compatibility.
I’m curious to know if you’ve actually noticed a significant difference after switching browsers, or if it’s mostly just a psychological effect?
Try Brave or Firefox with uBlock Origin. They use way less RAM than Chrome when you have a bunch of tabs open, and the performance boost is actually noticeable.
It replaced Firefox for me, being founded by Brendan Eich gives it credibility for me. I also have a positive opinion of how the Chromium devs approach security.
I don’t notice the cryptocurrency stuff, though I don’t think it’s a bad thing either. The conventional ad/tracking/selling-user-info approach that runs most of the Internet isn’t so awesome so I’m open to companies exploring alternatives.
I try to minimize my exposure to tracking and data harvesting. To this end I have a rather complicated setup.
I run LibreWolf most of the time, with the highest fingerprinting resistance enabled, and set to wipe all cookies every time it is shut down.
It breaks some sites though, so I keep the Mullvad browser around as a backup for those.
Additionally all of my traffic exits my network via a trusted VPN, all of my searches go through a self hosted SearXNG instance to limit tracking from search and I have a piHole DNS filtering service set up - not for the ads, but to block as many cross site trackers as I can.
And then - of course - the uBlock Origin plugin - again - mostly intended to block out trackers, but I don’t mind the ads disappearing either.
Nothing is perfect, but this is about as good as I can get it. And yes, this is inconvenient as it often breaks sites, but I can live with that. No amount of convenience is worth all of the spyware to me.
Consent-O-Matic - automates the hanndling of GPDR and cookie consent forms.
Facebook Container - locks anything Facebook related inside a container, in order to prevent as much of the invasion of privacy as possible.
Firefox Multi-Account Containers - lets you create and automate the use of containers, similar to those of Facebook Container. It’s really handy for segregating multiple accounts with Google, or keeping shopping separate from search, banking separate from everything else etc.
Privacy Badger - Developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, it helps to prevent tracking.
uBlock Origin - still the benchmark by which other adblockers are judged. It’s also important for privacy and security. [EDIT] It also has a Filters feature that lets you selectivly block scripts. Which means that when I go to Youtube, I never have to see those stupid playables again.
NoScript - blocks scripts… which uBlock can also do but I think NoScript is still better at it. It’s another line of defence I’ve been using for a long time.
I’ve used Firefox since something like version 2 or 3. Then when they changed how extensions work, my favourite extension at the time (TabMixPlus) was no longer possible on the new versions of Firefox without being completely rewritten. So I did switch to Chrome for a while… maybe a year or two. But Chrome kept on shitting the bed when I had a large number of tabs open. They were a nightmare to navigate due to Chrome making them really narrow. Then when Chrome would crash, the session would be unrestorable.
Which is why I switched back to Firefox and never looked back. A decision that has been vindicated by Google’s continuing war on the likes of uBlock, and the effect that the Chrome based browser monopoly is having on the internet.
[EDIT] I should also note that I have tried Brave and Vivaldi. I used each for a couple of weeks to a month or so but found them lacking in important ways, compared to Firefox. I also use Chromium on occasion… but pretty much only for testing whether something is broken because of a Firefox specific issue (something related to the changes I’ve made to about:config or Firefox’s install), or whether it’s an issue that isn’t limited to one browser. There are also website that don’t really support Firefox all that well… and here’s me thinking the days of “this website works best on Internet Explorer” were gone.
Hello!
For most casual users, I’d probably say Brave. It’s the ‘hey, i want to switch from chrome’ browser of choice because they’re based on the same engine. Brave also looks pretty familiar but is a lot better on the privacy front.
I personally use Zen browser though. I love the vertical tab workflow as well as the higher degree of privacy I get using it, thanks to its firefox base. Like mattlach I have the highest fingerprinting resistance enabled and also have cookies delete on poweroff, and I also use container tabs.
Brave for now, but i prefer Helium and any de-google’d alternatives. As i see it, there is a market for browsers that de-google the desktop / mobile experience…
Actually, I’ve been wanting to give Firefox another try—it’s been several years since I last used it, even though it’s still installed on my computer. Brave seems to come up a lot, too, so I might give that a try as well.
I often see people recommending Brave, but I haven’t tried it yet.
The comments about the encryption feature are interesting. I often see people complaining about it, but it’s reassuring to hear from actual users that it isn’t intrusive. That’s right—ads and tracking are a real mess right now, and I completely agree.
I might give Brave a serious try this weekend. Thanks for the suggestion.
This setup is definitely professional. I’ve seen people mention LibreWolf before, but I haven’t tried it myself yet. The feature that clears cookies when shutting down would probably drive me crazy—after all, I always stay logged in—but I understand why you’d do that.
This setup looks solid—I recognize most of these extensions, though I haven’t actually used them myself yet. That multi-account container feature sounds pretty handy, especially since it lets you manage Google services and other content separately. I’d heard about this feature before, but never bothered to set it up.
It’s interesting. I’ve been using Chrome for so long that switching browsers feels like more trouble than it’s worth, but hearing stories like this makes me think I should just bite the bullet and try another browser for a month.
Brave seems to be the top choice for people who really want to switch away from Chrome. Familiarity is a huge advantage—after all, I really don’t want to have to relearn how to use a browser.
Zen Browser is actually a new name to me. I’ve seen it mentioned a few times before, but I’ve never looked into it in depth.
I’ve been using Chrome for so long that I usually just type things in and hope for the best. The Search Shortcuts feature does sound pretty handy—I didn’t even know Firefox had this feature before.
I’m currently a Firefox user again. Both on desktop and mobile.
I really dislike the shift to a single engine like we had back in the first browser wars with IE. So like then I’m choosing for diversity and sticking with Firefox.
I think that it is really unhealthy for the web to stick to (mostly) a single browser engine. Ideally I’d like to see two or three parties share the majority of users evenly.