As open source as Android is, it is very difficult to find a decent browser, let alone one that is privacy focused and also usable on daily.

  • Almost all web searches point to site that shows stuff like : Chrome, Edge, Opera…etc. So this doesnt help.

  • Play Store is full of shitty browsers. If you skip the usual DDG, Chrome, Edge, Opera…etc then you will see either:

a) browsers from random Chinese company (Via, UC Browser)

or b) browser that is coupled with other products, e.g. a video downloader with built in browser.

  • After the recent fiasco with Firefox and their ToS, I saw a lot of posts saying IronFox / Water Fox is better. I’ve never heard of these Foxes variants before.

So I tried the following on Android:

  • DDG: only good if you do basic search. It lacks a good adblocker. So very annoying if you are on a site with shit tons of popups.

  • Brave: not a fan of the in your face AI tools. Overall it works ok though

  • The Foxes variants: IronFox seems to be very good on privacy. It has its own DNS and most of the security is on by default. However, same as all Foxes, IronFox just doesnt play well on Android. There is a slight lag when you try to switch tabs.

  • TOR: This would be the safest. But the poorest in terms of usability.

  • Chrome w/o account or Chrome run from private space. Surprisingly, Chrome is still the one browser that runs the smoothest…

Any input is appreciated.

  • verdigris@lemmy.ml
    4·
    7 days ago

    Firefox. They’re still great, people keep freaking out over extremely benign changes.

  • FriendBesto@lemmy.ml
    1·
    7 days ago

    Librewolf on PC, or Tor, if you want to go full on; And Ironfox on Android. Use LibRedirect as a search provider and if you use Searxing, it will rotate all your searches to different instances every time.

  • Gravitwell@lemmy.mlEnglish
    12·
    7 days ago

    I find VIvaldi to be the most functional and its also my preferred desktop browser, It’s like brave but without the crypto non-sense, and much more focused on what users want rather than what will make them advertising money.

  • marcie (she/her)@lemmy.ml
    8·
    7 days ago

    Mullvad browser and Tor browser are the only serious options for privacy on the internet. Librewolf, cromite, Firefox, brave, etc will get you fingerprinted. If you care about security more than privacy, use a chromium based browser. Personally, I use Mullvad browser with Vpn (use only protonvpn, mullvad, or ivpn, they have had security and legal tests) it’s the best combo of fast and private.

    For mobile, the options are more limited. Ironfox, Cromite, and Vanadium (GrapheneOs) are the best bets for daily use. Tor Browser is the only one that actually stops fingerprinting however, but it is difficult to recommend it as a daily driver, it’s more of a tool.

    Source: I actually help code security software and test it in real world scenarios regularly

    • yo_scottie_oh@lemmy.mlEnglish
      2·
      7 days ago

      I was about to ask, wasn’t Mullvad discontinued a few months ago? But I’m thinking of the Mull browser, right?

        • FriendBesto@lemmy.ml
          1·
          7 days ago

          For those wondering, Mullvad is only good if you change nothing about the browser, if you do, then you will he easily fingerprinted. As the number of people who use Mullvad is already small as it is. You will br like a spotlight in the dark if you add other extensions.

          • marcie (she/her)@lemmy.ml
            1·
            7 days ago

            I’ve actually tested doing addons to the browser and keeping permanence, and I found it good for my use cases and my specific add-ons (add-ons that do not access DOM). Most major sites don’t have the tech to actually fingerprint it that way. Yes, it does harm the potential fingerprinting, but if you are careful and make it so that private browsing mode basically resets it to default, you can turn it on when you need to. The biggest issue is turning cookies on imo.

            Of course, only do this if you know what you’re doing, know your requirements, and know the ins and outs of how fingerprinting on particular sites work. Its perfectly reasonable to main mullvad browser with its baseline setup.

  • Gibberish9031@lemmy.mlEnglish
    102·
    8 days ago

    I’ve been using Fennec and it works 99% of the times and on the rare occasion I need Chromium based browser I use Brave. I don’t have any issues with either.

  • Hellfire103@lemmy.caEnglish
    61·
    8 days ago

    According to the tests I’ve run, IronFox, Brave, and Tor Browser are the only options (in my opinion).

    Cromite also works, as does Vanadium, but they’re… basic, and the fingerprinting resistance could be better.

  • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.caEnglish
    4·
    8 days ago

    I use Cromite. It’s a more hardened fork of Bromite. Which itself is a hardened fork of Chromium.

    The only thing I’ve found so far is that it likes to block the discussion threads on some websites. But other than that I’ve had no issues whatsoever.

  • Ardens@lemmy.ml
    1·
    7 days ago

    I use 3 browsers on my android devices. All 3 on all of them. That’s Firefox as the primary, and then Firefox Focus, and Firefox Nightly.

    In the primary Firefox browser, I use uBlock Origin.

    I have no lag - so why you talk about “all foxes” here, I don’t really know. Maybe you do know that Google, Like MS, Apple and others, always try to make it harder to use anything else, than their solution?