r/browsers

if you want privacy + like chrome = firefox (or any fork of it like waterfox or floorp)

if you want a light chromium based browser + privacy = helium

if you want a browser and doesnt care about privacy and just cares about looks = opera (gx,air any opera)

if you care about looks + privacy = zen

if you want chromium + looks + a little bit of more privacy = vivaldi/arc

if you want privacy (less than firefox) + native adblock = brave

if you are paranoid and thinks the government is watching you and is gonna arrest you = tor browser

if you dont care about privacy, looks and wants a slow browser = chrome/edge

if you use macos/ios/ipados = safari

i personally use firefox with telemetry off.

Hi

Edge, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi, Chrome, Opera etc.
All of these are just corporate backed up "browsers" that actually ship mini OS instead of browser

You want to only browse? Whoops! AI suggestions popped up

You don't want AI in your browser? Too bad, they are bundled

You only want to shopping? Oh, here are "suggestions" from browsers that you don't even care!

You don't want telemetry? It's there anyway. Now companies sell your browsing data for $$$ and/or use it to train their AI

"You can turn them off" Those should never be there in the first place. It should be opt-in.

"But brave origin" 60 bucks or you use Linux

Also, if browser isn't open source, you will never know if they are hiding shady stuff behind your back. How could you trust them? At least for open source you can check their code if you wish.

Here are alternatives for Firefox-based:

Librewolf, Zen, Floorp - All rock solid FOSS browser

Librewolf is most simple yet very secure out there. If you prioritize about functionality over aesthetics, it is browser to go. But because of its hardened security, you might expect some lil bit rough edges but overall it's still amazing

Zen and Floorp are fine, but it isn't for anyone who just want to browse instead of ricing

But if you want simple blazingly fast chromium browser without bloat: Helium is the way to go. It is minimal and doesn't have any bloat you don't want. Miss password manager? Install Bitwarden extension. No account sync? Good, you don't need that. No DRM? there's DRM support here but it's unofficial: (stay vigilant when you use third party software like that) Personally I never need DRM myself so I don't really care

In the end, we live in era where software (browser included) in general are needlessly complicated. Simple and honest software stand out most. After all, browsers should focus on browsing only, not being literal mini OSes that distract users from doing their job. Do one thing only and do it well: is UNIX philosophy which aged really well until this day.

Edit: Yes Brave is technically FOSS but it's so bloated and backed by company, you might as well rather find alternatives instead