this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2026
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/68754751

There was a time I chose Firefox over the Chromium browser without a second thought. But nowadays, installing and opening Firefox seems like a time-consuming, very bloated experience.

Too many unnecessary features, promotions, sponsored links, and widgets are filled on the homepage. All the settings are now more complex, and there is a lot to set up after a fresh install.

When I compare modern Firefox with Firefox ESR, I feel like I am using browsers like Vivaldi or Opera instead of Firefox. Seriously, Firefox must consider releasing a browser like Brave Origin (Firefox Origin or something).

Isn't anybody else frustrated with the new Firefox changes? If yes, what practical solutions exist? Debloat using any script or install any forks (no forks seem to be good; some are outdated, some are too much hardened, some are just not for daily browsing, etc.).

I'm just looking for a browser like Ungoogled Chromium but for Firefox (Unmozillaed Firefox).

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[–] Senal@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I reread the narcissist thing and I’m really not sure what you mean then. Are you calling the Brave CEO a narcissist?

I was referring to a theoretical corporate defence version of the narcissists prayer and was again bitten by my ridiculous expectation that meme/reference knowledge is universal

Specifically your defence of brave sounded to me like this slightly altered version of that prayer

That didn't happen.
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
And if it was, that's not a big deal.
And if it is, that's not their fault.
And if it was, they didn't mean it.

I wasn't trying to imply you are they were narcissists, only that your reply sounded a lot like that prayer.


I wasn’t sure if you were referring to either or both, so I responded to both versions of what you could mean by that. Based in your last comment I have a feeling I didn’t hear something recent about them, as far as I know everyone still likes them.

ah, again, with my assumptions:

TL;DR; A mullvad founder donated a large amount of money to what is largely considered to be a right wing political party

Here's a small selection links, should be easy to search once you know what to look for:

Note, there is obviously bias and opinions here, have a look in to the actual details yourself for a full picture.


I do see a pattern, which is why I said I don’t fully trust them ...etc

I agree with all of that up to this part:

Brave I trust a little less, but I see them in a similar way: often trying to find a crackpot method to make money off their product so they can stick around.

If their crackpot experiments are at the expense of the things i care about i'm out, but that's a personal opinion, not a universal viewpoint.


I can’t say I’m a fan of their CEO. Then again, I can’t say I particularly like any CEO of any company,.....etc

Again, all reasonable takes up to the end part:

I’m forced to pay Microsoft for licenses and support at work, and that bothers my conscience more than using a free browser by a guy who didn’t support gay marriage in 2014 before it went through federally, like just about everyone I grew up with, most of whom have since gotten over themselves. Not saying it’s OK or right, just noting that was at least half of Americans back then.

"He's not as bad as musk and gates, plus everyone of that generation was like that" sounds a lot like an excuse, even if you specifically state that it isn't.


I agree with your assessment that Firefox used to be the default good option and get steadily worse every day. .......etc

Agreed


Does this make Firefox a stupid option that I’d criticize people for using? No. It is still one of the best options we ha......etc

Again, agreed, until the end.

“I’m gonna do it anyway” VS “Hey guys what about this?” “WTAF were you thinking Brave?” “Oh, sorry…”

That's entirely glossing over the nature of the sketchy shit being pulled.

As we said mozilla are just stacking those shitty decisions like they were bricks of gold.

but they haven't done anything even remotely a sketchy as :

  • Referral injection/affiliate jacking
  • Replacing ads with their own
  • This

Presenting it like they are doing comparable things is disingenuous at best.

[–] BladeFederation@piefed.social 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

So you basically ARE calling me a narcissist by proxy, or a defender of narcissists at best.

Well, no more Mullvad for me. Thanks for pointing that out. There are several good alternatives.

I'll keep it brief. I do find the controversies comparable, for the reasons previously stated. I will not continue to belabor the point as you do not agree. I find Brave's mistakes to be easier to point out than the proverbial frog in boiling water, but not any less harmful. My goal is not to say everything Brave does is OK, but rather to push back in this concept that they do so many more worse things than similar products, which I do not believe to be true, as well as explain the context, which as much as they are still bad things that should in fact be criticized, are not AS bad as reading the headline sounds, and I can kinda see where they were coming from in some cases. And I'm more inclined to stick with them because they respond to criticism by fixing thr problem. I don't expect that to change either, they've forced themselves aggressively into the position of catering to the core audience of privacy enthusiasts. I'm not telling you to accept it "at the expense of things you care about". I'm telling you the problems no longer exist, so you don't have to.

Worth noting that the CEO was the CEO of FIREFOX at the time of the LGBT controversy. He was forced out due to the backlash, so good on Mozilla, but I don't believe for a second that Firefox employees didn't know the type of person that he was, or that their corporate culture or values are particularly different than Brave's. They're just not arrogant enough to say it out loud. I could nitpick other things I don't like about Firefox like their VPN, but at the end of the day my opinion is that they are both not great, but some of the better options available. I don't play favorites just because it's the thing I chose. It is entirely possible that either company could announce something tomorrow that would be unforgivable to me, and I would not be surprised by either one.

The only reason I point out of something is not "as bad" is because I don't believe it is possible to stay completely away from supporting anyone controversial. Can't do it with food production, can't do it at work even though it makes me feel bad. Can't do it with web browsers. If a 4th option besides Chromium, Gecko, or WebKit pops up overnight ran by the Jesus Christ of open source and privacy, I'd happily switch and we won't have to keep having these conversations. But right now, this is what we've got: Brave, Firefox, and a few standout Firefox forks like Tor, LibreWolf, and Zen.

[–] Senal@programming.dev 1 points 23 hours ago

So you basically ARE calling me a narcissist by proxy, or a defender of narcissists at best.

I can't speak to your interpretation but it was not my intention to do so.

For me to be calling you a narcissist i'd need to claim you were saying those things to defend yourself, which you clearly weren't.

The company isn't saying that about themselves either.

Well, no more Mullvad for me. Thanks for pointing that out. There are several good alternatives.

This was also not my intention, but i can't say i'm upset at this outcome.

I’ll keep it brief. I do find the controversies comparable, for the reasons previously stated....etc

All reasonable takes and i wasn't trying to imply you were trying to sway me, i was just stating my opinions and boundaries were different from yours in this case.

I don't consider the shenanigans equal on both sides, but we can agree to disagree on this.

Worth noting that the CEO was the CEO of FIREFOX at the time of the LGBT controversy. He was forced out due to the backlash, so good on Mozilla ...etc

Fully agreed, in this case i fall on the mozilla side because, as i said, to me it's the least worst.

The only reason I point out of something is not “as bad” is because I don’t believe it is possible to stay completely away from supporting anyone controversial.....etc

Also agreed, there is no ethical consumerism so you do what you can live with.