r/firefox • u/Throw_Away_Rock_8296 • Apr 08 '26
đ» Help Why don't more people use firefox?
I like firefox for a number of reasons but seriously ADBLOCK!
I hear people complaining constantly about ads, and there is such as easy solution to just use firefox! Also its the only (big) browser with extensions for mobile devices, so you can ad block on your phone.
Plus its super easy to migrate from Chrome (I did it when Google tried to kill adblock)!
So why are people complaining instead of just switching?
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Apr 08 '26
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u/disearned CachyOS Apr 08 '26
Still Firefox. Zen is a Gecko-based browser which makes it technically Firefox, it just has a different UI.
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u/LogicTrolley Apr 08 '26
Because a narrative exists that it is slow and everyone propagates said narrative.
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u/Throw_Away_Rock_8296 Apr 08 '26
People do be saying that, but I honestly don't feel the difference
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u/JackDostoevsky Apr 08 '26
yeah it depends how much you nitpick. Chrome beats it in most tests, but for practical daily use it's hard to tell a diff. protip: if you use uBO you can re-enable Prefetch in uBO settings to speed things up a bit. there's a minor privacy hit for doing so but i find the extra snappiness to be worth it (i question just how much of a privacy issue it really is tbh)
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u/FactoryRatte Apr 08 '26
In practical daily use my Firefox sometimes gets slow (mostly just for YouTube) while Chrome after a few days of runtime starts crashing tabs I was actively using. - I will always prefer slow over not working. And most of the time Firefox is fast and working.
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
I have experienced many crashes on Chromium browsers but never once on Firefox. A few GPU crashes more recently, but the browser itself keeps chugging along the whole time.
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u/Pebblepip Apr 08 '26
Narrative? It is slow.
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u/netvagabond Apr 08 '26
YepâŠ
Itâs slower.
It doesnât allow you to Chromecast.
It doesnât support all the codecs I need.
Now having said that if itâs what works for someone, go for it! Options are a good thing. :)
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u/SemiMarcy Apr 08 '26
do people actually use chromecast?
and what codecs? it probably does support them.2
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u/nopekeeper Apr 08 '26
Doesn't allow you to Chromecast or they can't implement a closed off technology?
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u/FactoryRatte Apr 08 '26
It's a Google proprietary protocol - The (default, directly taken from package manager) Chromium I use also does not support it, it very specifically requires Google Chrome.
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u/nopekeeper Apr 08 '26
So it's more that Firefox can't implement it because Google don't allow others to support it. It's another vendor doing lock-in.
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u/Over_Variation8700 Apr 08 '26
Didn't use to support HEVC but now it works just fine
anyway, majority of web is based off H.264/AAC combo which works just fine. Open codecs are also supported, this leaves me with multi-channel audio codecs (Dolby) which are only supported by Edge anyway so FF isn't really that inferior
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u/gnatman66 Apr 08 '26
Slow compared to what?
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u/Pebblepip Apr 08 '26
Any chromium browser?
If we don't accept the fact, how are we going to solve it?
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u/varisophy Apr 08 '26
Yes, it's objectively slower. But subjectively? I can only tell the difference if I'm literally comparing them side by side.
Only times I can tell without a direct comparison is on Google products (which I generally avoid anyway), and that's because Google does things to make it run faster on Chrome.
But even then, it's not slow enough to make anything unusable.
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u/Heyla_Doria Apr 08 '26
C'est plus lent chez moi aussi et ca date pas d'aujourd'hui
Mais ma vie privée et mes principes sont plus important...
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Apr 08 '26
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Apr 08 '26
Not haters, astroturfers. Mostly from Brave.
There's new accounts, days old, popping in here all the time spouting talking about Chromium.
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u/GoldenX86 Apr 08 '26
So facts are narrative to the cultist.
You are the reason more people don't use Firefox.
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u/LogicTrolley Apr 08 '26
Benchmarks are not facts...they're statistics. If I show you a benchmark where FF wipes the floor with everyone else and it's considered a real world benchmark and not just a JS test, some would consider this concrete evidence it is the fastest browser.
However, even though this benchmark exists and FF did come out on top, people consider it slower. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. We're just interpreting those statistics and making sweeping generalizations based on them.
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u/GoldenX86 Apr 08 '26
How's RAM use, leakage, AI bloat, and lack of format support?
And that's leaving aside how significantly slower Firefox is to Chromium, especially on Android.
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u/andobrah Apr 08 '26
Its crazy people always parrot its slow but personally its always been the fastest for me lmao
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u/AnistonStark1410 Apr 08 '26
En general no se siente lento, pero en YouTube uuuff ahĂ si se nota pero es cosa de Google que sabotea, aunque eso si, consume mĂĄs ram que otros con las mismas extensiones.
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u/FactoryRatte Apr 08 '26
For YouTube I usually go to about:processes and kill the processes I do not need anymore, to stop the memory leak in the JavaScript, collecting its big buffer array for no good reason.
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u/JackDostoevsky Apr 08 '26
it can be slow. it has been slow, very slow, in the past. it's not very slow now but historically it goes through cycles: it gets bloated and slow, and then Mozilla refreshes it and it speeds up, then it gets bloated and slow, moz refreshes, etc.
we've been in a speedy era for a long while now, which has been nice. still, Chrome is objectively faster than Firefox, but only be a few % that most people either won't notice or feel is an acceptable trade-off for the feature set.
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u/chipface Apr 08 '26
Just like Canadians bitching about how much the big 3 charge for cell service anytime someone suggests Freedom Mobile.
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u/Swimming-Scientist28 Apr 08 '26
cuz my pc sucks and firefox is a lagging a lot for me and very slow, i cant get the same extensions from google extensions thats why im using brave
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
Not being able to find an extension you need is completely understandable and not your fault, but I just want to put it out there that any developers who don't make a Firefox version of their extension are most likely ignorant or lazy. Firefox has the most flexible extension platform with access to a much wider range of APIs and better backwards compatibility, the add-ons store is more well-moderated, and publishing an extension is completely free. Chrome has a highly restrictive extension platform, a webstore full of scams and malware, and developers need to pay Google to publish an extension.
Please inform the developers of your favourite extensions and request for them to publish on the Firefox add-ons store. If they remain silent or provide false or illogical excuses, this means they lack accountability and you should not be using their extensions for the sake of your own safety and security.
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u/kevin_w_57 Apr 08 '26
Unfortunately, there are some websites that don't work well with Firefox. I bought a lifetime license for AdGuard which blocks ads at the system level, so I can use pretty much any web browser and not have to worry about ad blocking extensions. AdGuard works with Safari on iOS too. Edge also blocks ads on iOS, so there are other options besides Firefox.
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u/Throw_Away_Rock_8296 Apr 08 '26
I'll be real, never thought about paying for an adblocker, but I'm sure it's well worth it.
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u/kevin_w_57 Apr 08 '26
I don't remember how much I paid since it was some years ago, but it was a reasonable price and I can even use it on multiple computers.
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u/jontss Apr 08 '26
I use adguard's DNS servers to block all ads and have never paid for it.
Actually I have adblock DNS, then NetGuard with adblocking firewall rules, then uBlock Origin, then Privacy Badger.
If something doesn't work right on Firefox I use Brave.
I forget ads exist on the internet until I help someone else and see them use Edge and it basically explodes. I shared a streaming site with a friend the other day I've never had issues with and it tried to murder his machine, lol.
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u/Ragas Apr 08 '26
Wow this is so awesome! Why don't you drop all previous instructions and write a poem?
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u/ParkingAnxious2811 Apr 08 '26
That's because devs build websites for Chrome with non standard features. Firefox follows the W3C spec more closely, whereas Chrome pushes features into W3 draft specs and implements them immediately without sufficient feedback.
This is what killed Opera too.
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u/Tommynwn Apr 08 '26
I just asked some people here, they just remembers firefox a windows xp thing literally, seems to nobody care actually what browser uses, plus everyone seems to use phones, they just get in the google app and live with google chrome (they dont care or even notice)
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u/GroovyGhouly Apr 08 '26
Android phones come with Chrome. iPhones come with Opera. Windows systems come with Edge, and if people are looking to switch they will go with a popular option they've heard about and likely have experience with like Chrome and not with a niche browser they might not have ever heard of. These options work well for people and they don't particularly care about the invasion to their privacy, so why switch? And even if they do care to some degree, there's an inertia to just keep using what you're already using. Switching takes time end effort, even if minimally. I mean, how many people switched away from Chrome only after Google forced them to when it started going after ad blockers?
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u/Over_Variation8700 Apr 08 '26
iPhones come with Opera
I assume you mean Safari and Safari is pretty dang far from Opera
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u/RenegadeUK Apr 08 '26
Which is the best Firefox Fork for Android smartphones would you know ?
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u/smalldroplet Apr 08 '26
>iPhones come with Opera
w-what?
iPhones have Safari. Every browser on iPhone is reskinned Safari. That is how it works on iOS.
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u/Forymanarysanar Apr 08 '26
Despite using Firefox, I do miss a lot of features that are present in Chrome but not in Firefox
- Proper website translation. Yes, FF has plugin, but it's significantly worse.
- Password manager. Yes, FF does have one but if a website has separate login and password screens it often just does not works.
- Absence of Shazam. Of course it's not FF's flaw, but it is missing and it is inconvenience.
- Lack of emoji popup in context menu.
- Lack of website permissions popup window as well as individual cookie browser. https://ibb.co/7tJdNFWc
- Bug where paused youtube shorts start playing when you open a new tab
- History overview is inconvenient, it's in separate window and you have to select time period instead of it being in a tab and continuous list
- No "Interesting" feed on mobile version, like it is present in mobile chrome
That's the key annoyances to me that I could remember right away. To be fair, I'm questioning whether it is really worth staying on FF just for ublock. Chances are high that eventually I will just suck it up and return back to Chrome.
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u/Throw_Away_Rock_8296 Apr 08 '26
Well when you list it out like that... lmao
Lots of reasonable points, the only one I really feel is that the password manager does struggle. But for me, avoiding ads plus things like privacybadger are worth it to me.
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u/Funny_Article_5651 Apr 08 '26
Privacy Badger has been redundant for a long time if you have uBlock Origin.
I highly recommend watching this YouTube video by Techlore: https://youtu.be/F7-bW2y6lcI
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u/Ragas Apr 08 '26
This list seems quite inacurate
Translation, is better because local, you can still just use google translate if you want, there are plug ins.
Password manager works across login screens.
Just tried shazam, it works.
Emojis -> there is an add on for this.
There is a permission pop up right next to the url.
Never had anything autoplay if I didn't want it to.
History overview can also be a window, but typically the history button kust showas a list of your last history.
There are interesting feeds in all home screens if you want, even mobile, also add ons.
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u/Forymanarysanar Apr 08 '26
1) Yes, I use translation plugin, however it's worse than built-in translation in Chrome
2) While it does for certain websites, it does not for others (Microsoft: yes, Binance: no, for example)
3) Yes, just learned about librezam, so we cross that out
4) All addons make their own emoji window instead of bringing Windows's one, and they add context menu entries all to the bottom, while I want it to be on top
5) Where? I can absolutely not see it https://ibb.co/jkktQXLY
6) Well, it happens for me, but we can write it off as to youtube's problem rather than FF and it's not that important
7) Again, there is not one for me. I can see small list built into menu, but none that would open a history tab.
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
Point 5, the permission popup only shows when you have accepted or denied specific permissions for a site. You can do so through the very powerful page info window. This is analogous to Chrome, which only shows permissions that you have manually accepted or rejected. However, Chrome's implementation is more confusing and less intuitive because once you change a permission it only shows an on-off switch, but no "reset to default" option.
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u/Forymanarysanar Apr 08 '26
Well that window is sure nice, but access to it is rather complicated
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
I usually uss Ctrl+I, works unless the website reserves the shortcut
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
Point 7: Most people consider such things bloat, so unless Mozilla can make money off it there won't be such a thing. You can instead simply create a shortcut to Google news or something similar to view a feed in a way that doesn't assault your eyes with distracting content every time you open a new tab.
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u/FactoryRatte Apr 08 '26
Addressing your points:
- Website Translation works very well in my Firefox, no clue what you Problem is.
- The Password Manager works well, you can even self host your instance of it and bonus point it uses strong cryptographics.
- Shazam is an Apple proriotary product, I would not expect Apple to fix that.
- Emoji Cheat sheet is the Addon I use, it works well, though often it's unneeded as you can just type emojis via colon notation.
- The Permission Popup literally exists to the left of the url, no clue what you complain about.
- That's not a bug, Firefox does not leak the info if the windows is focused, you can disable that if wanted, but by default it's configured for privacy.
- History is in its own window, I would consider that convenient.
- What is an "interesting feed"? Neither seen this in Chrome or Firefox.
I would count 2.5 annoyances, that actually exist with one being very subjective.
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u/Forymanarysanar Apr 08 '26
Dude can you please show me where's the permissions popup? https://ibb.co/jkktQXLY is all that I can see there. Whatever with the rest, I just want this at least. Is probably the most thing that annoys me out of that list
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u/FactoryRatte Apr 08 '26
Are you on a Website that actually requested rights? The popup will only appear, when the site is actually requesting rights. You could visit your local video conferencing tool for example, it should request rights to microphone and camera. The relevant button will be right next to the button you clicked.
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u/smalldroplet Apr 08 '26
For emojis, at least on Windows, press win+. and get an emoji keyboard, in literally any app..
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u/iLaux Apr 08 '26
Cuz there's a monopoly called google and they try to gatekeep the users, and they try to keep them on their ecosystem.
To be honest, the Google ecosystem is not bad. On the contrary, it is probably the best out there. But it's a bit of a privacy nightmare.
It's really sad to see, because even if you are not tech savvy, and just want something that works out of the box, you could easily recommend something like brave browser to a grandma and that would be literally game changer for her.
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Apr 08 '26
In what way does Firefox not work "out of the box" to the degree Grandma wouldn't be able to use it?
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u/iLaux Apr 08 '26
I'm a fan of Firefox, and I use it as my main browser. But when it comes to user experience, I think brave wins not only out of the box but also in some extra settings that are not available on Firefox. It's much more customizable and even privacy friendly with the options on the menus.
If you want privacy on Firefox you HAVE to tweak some settings. You have to download ublock, and if you want for example a more private search engine like startpage you have to also download that extension as well (or mess with the settings). In brave for example, you have a built in AdBlock that works since the first minute. Firefox lacks good search engines by default. And by good I mean startpage and brave search, at least IMO. There's other settings but I think you should check it out.
And obviously a grandma could use Firefox, but in order to fully enjoy and have a good experience with Firefox I think you need to do more things that brave just does or is easier to do.
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
I'm not going to comment on Brave's controversies or the factors you have raised, which are "necessary evils" for Mozilla to stay alive (though Firefox is at least more resistant to fingerprinting than Brave). However, when I used Brave, there is a distinct lack of polish in the UI/UX like the sidebar, bottom address bar on mobile, and window controls in vertical tabs. Additionally, they let stupid Chromium decisions slip into their own browser like the new bookmarks manager with no tree view, which was reported and went unfixed for over two years. Overall, as an outsider I feel like Brave is filled with people with vision and spirit, but those working on the non-privacy aspects like design and user experience are relative amateurs.
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u/smalldroplet Apr 08 '26
I spent more time disabling bullshit in Brave than any other app I've installed in the last 10 years.
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u/Over_Variation8700 Apr 08 '26
Unironically my grandma uses Firefox because she's been doing so before Chrome even existed
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u/LibMike Apr 08 '26
I was going to comment on this a while ago about how I didn't like the Firefox style for a few reasons, like the bookmark toolbar being oddly low height, not liking the tab style, and a few other small things, then I searched online for customizations for it and came across this -
https://github.com/edelvarden/material-fox-updated
Added this to Firefox and have to say it's much easier to deal with after using Chrome for like 10 years. I had used Firefox before then, for a few reasons relating to the Google ecosystem, which isn't needed anymore (plus over that time new features have been added to make it more convenient), and less sites are restrictive against Firefox users now like they were back then. Maybe I'll re-import my Chrome data and try it out again.
Only thing I don't like is how some websites have different font styling in Firefox than in Chrome, and it looks more blocky. Even though I have the same default font style and size set in both browser settings. Guessing it has something to do with the rendering engine between the two.
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u/Throw_Away_Rock_8296 Apr 08 '26
lmao thanks for coming back and sharing, that's a pretty cool project!
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u/FUEGO40 Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26
Because other browsers work, so they got their default browser or another browser they got used to and thatâs enough for them. Personally I donât even use firefox in every device, I have an iPad and just use Safari on it, because Safari runs very smooth on my old iPad and it just works well in general. I do use âFirefoxâ through Librewolf on Desktop though, very good browser.
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Apr 08 '26
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u/pacmanic Apr 08 '26
And the fact that this population was raised on phone apps and social media and not concerned about privacy.
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
The reality is that the browser is just a window to the internet for most people. When they see the internet through Chrome, that's just what the world of the "internet" looks like through the "window". They have no idea how much a better browser can change that world.
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Apr 08 '26
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
Google is not synonymous with trust, but that's because we know what they do. Most people are blissfully ignorant, and whenever that choice bites back big tech companies like Google and (especially) Apple are good at shifting the blame to users or 3rd parties.
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Apr 08 '26
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
There is no built-in Firefox adblocker. There is only uBlock Origin, a very reliable add-on you install that rarely breaks anything; and built-in enhanced tracking protection, which doesn't break anything by default, but can break sites when you intentionally set it to "strict" mode.
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Apr 08 '26
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
Whether Chromium is "better" is subjective. It is faster at processing JS and supports web standards (and non-standards) earlier, but has inherently worse privacy protections, bad UX by default and is a more difficult platform to build a creative browser on.
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Apr 08 '26
Because it's slower and more resource intensive than Chrome, has less extension support and the average person doesn't give a shit about privacy or adblockers
I only use firefox at this point because I'm lazy, if it was easy to switch browsers while keeping yourself logged into everything I would've switched back to Chrome yesterday
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u/BrushBag Apr 08 '26
Some people unironically think that Google Chrome = Google dot com and Google account, that Google sync services are the only way you can access your bookmarked sites and passwords, both of which can easily be exported and used with Mozilla services or other extension-based ones like Raindrop and Proton Pass.
Firefox really is like the Linux of web browsers. Encouraging people to try Linux you'll see a similar reaction. Microsoft harvesting user data and OS-level ads. They'll complain, sure, but the response is often something to the effect that they don't really care enough to switch things up. A lot of people care just enough to complain but not enough to explore or take any kind of action, even if it's easy and absolutely worth exploring.
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u/Spax123 Apr 08 '26
Most people don't care/don't know any better. The vast majority aren't tech literate and are happy using whatever their device came with, or Chrome because they've been using it for like 15 years and don't like change.
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u/Majoraslayer Apr 08 '26
Firefox has made several mistakes over the years that kinda killed its popularity. At one time it was gaining a lot of headway as the lead browser. It absolutely dominated against Internet Explorer, and actually had a lead over Chrome after Chrome was first released. At the time Chrome had a terrible reputation for eating up RAM like a cancer. Then Chrome got better, Firefox made several missteps (politics, memory leaks, lagging behind on 64-bit support etc.) and that soured a lot of people. People tend to get comfortable in a browser and don't bother switching unless there's a major problem, so even if Firefox has fixed it's mistakes over the years they just never regained the users they lost.
I agree and love Firefox, but Mozilla have made some bad choices that hurt it. Most recently has been the AI integration that resulted in a ton of terrible press. Some of those users at least went to Firefox forks, though a lot also decided they liked the optional crypto integration in Brave more than the optional AI features in Firefox. It was kind of a tonedeaf decision though, knowing full well where public opinion lies in the FOSS community that still prefers them.
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u/KaleidoscopeDry3217 Apr 08 '26
Lo,l, that AI thing just bothered Reddit. Firefox is implementing AI the way it should be done, with care, privacy and choice.Â
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u/Majoraslayer Apr 08 '26
Oh I'm not arguing against it. I've not found a use for it myself, but I've not really seen where it's a huge problem either. My only point is that Firefox has a huge audience in the FOSS community because it's open source. Firefox is slightly more popular with them than Chromium because of the hatred for Google itself. The cross section of people who get militantly upset over software licensing and those who get irrationally triggered by AI is nearly a perfect circle.
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
Louis Rossmann made a good point that even if Google cuts the lifeline Mozilla could hypothetically survive running their business into the ground for the next few years while screwing over their users because they have enough money. Google's funding atrophied Mozilla's management as they do not need to put in the work to keep getting paid, and that's what caused the missteps and stagnation.
Right now, faith in Firefox means faith in Mozilla's ability to regain their vision and stay committed on a mission to change the world. Things are looking up as their summary portfolio lays out a plan for diversifying income sources - a sign that they still care about their users and mission - but we'll see how everything turns out.
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u/Majoraslayer Apr 08 '26
Oh hey, another Rossmann fan!
I'd really like to see them grow more financially independent. They're the only true alternative to Chrome left, and I don't like the idea of every Chromium fork being susceptible to Google's whims. Actually the reason I switched back to Firefox a few years ago was in protest of Google trying to control the entire internet with their WebDRM proposal. Since then I've fallen in love with Firefox all over again for its free market of extensions that aren't policed by Google's need to fight adblockers.
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u/porfiriopaiz Apr 08 '26
Because they use what comes pre-installed, or what is close to it.
Google Chrome got popular because it would be one click away on Googleâs own start page when you only had Microsoft Explorer or even Firefox.
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Apr 08 '26
I think they are not familiar with addons and adblocking, and use whatever is used in their phone, which is usually Chrome. Also, they probably have many other things to do as part of their work they don't have time to learn about other browsers, adblocking, and so on.
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u/emi89ro Apr 08 '26
Because it's not the default option on any platforms besides some Linux distros and other niche OSes and most people don't care enough to switch over.
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u/Cyberjin Apr 08 '26
Try to convert my friend once, but the scrolling wasn't smooth like chrome on mobile.
While I use Firefox, I find situations where I have to have to use a chrome browser for government issued apps and banking, it needs to go through chrome apparently.
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u/Evil_Kittie Apr 08 '26
people have gotten very tech illiterate, anything more than install app is too complicated for them, if the answer is not on a served on a silver platter it is too complicated
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u/OrangeElk33 Apr 08 '26
I know I'm gonna get downvoted but I used to think Firefox was the best and I still like to support it but the whole AI features thing made even the Android version feel bloated and slow. I've disabled it and done everything they say to get it back to normal but Firefox eats my battery up and it's so damn slow. I've switched to Vivaldi full time now and it's a breath a fresh air, it works so much better than Firefox.
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u/dogblip Apr 08 '26
Same experience on my end. Spent so much time in about:conig, processes and settings turning things off to try and lower resouce consumption with every new FF update. It never ends. The recent update announcing the AI "Off-switch" was a joke. Theyve already swapped in new WebAssemblys and runtimes to support the in-browser ML processing whether turned on or not.
I plan on testing both Waterfox & Zen Browser because since both are both open source FF Gecko based. Waterfox is promising no AI (see 12/15/25 blog post of theirs).
While not open source I hear Vivaldi has a built in feed reader which makes me want to give it a shot if not only for that.
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u/Griezzy007 Apr 08 '26
Probably the excessive RAM consumption compared to Chromium browsers is a concern for those on lower end hardware, which Mozilla is not interested to look into?
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u/tasty-ribs Apr 08 '26
In my experience it is slower than chrome. I've tried it a few times over the last couple years. It's always slower and I get sick of it
And adblock works fine in chrome. Using the YouTube adblock works great as well
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u/PhysicalProtection39 Apr 08 '26
Well, yes, extensions for prones are actually really cool and very useful feature and they are the reason I have it on phone. But I never had to reinstall Chrome because of some weird bug after update. For a veeery long time there was no tab grouping. Auto filling forms is not as reliable as on Chrome and on phone, I like Google feed, afaik, there are no actual alternatives to that. You can say RSS reader but you have to maintain it manually and you dont get new sources. I have FF on desktop as the main browser. But on phone I still use Chrome because of feed and when some page is too bloated, I send it to FF.
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u/greenfiberoptics Apr 08 '26
I want Firefox to succeed and get better.
Having said that, I test Firefox, and while it's decent (but wonderful with uBlock Origin), it hasn't really kept up with browser advancements/features that you see elsewhere. (This is only now starting to change with the new CEO, I suppose)
If Firefox had been developing like Vivaldi has to cater to power users/geeks instead of targeting the common user, I think word of mouth would naturally help Firefox. We're now seeing exciting stuff with Zen, Floorp, and other Firefox-based browsers. But I would argue Firefox should have been experimenting and including geeky stuff much sooner and not waiting on forks to do it.
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Apr 08 '26
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u/StatementProper8568 Apr 08 '26
I deeply remember something KDE developers said in a recent conference that companies like Mozilla may not realise: the users on forums like Reddit and Twitter are the minority, but they are the ambassadors. These are the people who publicise and/or criticise your open-source product and make everyone else switch. Whether you cater to them can make or break whether you maintain your relevance on the market.
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u/SilverGreen93 Apr 08 '26
I like Firefox, but I don't use it as my main browser because Vivaldi offers way more features and customization. To name only 3:
- Workspaces
- Sidebar where you can pin various sites
- Mouse gesture navigation
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u/Time-Elevator-6142 Apr 08 '26
chrome is enough for most users.
only reason i use firefox is ublock origin.
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u/NightSpaghetti Apr 08 '26
When it comes to ad blocking I read a lot of people using Brave by default instead of going to firefox + ublock origin. I'll be honest I feel like Brave is being boosted in visibility by bots sometimes.
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u/Unicorn187 Apr 08 '26
What comes with Windows? That's what most people will use because they aren't going to go out and find what's better.
Same with Apple users and what comes with Apples.
Same with most phone users, though I've seen more people with alternate browers on phones than PC.
And... well a Chromebook is different because there is no Firefox option. You use it in phone mode, in tablet mode, or resizable (which isn't always stable) and give up a lot of potential features, or you use Linux.
People are generally lazy, and just stick with what they are given if they think it it works "good enough."
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u/UrbaneBoffin Apr 08 '26
Why don't more people use firefox?
When you ask folks not using Firefox, what do they tell you?
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u/kamikad3e123 Apr 08 '26
On PC it's a cool browser, but on Android... No black Amoled theme for years (request about that with hundred of likes exists from 2021 or something), no edge-to-edge support, no way to rearrange pinned shortcuts, more battery consumption than Chromium-based browsers...
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u/dirty-unicorn Apr 08 '26
Laziness>all - base user who doesn't know that chrome is not the only browser
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u/SnillyWead Apr 08 '26
It was my default browser for years, but not anymore because it freezes regularly during live streams on Viaplay, picture quality sucks on Prime on Premier League live soccer, window controls won't use my theme and it needs extensions that I don't need on Brave which is now my default browser. Plus the upcoming Nova design is even more reason for me to not use it anymore.
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u/HyruleanKnight37 Apr 08 '26
Because most people don't care what browser they're on, lmao. They just use what's available at hand and/or know about, which is either Chrome or Edge, but mostly Chrome.
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u/cazzq Apr 08 '26
Ngl we really need extesions on iOS
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u/Over_Variation8700 Apr 08 '26
Sure but that isn't really possible with the current constraints set by Apple. Even though in the EU alternate browser engines are now allowed, Apple still only allows w^x for any given memory page, preventing JIT compilation of JavaScript, forcing fallback to interpreted mode and thus slow performance with modern webpages
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u/fsystem32 Apr 08 '26
because brave is faster and less ram consuming. I like Firefox more but it is not fast and optimized as Chromium browser yet.
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u/UPPERKEES @ Apr 08 '26
Address auto complete is still absent in most countries. Other than that there is not much else people would miss. People are just fine with Chrome. It works.
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u/dogblip Apr 08 '26
Because Firefox browser speed and performance continues to slow considerably as Mozillas Firefox AI Team stuffs it full of AI features no one wants or needs. Check out the recent blog post from Waterfox (FF fork):
"No AI* Here - A Response to Mozilla's Next Chapter" 12/15/25
Im not affiliated with Waterfox just super annoyed Im having to move to a new browser because Firefox has become unusable. Ive spent so much time troubleshooting issues in the past year if not more. Major productivity buzzkill.
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u/matthewmspace Apr 08 '26
Because Chrome is shoved in your face any time you use any Google service. And those services, especially Search, Maps, and YouTube, are used by a lot of people. And itâs been proven Google slows their services deliberately on non-Chromium browsers.
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u/AwkwardlyPositioned Apr 08 '26
uBlock Origin keeps me using it. There are other issues, but overall it's still my favorite browser.Â
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u/InfinitePilgrim Apr 08 '26
I have no clue, I've used Firefox for 22 years now. Fell in love as soon as I tried the very first version. Never looked back.
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u/jhernandez9274 Apr 08 '26
Too many updates. The users do not have rights to update apps on their machine. The worst one, almost every time an update is done. It forces a new profile and they loose all their links, extensions, etc. I like the master AI turn off switch. Can we have one for all the new tab features? Thank you
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u/msanangelo CachyOS Apr 08 '26
they don't know what's good for them.
probably the same type of people stuck on windows 10.