
Ask HN: Which browser is your default, and why? - lbj
On Linux I used https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Conkeror for its speed. On Windows Ive been mostly in Opera but frequent crashes and problems with many Google apps made me switch to Chrome again.<p>I&#x27;ve loved Braves privacy and Operas&#x2F;Firefoxs ability to send tabs directly to my phone, but not so much that I can stand instability.<p>tl;dr: Im back in Chrome and not too happy about it.
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green-bottle
Firefox. When I first got to use a Computer to surf the internet I remember
using Firefox and that is what I have used ever since.

A lot of people here have said that Firefox was a slow and bloated mess pre-
Quantum. I suppose I stuck to Firefox when most people shifted over to Chome
because my internet connection had been slow enough that internet was unusable
without javascript and images disabled (this is no viable as a significant
proportion of websites don't work without JS). Hence my browser ran pretty
light and never gave me any issues.

At work for development I now use Chrome (for devtools) as Firefox still
chokes up on really large javascript files. For anything else Firefox remains
my default as it is comparable to chrome now in terms of performance (this
only means I haven't noticed any noticeable difference for my web browsing
workloads) and has a lot of features that I like (containers,
customisability,...).

edit: The above refers to my choice of browser on Desktop.

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thecupisblue
I use Brave, previously was a Chrome and Opera (but never again after I
learned what the f is going on there).

I love that it has the chrome ecosystem but with better built in privacy and
some other extra features I wanted (right click and block element). Everything
works, sometimes sites break due to script blocking but that's a click away to
fix.

~~~
kiterunner2346
thecupisblue _> "...previously was a Chrome and Opera (but never again after I
learned what the f is going on there)."<_

What _is_ going on there?

~~~
thecupisblue
[https://hindenburgresearch.com/opera-phantom-of-the-
turnarou...](https://hindenburgresearch.com/opera-phantom-of-the-turnaround/)

~~~
kiterunner2346
What a great analysis and reveal. Thank you!

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hieudang9
For Windows, I prefer _portable_ first, I don't want some auto running
background services from Google/Mozilla. So I chosen IronPortable & Firefox
Development Portable. For Linux, I sticked with default Firefox from OS
repository. For mobile, I highly recommend Kiwi Browser - the one of very few
Chromium base which let you install Chrome extension like Ublock.

~~~
HomeDeLaPot
Nice! Firefox Mobile also lets you install extensions like uBlock. I thought
it was the only one.

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runjake
Firefox. It doesn't feel like it's actively working against my interests,
unlike Chrome and Safari.

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jrepinc
Using GNU/Linux on all my computers at work and home and I have Firefox as my
default one. I trust it the most when it comes to protecting my privacy and
having an open/democratic governance of the project.

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stakkur
Firefox.

Because Mozilla is actively (and publicly) committed to privacy, which is the
opposite intention of Google (Chrome) and Microsoft (IE/Edge/Whatever).

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fjcp
At home I'm using Vivaldi as my main browser. As a heavy YouTube user Firefox
isn't a option for me, it crashes frequently and the performance is inferior
than Chrome (I think it's not their fault, but it turns it unusable anyway).

Vivaldi has the benefits of Chrome for Google sites, is much more customizable
than Chrome and it has some nice features that those who used Opera 12 in the
past would feel happy about, like tab stacking, tree view and my favorite:
mouse gestures. All baked in the browser without the need of buggy extensions.

I wish I could be back to Firefox and support the work they are doing
regarding privacy, and I'll keep testing every release to see if there are any
improvements to performance.

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askafriend
Safari because it integrates with all my Apple devices and it's much more
battery/memory efficient than Chrome.

The reader mode is fantastic and the password autofill/keychain works great on
all my devices too.

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adventured
Firefox without interruption since 2004/2005 sometime. I almost switched due
to how slow FF had gotten compared to Chrome. Improvements FF have made more
recently have kept me very happy as a user. On mobile I use Chrome.

I dislike FF's increasing sprawl / bloat. I suppose a browser with <1% device
market share has to survive somehow. I dislike how they instigate opted-in
spyware from first install now ("Firefox Data Collection"). I like how text
renders on FF versus Chrome, their engine produces a superior aesthetic.

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__warlord__
Firefox for day to day activities and work, but when I have to use websites
that are only available in their native languages I use chrome for the
translation capabilities.

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zafiro17
Pale Moon at the office for anything even vaguely non-work related (i.e.
anything I'd browse on my lunch break, etc.). Google Chrome for all official
work stuff. At home, Vivaldi on Linux for absolutely everything.

Even with that strict separation, the cross-over of adverts from home to work
is astonishing. There are things I search for at home that I absolutely don't
want showing up on my corporate browser.

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epc
I use Safari for all financial services, Chrome for Google stuff, newspapers,
and some other sites I’m fine with being logged into and tracked, and Firefox
for routine web browsing (like hn). Firefox is set to purge all cookies and
offline data on closing. Chrome is set to purge offline data if I “log out” of
Chrome. I use Vivaldi occasionally for questionable sites.

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jitendrac
Firefox. I am using it since 2008. Once I tried to switch to chrome, but
memory and other issues were there. The initial reason I used firefox was for
firebug,Chrome was not even launched at that time. I have now a soft spot for
Firefox, But on mobile I use Chrome, firefox lite is looking impressive but I
will wait to get it matured.

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GhostVII
Firefox, because it starts up fast, allows me to customize it to fit my system
color scheme, and lets me set up autohide for the toolbar. I open and close my
browser constantly so startup time is more important than how fast it is when
running. Also chrome doesn't fit with my theme and has a big address bar so it
looks ugly.

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iDemonix
Chrome on Mac, it's convenient, and despite robbing all the RAM my 2015 MBP
has to offer, it works well.

I tried switching to FireFox for two weeks, but found a lot of visual
tearing/glitches, and it didn't have pinch to zoom which I use on Chrome
constantly.

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drinkcocacola
Safari because the integration with iCloud Keychain, Apple Pay, and its
ability to show videos "Picture in Picture" in the Mac from sites such as
YouTube. At work I use also Safari, but 40% of the time I use Chrome because
the Safari dev tools are kind of limited IMHO

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rasikjain
At Home (Windows), use Firefox browser with add-ons for ad blocking, media
control etc

At Work (Windows), use Chrome. Like their dev-tools for debugging purposes.

On Mobile, I use default Samsung browser on Note 8. I believe browser is
lightweight and fast with ad blocking feature.

~~~
kalipsosu
Same. Samsung internet is a hidden gem for android.

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Raed667
Chrome for work because i like the dev-tools and most of our users are on it
either way.

FireFox for everything personal because its fast and i love the containers.

On Android I also use Firefox because I like having extensions to block ads
and get youtube to play videos while the screen is locked.

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Snetry
Firefox so I can keep my mobile and desktop experience the same and keep away
from the big G

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AwesomeFaic
Used to use Chrome, now I use Brave for home & mobile browsing. At work I'm
locked into "approved" browsers so I'm using Chrome. The only alternatives are
IE/Edge.

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soukai
Google chrome. At the end of the day, this is the most convenient one for me

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vvps
Firefox. If not for some stupid corporate policies, I would use it at work
too. Tried Vivaldi cuz the cool kids were using it but didn't get around to
explore all its features.

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noir_lord
Firefox for everything but development.

I actually run both simultaneously and it's handy because I know
docs/notes/confluence will be in the FF windows and dev stuff in Chrome's

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companyhen
Finally uninstalled Chrome after X amount of years after using Brave
successfully for a year. Kept Firefox around just in case. :)

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pid_0
Firefox by far. Besides being a browser that doesn't spy on you, it is light
on resources, fast, and has tab sending to all my devices.

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bryan_w
Chromium. Does everything I need it to. No reason to switch. Also Firefox DoH
plan concerns me

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gshdg
Firefox because privacy. Also container tabs to keep multiple accounts open on
the same site, etc.

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huang5556019
Google chrome

~~~
mtmail
The question was which browser and why.

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ecesena
Safari for everything personal, Chrome for work-related and Firefox for banks.

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slipwalker
at home:

    
    
        MacOS X: firefox developer edition
        Linux: firefox

( basically for privacy concerns )

at work:

    
    
       MacOS X: chrome/safari

( chrome/safari are the target platforms for our SPA on mobile )

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s4ik4t
Chrome, because nobody bothers to do cross browser testing :(

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decibe1
FireFox at home, the new Edge for work/development.

