
Reasons to Switch from Chrome to Firefox - nachtigall
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/switch-chrome-firefox/
======
sam_goody
One reason is missing. When Google has dominant market share, they use it to
destroy the web and move to Google.

You may or may not like AMP (I don't) but they way it is implemented is to
create a Google only parallel web, and as long as users are on Chrome they see
that web only - and it becomes the standard.

They have suggested changes to what ads are acceptable and how they should be
handled, and I don't trust them to set that standard either.

An example of this is the recent webassembly changes, where Google ceded to
Mozilla's vision [1]. As they gain more of a monopoly with their platform,
they will abuse that power more.

Keep FF around so that they can have a hand in what becomes standard on the
web.

Also, as far as privacy, it is not stressed enough. Most people don't realize
that all of your browsing on Chrome is sent to Google. What page, how long you
visited, etc. I've read that Chrome has special handling of pages with
Analytics installed. The privacy invasions of what should be called Google
TrackingTool would make "browser toolbars" and viruses of past ages proud.

BTW, I have more than 600 tabs open now in FF [8GB ram] and it is browsing
along fine. Now, I know that I am insane, but try just 60 tabs in Chrome and
see all sorts of weird crashes.

[1] [http://robert.ocallahan.org/2017/06/webassembly-mozilla-
won....](http://robert.ocallahan.org/2017/06/webassembly-mozilla-won.html)

~~~
itp
To your last point, I literally just counted after reading your comment
without changing anything. I have 68 tabs open in Chrome (over four windows,
two each in two different profiles), and this is fairly representative of my
usage since my laptop was last rebooted (19 days and change) and I have had
zero issues.

Counterpoint: I have 16 GB of memory in this computer.

Counterpoint to my counterpoint: I have had Emacs running the entire time as
well, and IntelliJ running most of the time (it periodically freezes after
monitor connect/disconnect events and has to be restarted).

~~~
ktta
SSD swap stats?

------
magicbyte
More reasons for switching to Firefox include the ability to easily set up a
self-hosted sync server allowing you to share your browser settings across
several clients. While Chrome for Android does not support extensions, the
mobile Firefox version does allow you to install ad blockers while being able
to sync your mobile and desktop clients. AFAIK, Chrome for Android does not
support a custom sync server at all.

I recently switched from Chromium to Firefox and am running Firefox on my
Linux system as a different user than my main account for increased security.
The only thing that bothers me is the missing magnification bubble which is
used by Chrome for Android if it cannot reliably determine which link I
clicked on.

If Chrome allowed to block ads on mobile devices and implemented a feature for
easily setting up custom sync servers, I would happily switch back for
security reasons.

~~~
Tharre
Can you elaborate on what's currently stopping you from setting up a sync
server for chromium?

~~~
magicbyte
Nothing is stopping me from hosting one but being able to use the custom sync
server on my Android phone is essential to me. Setting up a sync server easily
includes being able to use it easily in a sense of being able to enter its URL
somewhere in the settings of the browser.

While I did not find any evidence that custom sync servers are supported on
Chrome for Android, I have got the impression that the requirement of
specifying the sync server URL as a command line argument for Chromium is a
deliberate choice in order to decrease the usability of that option. Using a
desktop environment, you need to edit the links to your browser application in
order to specify a custom sync server. I guess the discussion on
[https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=181429](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=181429)
is what mainly caused my subjective sentiment.

------
Etzos
Number 6 (more customization, highlighting complete themes) and number 8
(unique extensions, highlighting Tree Style Tabs) are shortly going to be
things of the past. Neither of those features are fully set to make it past
version 57 since they will be removing the ability for legacy extensions
(those using binaries, XUL, or things of that nature; i.e. non-WebExtension
extensions) to function.

Edit: I would like to add that both of those things will have some level of
support, but the full range of features is just not there and providing the
same kind of experience is just not part of Mozilla's scope, which is now
strongly favoring keeping the UI as uniform as possible.

------
jansan
We have been developing a SaaS app for two years now and the most serious
issue is that Firefox Nightly shares the profile with the stable build. Sounds
harmless, but it is not if you have installed Nightly and stable and the
website uses indexeddb! The indexeddb, once modified in the Nightly, cannot be
opened in stable build anymore. So you are trapped in Nightly forever if you
access websites with indexeddb. The only way back is to completly erase your
profile. That's why we actively warn users not to install Nightly on their
system.

~~~
dblohm7
Perhaps you should use Developer Edition instead? It uses a separate profile.

~~~
jansan
Wow, thanks. Comments like yours are why I keep coming back to Hacker News.

------
pllbnk
Aside from clickbaity title, I would have rather liked a list of reasons to
switch from Chrome to any other browser (including Firefox).

I am genuinely curious why Chrome is the default for most technical people?
The only reason I hear over and over is its developer tools. However, there
are other Chromium-based browsers, like Opera or even Chromium itself, with
exactly same dev tools. Why then keep using Chrome considering it being
developed by such a controversial company?

~~~
ktta
There's security, integration etc, but I think Chrome guys really nailed the
UX. I see the care taken at every turn and most things are very well designed
for the average user.

Most don't browse enough to switch browsers based on performance, especially
once they get used to something.

~~~
derekp7
Can you give some examples of the UX? From my perspective, both browsers have
a bar at the top to enter a URL, and a spot to click on next to a tab to open
up a new tab. And a star at the top right side to bookmark a page. Not sure
what else (other than configuration menus, perhaps?) where the UX really
differs from one browser to another. And UX within a page (where I spend most
of my time) is determined by the web site I'm visiting.

~~~
ktta
>From my perspective, both browsers have a bar at the top to enter a URL ...
Not sure what else (other than configuration menus, perhaps?)

That's where the difference exactly lies. Firefox feels like it is designed by
a programmer, Chrome feels like it was planned by a UX person then built by
the programmer.

1\. There's still a search bar alongside the omnibox. Unnecessary.

2\. History is an important part which firefox allocates a measly sidebar.
Chrome offers the whole page although with less powerful options to navigate
compared to firefox (by time, by site, etc).

3\. Bookmarking experience is a lot more thought out in Chrome. When I
bookmark something, Firefox just puts the bookmark in Other bookmarks but
Chrome remembers the last folder you used.

I really can't come up all the cases where Firefox frustrates me but Chrome
doesn't, but that according to me is a sign of good design. Chrome has a lot
less friction and minimal cognitive overload. Sure, Firefox has many features
I would love to have in chrome, but I know that Chrome will present those
options with a much smoother experience.

~~~
flukus
1\. This is something the Mozilla suite got right, long before Firefox
existed. I can't understand why they added and kept a seperate search box.

For me Chrome's killer feature is tab handling though. There are at least half
a dozen browsers I could comfortably use if only the had decent tab handling.

------
Sir_Cmpwn
Try neither: qutebrowser. It has built-in vim keybindings (configurable), a
lot of opportunities for customization/hacking, and it's open source and
maintained by a great developer who cares about the project and has run a
number of successful kickstarters to support its development. It uses
QtWebEngine, so it's hip with all the modern standards.

[http://qutebrowser.org/](http://qutebrowser.org/)

~~~
diggan
Thanks for sharing, keyboard-focused browsers are great.

Wanted to share another keyboard-focused browser, luakit
([https://github.com/luakit/luakit](https://github.com/luakit/luakit)) which
is using lua instead of python, but is basically the same idea.

------
drewg123
I've been using Chrome for years, but I'd love to switch to firefox. The last
time I checked, 3 things were preventing me:

1) U2F support for Google. There was a U2F extension that worked for some
other sites, but I could not get it to work for Gmail / drive /etc.

2) Support for Hangouts

3) All the random web passwords that are in google's password manager

~~~
sp332
3) Firefox will import passwords from Chrome automatically. Options ->
Security -> Saved Logins -> Import.

~~~
jansan
Isn't that a bit scary that Firefox can simply import the passwords from
Chrome?

~~~
sp332
It's not plaintext, but it looks like any program on the same computer and
that knows your password can get the decryption key.
[https://superuser.com/questions/146742/how-does-google-
chrom...](https://superuser.com/questions/146742/how-does-google-chrome-store-
passwords) Firefox stores its passwords as plaintext by default, but you can
set a master password that prevents easy decryption. (You could probably sniff
it out of a running instance, or keylog it as you type it at the beginning of
a session, but it's enough that Chrome's password import fails.)

Edit: Firefox's is also encrypted I guess, but they say anyone with access to
your computer can get them unless you set a master password.
[https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/password-manager-
rememb...](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/password-manager-remember-
delete-change-and-import#w_protecting-your-passwords)

------
timebomb
Unfortunately, when certain (notably javascript-heavy) websites run so slow in
Firefox, it's too frustrating to use given that Chrome runs them just fine.
Even on a beast of a PC with more than enough RAM and a fast i7 processor,
Firefox's Spidermonkey engine appears to just be far superior to Chrome's V8.

~~~
jansan
Seriously, why is the parent comment voted down? If you have ever compared
Firefox with Chrome on a Javascript-heavy website, there is a clear winner at
the moment, which is Chrome. I would love to see Firefox have larger market
share, but it will not be achieved by buring your head in the sand.

~~~
zzalpha
Amen. I recently (like, in the last couple of weeks) gave Firefox a shot again
and it's just objectively slower for my use cases. It sucks, but it is what it
is.

~~~
nachtigall
You might want to give Nightly a try (upcoming Firefox 56) which improved a
lot thanks to Quantom Flow project. I updated from Firefox Dev Edition (FF 55)
to Nightly and the boast was obvious (there's also been a good boast recently
in FF 54 thanks to multi-e10s).

e.g. see the SpeedometerV2 benchmark differences at
[https://ehsanakhgari.org/blog/2017-06-23/quantum-flow-
engine...](https://ehsanakhgari.org/blog/2017-06-23/quantum-flow-engineering-
newsletter-14) So there is progress and thanks to Quantum the best is
hopefully yet to come with the integration of Servo components

------
xythian
Chrome profiles are the killer feature for me that prevent me from moving to
another browser. I wasn't surprised to see profiles in the short list of
reasons to stick with Chrome. Privacy implications be damned, I liked having
separate simultaneous profiles running for multiple work and personal
accounts.

~~~
li4ick
You'd have to install the TestPilot extension first, and then the Containers
addon.
[https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments](https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments)

~~~
JadeNB
> You'd have to install the TestPilot extension first, and then the Containers
> addon.

No you wouldn't …? Firefox has had support for profiles as long as I've been
using it, which goes back to the Phoenix days. It tries to pretend that you
can't run it with multiple profiles simultaneously, but you can (`firefox-bin
-profilemanager`).

------
starik36
I've switched to Firefox as well. For me, Chrome is slower but still has a
killer feature that makes me fire it up once in a while.

The killer feature? Ability to fill in credit card information when I am
paying for something. Makes checking out a breeze.

Hoping that Firefox adds the feature soon.

~~~
nachtigall
Autoformfill is partly enabled already in Nightly and will hopefully ship
sometime in the future. [https://blog.nightly.mozilla.org/2017/05/23/preview-
form-aut...](https://blog.nightly.mozilla.org/2017/05/23/preview-form-
autofill-in-firefox-nightly/) So I guess credit card information (sensible) is
maybe not in scope at the moment.

~~~
moosingin3space
That blog post suggests that credit cards are in scope:

> Before release:

> * Support for credit cards

------
gmiller123456
Things I miss from Firefox:

1\. The search/URL bar was much better at predicting the page I wanted

2\. When downloading a file I can just click "Open" rather than having to
navigate to a temp directory, save it, then open it, then delete it later.

3\. Password manager was in the toolbar. In Chrome it involves several mouse
clicks and scrolls, and doesn't stand out at all.

4\. When saving a file Firefox remembers the last directory used on a per
website basis.

5\. Delayed loading of tabs until they're clicked (as an option), as well as
"reload all tabs"

6\. All those extensions, but it looks like even Firefox is making most of the
existing ones incompatible now.

------
rents
My main gripe with Chrome is it takes too much time to load for me even if it
has to load no tabs on opening. Comparing this with firefox, FF always beats
chrome (and note that firefox will always have around 60+ tabs to load, it
probably doesn't matter). I have had 3-4 machines (without SSDs) and this
difference is always there.

I didn't even used to keep Chrome installed a couple years back , it took an
astonishing ~60 seconds or so to start.

------
aeturnum
I like Firefox and I would switch, if it had a "duplicate tab" feature like
Chrome. For readers who haven't used this sublime feature, when you duplicate
a tab in chrome you get everything - history, tab contents, etc. A straight
fort() of the current tab. I use it constantly - google something, click on
first link, read a little, duplicate tab, hit 'back' on the duplicate tab and
find another result I like.

~~~
Ded7xSEoPKYNsDd
FWIW, when you middle-click the back button (to go back in a new tab) in
Firefox, history is cloned, too. (At least on Nightly.)

~~~
sp332
Yeah, this has worked on all versions for a long time.

------
anotheryou
the sweet pool of extentions will dry up soon, when thy depricate the old api

------
AaronMT
I'd switch permanently if the Mac version was more adherent to the Mac
platform w.r.t integration and HID. Last time I checked, I still can't
highlight a word, CMD-CTRL-D to get a Dictionary definition.

------
xmichael99
People that like these benefits in Firefox should really check out Opera.

~~~
swiley
Opera isn't open source though.

------
rideau
I'd really love to switch back to Firefox from Chrome but it's just so
sluggish on my Android phone and I had the same issue with an iPhone a few
years back. Why is this, really?

~~~
nachtigall
Try Nightly. I've used it for a year now without problems. Also install ublock
origin there for displaying all the js-heavy ads. I also sync it with Firefox
for Desktop.

For me it's the opposite: Chrome on Android is not usable because of all these
ads.

~~~
rideau
Thank you. Will do. I tried Firefox Focus yesterday and now I'm swooshing
through the web. Just wish I could use tabs.

~~~
nachtigall
Nightly on Android also has an option on to block Tracking (which effectively
blocks also ads). That is, like Tracking Blocking in Private mode, but always
"on". This option is not yet available in the non-Nightly releases.

If you do not want to use Nightly, then the normal Firefox together with the
addons "ublock origin" and/or Privacy badger should not be much different than
Firefox Focus, but still allow for tabs.

[https://addons.mozilla.org/EN-US/android/addon/ublock-
origin...](https://addons.mozilla.org/EN-US/android/addon/ublock-origin/)

[https://addons.mozilla.org/de/android/addon/privacy-
badger17...](https://addons.mozilla.org/de/android/addon/privacy-badger17/)

------
moosingin3space
I really like Mozilla's work, however, it is difficult for me to recommend
Firefox as long as it has a poor sandbox relative to Chrome. This is
disappointing, especially as Firefox becomes better, but a casual user needs
to be protected from malicious websites as much as possible. Until this
situation changes, in good conscience I can only recommend Chrome with uBlock
Origin and Privacy Badger.

It is my hope that adoption of Rust helps improve this, although more
integration with OS sandboxing features would also be excellent in making the
case for Firefox.

------
Yabood
We've been working on a SaaS product for the last couple of years, and browser
compatibility is very important to us. From a web development perspective,
sometimes I wish I didn't have to deal with Firefox. I know mozilla and its FF
helped shape and pioneer a lot of the tech and tools we use today for web
development, but I find it to be the most finicky browser in terms of
rendering.

~~~
olavgg
We do development on Firefox, and we see very very few edge cases where those
two browsers will behave differently. In the last 12 months I can only
remember one issue we had with javascript and form submit where we deactivated
the submit button.

If you have a lot of compatibility problems, you are probably using a lot of
experimental features.

------
jey
But Vimperator didn't survive the switch to Electrolysis, right?

~~~
sp332
Electrolysis should auto-disable itself if you have a blacklisted extension
installed. (I'm assuming Vimperator is on the blacklist.) You can also disable
it manually in about:config by setting browser.tabs.remote.autostart to false.

------
bananabill
If vimium on firefox didn't totally suck I would.

~~~
always_good
Huh? If your vim add-on in Chrome is better than in Firefox, you're using the
wrong add-on.

Try Vimperator in Firefox.

Meanwhile, `d` can't even close the New Tab page in any Chrome vim add-on.
It's a bit pathetic. Vimium is the crappy Chrome plugin that was ported to
Firefox.

------
armitron
I think it's pretty clear that Chrome won the battle and Firefox is going
nowhere but down. Personally, I can't see it happen fast enough.

The security of Firefox is (and always has been) atrocious to say the least,
and will get you owned. This is not just my personal assessment, but a widely
held opinion amongst security experts.

On top of that the codebase is completely rotten (personal opinion). I can run
Chrome for months, without crashes but Firefox can't stay running for more
than a couple of days, not to mention leaking memory like no tomorrow.

~~~
sp332
Firefox's security suffered for a couple of years while attention was taken up
by the move to multiprocess. A lot of the security effort in the near future
will be adding more sandbox features to the multiprocess code. The situation
has already improved over the last year, for example being added back into
Pwn2Own 2017.

Also memory leaks have been aggressively fixed and new ones are treated as
bugs. It even limits the amount of RAM that add-ons are allowed to hog. If you
can reproduce it, please submit a bug report.

