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Since @loshmi and @jwz 's post about the #enshittification of #FireFox yesterday, I've been test-driving #webbrowsers suggested by people in response to my request for suggestions of browser alternatives. I thought I'd give a quick review in case anyone else is interested.

Suggestions:

@JayLittle Zen Browser

Downloaded AppImage of Zen. Feels very similar to FF, as it is based on it, but has a Vertical Tabs interface, which I don't like. I ran with it all morning, but it feels too alien to me. Import option only showed Chrome, not FF, but FF Sync is supported, and worked, so I have all my FF passwords, bookmarks and history. Gmail, ebay, Youtube all work.

@aspragg #Epiphany

Installed Epiphany from stock Debian repo. Very minimalist feel (which I kind of like). Says it supports FF Sync, but I couldn't get it to work - just displays a dialog saying "something went wrong". Gmail, ebay, Youtube all work, albeit with manually entered credentials.

@eliteamdgamer #Floorp #servo and #ladybird

Floorp makes you agree to a privacy agreement which is in Japanese, and I couldn't find an English version, so I have not tried. Servo looks interesting, but I don't get the impression it's "production ready" yet. Ladybird, as far as I know is developed by some rather bigoted techbros, so also not tried. Sorry eliteamdgamer, but thanks for the suggestions.

@IzzyOnDroid #LibreWolf

Installed LibreWolf from external repository (followed easy instructions to add to my apt/sources) so it will get updated with my normal system updates. Again, import option only showed Chrome, not FF, but FF Sync is supported (after tweaks in about:config to enable it), and it worked, so I have all my FF passwords, bookmarks and history. Gmail, ebay, Youtube all work.

So, in summary, I now have three extra browsers installed, and am feeling more positive about not having to resort to Chromium any more. I'm favouring LibreWolf at the moment, as it feels a lot more homely. Will continue flitting between all of these for a week or so, as I need to use other websites I haven't yet tested. I'll be surprised if anything flat out fails to work, but time will tell.

in reply to cybervegan

I didn't realize LibreWolf supported Firefox Sync. I've been trying to get away from third party repositories of all my data, but having login info synced somewhere in the meantime is very useful. Of all the alternatives I've tried, LibreWolf felt the snappiest, and the least like making a sacrifice in functionality/convenience. I've been using WaterFox continually for the past few months or so, and it's been pretty good...