As open source as Android is, it is very difficult to find a decent browser, let alone one that is privacy focused and also usable on daily.

  • Almost all web searches point to site that shows stuff like : Chrome, Edge, Opera…etc. So this doesnt help.

  • Play Store is full of shitty browsers. If you skip the usual DDG, Chrome, Edge, Opera…etc then you will see either:

a) browsers from random Chinese company (Via, UC Browser)

or b) browser that is coupled with other products, e.g. a video downloader with built in browser.

  • After the recent fiasco with Firefox and their ToS, I saw a lot of posts saying IronFox / Water Fox is better. I’ve never heard of these Foxes variants before.

So I tried the following on Android:

  • DDG: only good if you do basic search. It lacks a good adblocker. So very annoying if you are on a site with shit tons of popups.

  • Brave: not a fan of the in your face AI tools. Overall it works ok though

  • The Foxes variants: IronFox seems to be very good on privacy. It has its own DNS and most of the security is on by default. However, same as all Foxes, IronFox just doesnt play well on Android. There is a slight lag when you try to switch tabs.

  • TOR: This would be the safest. But the poorest in terms of usability.

  • Chrome w/o account or Chrome run from private space. Surprisingly, Chrome is still the one browser that runs the smoothest…

Any input is appreciated.

  • marcie (she/her)@lemmy.ml
    5·
    2 hours ago

    Mullvad browser and Tor browser are the only serious options for privacy on the internet. Librewolf, cromite, Firefox, brave, etc will get you fingerprinted. If you care about security more than privacy, use a chromium based browser. Personally, I use Mullvad browser with Vpn (use only protonvpn, mullvad, or ivpn, they have had security and legal tests) it’s the best combo of fast and private.

    For mobile, the options are more limited. Ironfox, Cromite, and Vanadium (GrapheneOs) are the best bets for daily use. Tor Browser is the only one that actually stops fingerprinting however, but it is difficult to recommend it as a daily driver, it’s more of a tool.

    Source: I actually help code security software and test it in real world scenarios regularly

  • Ardens@lemmy.ml
    2·
    7 hours ago

    I use 3 browsers on my android devices. All 3 on all of them. That’s Firefox as the primary, and then Firefox Focus, and Firefox Nightly.

    In the primary Firefox browser, I use uBlock Origin.

    I have no lag - so why you talk about “all foxes” here, I don’t really know. Maybe you do know that Google, Like MS, Apple and others, always try to make it harder to use anything else, than their solution?

  • PortNull@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    26·
    18 hours ago

    I use IronFox and have no qualms. Vandium on graphene is also popular. Buy apart from that I can’t offer up much more

    • nfreak@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      3 hours ago

      I ran into some broken site issues with IronFox (which is completely understandable), but after tweaking every setting I could possibly find I couldn’t resolve them. Fennec is a good compromise for me

  • Gibberish9031@lemmy.mlEnglish
    162·
    18 hours ago

    I’ve been using Fennec and it works 99% of the times and on the rare occasion I need Chromium based browser I use Brave. I don’t have any issues with either.

  • deprecateddino@lemmy.world
    31·
    12 hours ago

    I use Firefox Focus/Klar as my default and if I want anything to persist, I’ll open it in Brave or Chromium.

  • Hellfire103@lemmy.caEnglish
    91·
    18 hours ago

    According to the tests I’ve run, IronFox, Brave, and Tor Browser are the only options (in my opinion).

    Cromite also works, as does Vanadium, but they’re… basic, and the fingerprinting resistance could be better.

  • MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    8·
    18 hours ago

    Also on IronFox and it’s solid.

    If you already use Brave on desktop then that works fine too and syncs your data. Not a huge fan of the crypto/AI stuff in the browser, but the security/privacy aspect of the browser is good.

    • Novaling@lemmy.zipEnglish
      3·
      10 hours ago

      Gonna be real, Firefox with some settings changed + uBlock/Librewolf + uBlock is Brave, and even better honestly. Brave has whitelisted some trackers on sites, and they also will break a site while not giving you a chance to find the one tracker breaking the site, forcing you to turn the entire shield off, defeating the purpose. Meanwhile, uBlock with advanced settings on will allow you to still block anything unnecessary to letting the site do basic functions.

  • Hemingways_Shotgun@lemmy.caEnglish
    7·
    18 hours ago

    I use Cromite. It’s a more hardened fork of Bromite. Which itself is a hardened fork of Chromium.

    The only thing I’ve found so far is that it likes to block the discussion threads on some websites. But other than that I’ve had no issues whatsoever.