cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/58870060
I’ve been using Samsung Internet for a very long time, knowing it isn’t the best one for privacy. However, the user experience with it is, for me, unmatched by any other browser, including Vivaldi, Brave, and any Firefox forks.
So here’s what I’m looking for in a browser:
preferably FOSS
some control on privacy setting, less trackers/fingerprinting, etc. Doesn’t have to be the most hardened.
decent dark mode for web pages (Dark Reader is OK)
bottom search bar
bottom tabs bar rather than tab switcher
a quit button I don’t have to tap and scroll 2 times to find. Ideally it’d be placed on the main bottom bar
the quit button must clear cache and close all tabs, so I think it should be native and not an extension, but maybe I’m wrong?
Is there any browser that can give me that?
I’d love using Fennec as my main - and God knows I’ve tried multiple times to - but missing some of those feature made it hard for me to leave Samsung Internet behind. ATM I’m using both browsers BTW.
Any suggestion is appreciated!
Just to clarify, Fennec is a privacy-focused fork, kind of in the same vein as libreWolf but not as extensive. Since LW isn’t available on mobile, Fennec seems to be the next best thing.
I can’t really think of any browsers that have all the features OP is looking for. FF (+forks) is probably the closest thing out there.
Vivaldi is very close, it’s only missing the FOSS requirement which I’m guessing is one OP would be willing to compromise on.
Your guess was correct. However, as I’m currently testing both browsers, it seems like the uBlock extension in Fennec (or any FF fork) is way superior to any filter in Vivaldi. So Fennec still on top for me.
What I found out is that Vivaldi’s filter (even uBlock and AdGuard ones) can’t block sponsored posts, while uBlock extension, apparently, can
It is yes, one of the reasons why I would recommend Firefox over Vivaldi (or any Chromium browser).
(Just replying in this thread since I can no longer access your other thread.)
I think the reason I overlooked this as an issue is because I have a phone with a 21:9 aspect ratio. The entire menu is always available, I never have to scroll to find things. I went back to a couple of my older phones with 18:5:9 and 16:9 aspect ratios and I can see what you’re talking about now. The shorter your screen is, the more this becomes an issue. Although on all of them it’s still only a single scroll so I’m not sure why you are being forced to scroll down twice.
For context, my phone is an S23+ with 19.5:9 aspect ratio; I’ve actually tested FF forks, so maybe the menu items are different in number from base FF; I use the bottom bar, which apparently shortens the menu as compared to top bar; the length of the menu bar is different if viewed in a new tab page or a web page. If I’m in new tab, the menu is very short and I can access the quit button instantly.
It’s about time Mozilla lets us customize that menu. It’s full of things I don’t need or I could drop to the bottom. Like “print”? Seriously!? The times I had to print a webpage in my entire life, even on PC, is exactly zero.
True true. There’s also GrapheneOS’s Vanadium browser to keep an eye on, but so far I don’t think it’s usable outside of GOS without jumping through some hoops. Personally not a fan of Chromium-based browsers so I haven’t done much digging outside of the Firefox ecosystem though tbf.