Why I moved my most delicate shopping from Firefox to LibreWolf

On my private pc, I do lots of the issues I care most about defending. I take advantage of it for banking and buying, and I hold private paperwork on it that I would not need uncovered. Firefox is usually the browser I attain for when privateness issues, however for this machine I wished one thing that went a little bit additional.

That led me to LibreWolf. It’s based mostly on Firefox, but it surely comes with stricter privateness settings out of the field. I preferred the thought of getting a browser I used to be already snug with whereas tightening up privateness on the identical time. The tradeoffs ended up being fairly minor. A number of issues, together with DRM playback and WebGL, wanted some further setup earlier than they labored the best way I anticipated.

LibreWolf barely looks like switching browsers

If Firefox, you already know LibreWolf

The very first thing I observed about LibreWolf was how little it felt like I had modified browsers. Since it is constructed on Firefox, the structure is nearly equivalent. Tabs are in the identical place, the menus look acquainted, and many of the controls are the place I anticipated them to be.

That means there may be virtually no studying curve. I put in LibreWolf and was in a position to begin utilizing it immediately with out altering how I usually browse. Most of the essential variations are within the privateness settings and defaults moderately than the interface itself, so day-to-day use nonetheless feels very very similar to Firefox.

Most web sites labored simply as you’d anticipate

Logins, checkout flows, and on a regular basis shopping all labored and not using a hitch

For probably the most half, LibreWolf dealt with the websites I take advantage of the identical method Firefox does. Pages loaded usually, logins labored, and I wasn’t continually operating into damaged layouts or lacking options. I even checked out on Amazon with none points. I anticipated the stricter privateness settings to trigger extra issues, however throughout regular shopping, LibreWolf simply labored.

The privateness tradeoffs present up in small on a regular basis annoyances

What separates LibreWolf from Firefox is usually what it disables, blocks, or tightens by default. Tracking protection is more aggressive, telemetry is eliminated, and options that may expose more information about your browser are handled extra cautiously. None of that makes LibreWolf troublesome to make use of, but it surely does imply you sometimes should step in and permit one thing that one other browser would simply deal with robotically.

LibreWolf hardly ever received in my method for lengthy, however from time to time a website wanted an additional permission or a setting modified earlier than it behaved usually. Those interruptions had been small, however they had been the clearest reminder that the browser is making totally different decisions than Firefox does.

Another distinction reveals up once you shut the browser: LibreWolf clears all cookies and site data by default, which implies web sites will not hold you logged in between classes until you explicitly whitelist them. You can create exceptions for websites you belief, but it surely’s one other small little bit of setup that I do not often have to consider in Firefox.

DRM and WebGL aren’t enabled the best way you may anticipate

The two locations the place LibreWolf had further steps had been DRM and WebGL. When I opened Netflix, LibreWolf advised me I wanted to allow DRM earlier than I might watch something. It wasn’t troublesome to repair, but it surely was an additional step that Firefox usually handles with out me desirous about it.

Google Earth was related, initially reporting that WebGL wasn’t supported as a result of LibreWolf’s default fingerprinting safety restricts WebGL entry till you explicitly configure or override it. These are each good examples of how LibreWolf’s stricter defaults sometimes make you perform a little extra work.

LibreWolf nonetheless looks like Firefox in relation to updates

I haven’t got to babysit it

LibreWolf does not really feel like some obscure browser I’ve to take care of. It will get common updates based mostly on Firefox releases, so I’m nonetheless getting present browser fixes and safety patches with out having to assume a lot about it. That issues on a pc I take advantage of for monetary transactions and buying. I wished stronger privateness, however I did not need to commerce that for a browser that created extra work for me.

LibreWolf makes probably the most sense on the PC the place privateness issues most

I’m going to maintain utilizing LibreWolf on my private pc as a result of that is the place the additional privateness issues most to me. I take advantage of that machine for banking, buying, and dealing with private info, so I do not thoughts placing up with the occasional further step if it means the browser is doing more to limit tracking by default.

I would not put LibreWolf on my media server or the PCs related to my TVs. On these machines, I care extra about comfort and ensuring streaming websites and different net apps work with none further setup. Where privateness is the precedence, LibreWolf is smart. Where comfort issues most, it does not.