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What Browser is everyone using?


  • Total voters
    216

Wildkraut

Suspended
Nov 8, 2015
3,583
7,675
Germany
1622847475236.jpeg
 
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Fomalhaut

macrumors 68000
Oct 6, 2020
1,993
1,724
That's not why I use Firefox. I use firefox so all my PC's/devices can have a common bookmark repository that is synced accross devices, no matter what kind.
I use Google bookmarks which are independent of any browser, and portable to any internet connected device with an HTTP client.
 

doboy

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2007
3,775
2,946
Safari & Firefox. Initially thought I was on the iPad forum :)
 
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peter108

macrumors newbie
May 20, 2021
27
15
Firefox, so I can sync bookmarks across devices running MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. Plus, I dislike the way Safari stretches open tabs (as when you have just 2 or 3 open) to fill the screen. And I much prefer FF's bookmarks toolbar to Safari's favorites bar. OTOH, Safari is faster. So, like others, I may drift toward using both. And, while I'm at it, throwing Brave into the mix, since it's pretty darn zippy on my Windows and Linux units.
 
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optijaz

macrumors member
Jan 12, 2003
35
4
Melbourne, Australia
Safari for personal. Brave for work. Brave has been fantastic. All the chrome extensions work in it. Highly recommend for anyone using Chrome and looking for a privacy focused alternative.
 

MacBH928

macrumors G3
May 17, 2008
8,738
3,895
I use them all except for Chrome. Which is lightest on resources I do not know. Really the best option browser to use is FireFox for the following reason:-
  • Open Source
  • multi-platform
  • has all the extensions
  • Uses Gecko engine over the blink(Chrome/Google) engine. Better keep options alive over having another IE6 issue
  • TorBrowser is based on FF, so better keep FF alive for Tor to be alive
  • No tracking/monetization incentive, Non-Profit driven
The problem with FF is that the user base is diminishing and money resources for them is drying, Mozilla has no income. I don't mean to hate on Brave which is perfectly fine but Brave is just an unGoogled Chrome, and that means it relies on Chromium/Chrome and Google for it to continue to exist. If in the future they break apart and do their own thing then its a different story.

Brave main advantage is that it has a built in adblocker on iOS devices which no other browser has except iCab.
 
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MacBH928

macrumors G3
May 17, 2008
8,738
3,895
Safari, can’t understand why anyone would use something else.

Seriously? Out of all the browsers Safari's only advantage is that its very light on resources using a MacOS. Other browsers win in every other category.

Why anyone would use Chrome by free will is the most perplexing thing to me and has been since it launched.

I hate Google now, but on launch Chrome gave a fresh of breathe air between IE and FF. IE is IE, and FF was slow and clunky IIRC. Chrome was new and fast. It was a time when people believed Google was on a mission to fix the internet with great services and apps... thats before they became evil and we understood they are using us as the product for their customers(corporates, advertisers)
 
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excelsior.ink

macrumors regular
Apr 15, 2020
134
78
I used to use Edge but now I am trying to use Safari full time. I need two profiles and for this I am using Safari for personal use and Safari Technology Preview for business accounts. So far it works pretty well. I am also using AdBlock Pro (I just bought a 1 year subscription) but I might evaluate AdGuard and other options. My goal is not to block YouTube ads, I am using premium for that. I guess nowadays you have to pay to have a decent experience.
 

excelsior.ink

macrumors regular
Apr 15, 2020
134
78
Safari for personal. Brave for work. Brave has been fantastic. All the chrome extensions work in it. Highly recommend for anyone using Chrome and looking for a privacy focused alternative.
I don't like Brave because it pushes that crypto stuff and I don't like the design. Also it seems there is a more privacy oriented browser than Brave and that is Ungoogled Chromium, basically Chromium compiled by volunteers and with all Google services removed. You might also look into compiling your own Chromium which of course is not easy.
 

leons

macrumors 6502a
Apr 22, 2009
662
344
How is battery usage with Brave compared to Safari? I am looking for alternative to safari, using brave on my android and windows device but never tried it on my m1 mba.
Great! I use it constantly and am getting 15-18 hrs/day battery life.
I don't like Brave because it pushes that crypto stuff and I don't like the design. Also it seems there is a more privacy oriented browser than Brave and that is Ungoogled Chromium, basically Chromium compiled by volunteers and with all Google services removed. You might also look into compiling your own Chromium which of course is not easy.
The "crypto stuff" is easily switched off. Also, I can't take Ungoogled Chromium too seriously when they have this on their front page "IMPORTANT: These binaries are provided by anyone who are willing to build and submit them. Because these binaries are not necessarily reproducible, authenticity cannot be guaranteed. For your consideration, each download page lists the GitHub user that submitted those binaries."

I believe that Brave is the best choice if your focus is privacy.
 

Traverse

macrumors 604
Mar 11, 2013
7,711
4,491
Here
On both my Intel iMac and M1 Mac mini my default is Safari but my backup and alternative browser is Firefox.

  • Safari is fast enough, has the smoothest scrolling, and integrates with iCloud for bookmarks and Reading List, which I've used every day since Safari 5.1
  • Firefox is my backup browser in case Safari messes up and is also my alternative browser for banking and YouTube (since Google forces you to stay signed into Google Search if you sign into YouTube)
I was using Edge as my alternative for a while but I really like the new Firefox U.I. update and also didn't like that Edge installed via a package file and used Microsoft Auto Updater instead of just function and updating like a standalone application.
 
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mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,625
11,298
Chrome but if I need to sign a document/PDF I use Edge with built-in pen markup plus can't surf the internet without uBlock Origin so that rules out Safari which I only fire up to replicate issues others are having.
 

Dockland

macrumors 6502a
Feb 26, 2021
968
8,944
Sweden
Some sites. At least the sites I had issues with in the past seem to be fine now. Not 100% certain they’re all fixed but I can stream Disney+ again and have no issues with Reddit.

Then I'll switch back from Google Chrome. Safari is superior for me.
 

imdog

macrumors 6502
Jun 20, 2017
353
793
Disneyland
Should add a poll

Prior to my M1 Mac & Big Sur I used Safari & Chrome. I used Chrome for YouTube as Safari didn't support 4K. But now I use exclusively Safari.
 

Blue Quark

macrumors regular
Oct 25, 2020
196
147
Probabilistic
Well, I run three different OSs, collectively speaking: Linux Mint 20.1, Windows 10, and now macOS 11, and so the only time I can run Safari is on my Mac. Mostly I've been using Firefox across all three platforms, which is great for being able to keep all my login information sync'd. That said, I am kind of taking a shine to Safari.
 

telo123

macrumors 6502
Mar 11, 2021
318
402
Why anyone would use Chrome by free will is the most perplexing thing to me and has been since it launched.

When not on Mac I have used Firefox since it was called Firebird, and in the odd case a site does not work in Safari when on mac I use Firefox as a backup browser.
It’s because it’s what most users have used for almost a decade for both personal and professional use. There’s a good chunk of the population that are blissfully unaware of the privacy issues related to Chrome. They don’t want to know anything else.

Personally, I use Safari for 99% of my browsing because of iCloud integration. Chrome as my back up for the 1% of websites that I know that refuses to work with WebKit.
 

Fomalhaut

macrumors 68000
Oct 6, 2020
1,993
1,724
Interesting, never heard of it, but it could definitely be useful to me. Thanks!
You're welcome. You need a Google account, and then go to www.google.com/bookmarks. They include a Javascript widget on the web page that you can drag to the address bar of any browser, which opens a pop-up window when you add a bookmark.

One thing to note is that the bookmarks are totally tag-based - there is no folder hierarchy - which may not suit everyone. You find your bookmarks through searching for the tags, which makes sense given Google's background in search.
 
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nquinn

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2020
829
621
I moved to Firefox a while ago for a few reasons:

1. Tired of Chrome snooping data & memory hog
2. Safari was OK, but I don't like that if I ever hop to a PC I can't sync my settings easily. Additionally it's just severely limited with the number of plugins it has, and I don't like how it handles private mode. Also, despite it using webkit, safari by FAR is the browser that will fail on random sites that don't test as well for some reason. I know it SHOULD just work because of webkit, but I guarantee you that sometimes I simply need to fallback on Chrome or Firefox and I'm tired of this.
3. Firefox just had a massive performance jump in the newer versions, so decided to give it another shot. It's blazing fast now. Mostly happy with it and has tons of plugins. Only once in a rare while will I have to flip to Chrome to get things working (recently a doctor's website had issues for some reason). I do find the privacy settings a bit finnicky though between the browser, adblock, etc.

Also for anyone who hasn't done so, immediatley turn off notifications in your browsers to keep the spammy sites from nailing you with them.
 
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GloatGoat

macrumors newbie
Dec 25, 2020
21
20
Brave, with cache streaming media to disk and Brave rewards disabled. It's fast, efficient and features excellent ad blocking. Safari is now my secondary browser, with the occasional use of Firefox.
 
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