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.

  • Melody FwygonEnglish
    1·
    21 hours ago

    I personally use Firefox still; and keep a fresh copy in a (Pixel only feature) Private Space (Basically an implementation of Android alternate user profile) as well. It works and accepts any privacy addons I throw at it.

    Currently using:

    • uBlock Origin
    • Chameleon
    • Privacy Badger1
    • LocalCDN
    • Decentraleyes1
    • CanvasBlocker1

    1 - May duplicate functions of other plug-ins; but provide additional protection layers and cover for the limitations of other addon(s)…

    Being worried about addons adding to your fingerprint is something that I quite honestly find is not a significant issue usually…unless you’re explicitly doing something truly spooky if found out…then you should use Tor Browser ONLY.