{"slug": "umatrix", "name": "uMatrix", "category": "browsers", "category_name": "Browsers and extensions", "description": "", "recommenders": 2, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 2.31, "rising": 0.67, "first": "2025-11-22", "latest": "2026-09-02", "why": "I love uMatrix, but all evidence is that they stopped developing it in 2021.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0], "listed": false, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I love uMatrix, but all evidence is that they stopped developing it in 2021.", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/gorhill/umatrix", "official_url": "https://github.com/gorhill/umatrix", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["uMatrix"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 792498354, "item_id": 49531147, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49531147", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2026-09-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "In the case of uMatrix it usually means finding the minimum set of scripts that enables enough functionality", "excerpt": "Firefox performances have been good for so many years that I can't remember when it was the last time that I felt it to be slow. I only remember that Chrome used to be faster than FF (mainly the JS engine) and then it wasn't. Maybe it loses every single benchmark, I didn't check, but it is fast enough to be my primary browser, the one I use when I work as web developer and also when I'm not working. I run FF on a 201", "context": "", "use_case": "script blocking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Hang on to Your Firefox"}, {"id": 740872528, "item_id": 46304533, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46304533", "by": "neltnerb", "date": "2025-12-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love uMatrix, but all evidence is that they stopped developing it in 2021.", "excerpt": "I love uMatrix, but all evidence is that they stopped developing it in 2021. https://github.com/gorhill/uMatrix I don't know the implications of that, it's the only tool I've ever found that lets me feel in control of what programs my browser is executing.", "context": "", "use_case": "controlling what the browser executes", "switched_from": "", "story": "Is Mozilla trying hard to kill itself?"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["script blocking", "request blocking", "controlling what the browser executes", "blocking scripts"], "compared": [{"slug": "ublock-origin", "name": "uBlock Origin", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "noscript", "name": "NoScript", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49527748", "title": "Hang on to Your Firefox", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49372583", "title": "AliExpress runs silent WebAudio fingerprinting that breaks Bluetooth multipoint", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46299934", "title": "Is Mozilla trying hard to kill itself?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46016249", "title": "The privacy nightmare of browser fingerprinting", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 792498354, "item_id": 49531147, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49531147", "by": "pmontra", "date": "2026-09-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "In the case of uMatrix it usually means finding the minimum set of scripts that enables enough functionality", "excerpt": "Firefox performances have been good for so many years that I can't remember when it was the last time that I felt it to be slow. I only remember that Chrome used to be faster than FF (mainly the JS engine) and then it wasn't. Maybe it loses every single benchmark, I didn't check, but it is fast enough to be my primary browser, the one I use when I work as web developer and also when I'm not working. I run FF on a 201", "context": "", "use_case": "script blocking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Hang on to Your Firefox"}, {"id": 790340337, "item_id": 49396271, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49396271", "by": "LargoLasskhyfv", "date": "2026-08-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Switched from NoScript in the days of 'HttpSwitchboard', then over to uMatrix", "excerpt": "So what's the current usable fork of uMatrix nowadays? Switched from NoScript in the days of 'HttpSwitchboard', then over to uMatrix, but using uBo only now. Still missing some elements of uMatrix, though. How does it work with uBo now? Where does it interfere? What are the redundancies to check for, and letting only uMatrix(whichever fork) handle it? What to disable in uBo for it to work effectively?", "context": "", "use_case": "request blocking", "switched_from": "NoScript", "story": "AliExpress runs silent WebAudio fingerprinting that breaks Bluetooth multipoint"}, {"id": 740872528, "item_id": 46304533, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46304533", "by": "neltnerb", "date": "2025-12-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love uMatrix, but all evidence is that they stopped developing it in 2021.", "excerpt": "I love uMatrix, but all evidence is that they stopped developing it in 2021. https://github.com/gorhill/uMatrix I don't know the implications of that, it's the only tool I've ever found that lets me feel in control of what programs my browser is executing.", "context": "", "use_case": "controlling what the browser executes", "switched_from": "", "story": "Is Mozilla trying hard to kill itself?"}, {"id": 736311569, "item_id": 46019473, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46019473", "by": "ifh-hn", "date": "2025-11-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I really miss umatrix for this purpose", "excerpt": "Stupid question but what happens to fingerprinting if you just disabled JavaScript? Sure it breaks websites, but that's what I do with ubo advanced, which I also use to block webrtc, etc. (I really miss umatrix for this purpose). Am I fingerprinted because a site can't run JavaScript? If I use a VPN too?", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking scripts", "switched_from": "", "story": "The privacy nightmare of browser fingerprinting"}]}