{"slug": "waterfox", "name": "Waterfox", "category": "browsers", "category_name": "Browsers and extensions", "description": "A privacy-focused web browser forked from Firefox.", "recommenders": 12, "commenters": 15, "warners": 0, "score": 11.487, "rising": 0.05, "first": "2025-12-16", "latest": "2026-10-14", "why": "Liked as a Firefox fork that leaves out Mozilla's AI features and as a plain browser with familiar defaults that long-time Firefox users are happy switching to.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 12, "neutral": 3, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 3, 0, 1, 1, 1], "listed": true, "loved": ["Firefox replacement", "No AI features"], "caveat": "Site compatibility", "short_quote": "I've switched from using Firefox and Chrome to Firefox and Waterfox, and couldn't be happier.", "icon": true, "domain": "waterfox.com", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.waterfox.net/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Waterfox"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked as a Firefox fork that leaves out Mozilla's AI features", "cites": [{"id": 776918672, "item_id": 48557417, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48557417", "by": "water-data-dude", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm a big fan of WaterFox!", "excerpt": "I'm a big fan of WaterFox! I switched when Firefox decided to add a ton of AI crap without providing a \"turn this crap off\" button (you could force it, but I don't want to fight my tools). Really good experience, been recommending it to all my friends. Librewolf is also good, and I use that on one of my other machines. I like Waterfox a bit more, but that's probably just personal taste. Both are solid and both cut th", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Google Chrome's Next Update Will Mark the End of Popular Ad Blockers"}, {"id": 740800272, "item_id": 46300017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46300017", "by": "b00ty4breakfast", "date": "2025-12-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago", "excerpt": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago because my poor old linux box just couldn't keep up with the latest Firefox version (especially the Snap package! I literally unusable for me) and I am very thankful that they aren't going to be including any of the LLM crud that Mozilla has been talking up. I get the utility that this stuff can have for certain types of activities but on top of not having great hardware to run", "context": "Linux user with old hardware", "use_case": "browser on older Linux box", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "No AI* Here \u2013 A Response to Mozilla's Next Chapter"}, {"id": 740659648, "item_id": 46291228, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46291228", "by": "throwaway613745", "date": "2025-12-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Why do you think Waterfox and Librewolf leave this crap out?", "excerpt": "Mozilla for the love of God I do not want \u201cAI features\u201d in the tool I use to do my online banking. Stop this madness. Nobody is switching away from Firefox because it\u2019s not agentic. But there might be a small amount of people willing to switch away from Chromium slop browsers BECAUSE IT ISNT. Why do you think Waterfox and Librewolf leave this crap out?", "context": "", "use_case": "browser without AI features", "switched_from": "", "story": "Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo"}, {"id": 741183923, "item_id": 46323995, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46323995", "by": "godelski", "date": "2025-12-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Go use a fork like the Mullvad browser or Waterfox.", "excerpt": "Last I checked Firefox was sitting at 4% browser market share. If you include Brave you just get to 5%[0]. So truth is that privacy isn't enough to get people to switch. 5% share isn't enough to stay alive and protect privacy. > they are blindly implementing things before they are requested This is the job of every engineer. Your job is to understand the product and where it advances and where it can help the users. ", "context": "Arch user", "use_case": "privacy browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Firefox will have an option to disable all AI features"}]}, {"text": " and as a plain browser with familiar defaults that long-time Firefox users are happy switching to.", "cites": [{"id": 746475424, "item_id": 46654714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654714", "by": "roughly", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using Waterfox recently, which feels almost nostalgic in how much it\u2019s just a plain goddamn browser. It\u2019s really delightful. Helium seems to be trying to be the same thing for Chrome - it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Just the Browser"}, {"id": 786618017, "item_id": 49163626, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163626", "by": "DarkUranium", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love WaterFox, myself.", "excerpt": "LobreWolf is a good recommendation, though if you want something with more \"usual\" defaults --- I love WaterFox, myself.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023)"}, {"id": 798177280, "item_id": 49886080, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886080", "by": "ivolimmen", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Waterfox. I am very happy about it.", "excerpt": "I had the same issue and switched to Waterfox. I am very happy about it.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "I switched to Brave"}, {"id": 768359696, "item_id": 48022481, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022481", "by": "sgc", "date": "2026-05-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Waterfox last year", "excerpt": "Are you referring to technical implementation or the poor anti-privacy decisions they keep making when you say 'slightly better'? I have not given up, but I am profoundly disappointed and for somebody who says they have used FF for so long, it feels like I am being gaslit when you say they are peachy. People have problems with what they choose to program, not the quality of their code. I too have used FF since the be", "context": "long-time Firefox user", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent"}]}, {"text": " The only complaint raised is site compatibility, with one commenter saying Walmart.com rarely works in it while Chrome does.", "cites": [{"id": 801404912, "item_id": 50087807, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087807", "by": "5555624", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Waterfox for most general purpose browsing and it rarely works with Walmart.com, while Chrome works fine.", "excerpt": "> walmart: still get the \"technical issues\" error page. Try a different browser. I use Waterfox for most general purpose browsing and it rarely works with Walmart.com, while Chrome works fine.", "context": "", "use_case": "general browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Amazon pushes up prices all across the Internet"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Firefox replacement", "summary": "Former Firefox users say they switched and are happy they did.", "quotes": [{"id": 801126096, "item_id": 50070381, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50070381", "by": "sixhobbits", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to WaterFox last year and don't have to deal with their shit any more", "excerpt": "every announcement I see from Mozilla makes me happier that I switched to WaterFox last year and don't have to deal with their shit any more", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Firefox Enterprise"}, {"id": 798177280, "item_id": 49886080, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886080", "by": "ivolimmen", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Waterfox. I am very happy about it.", "excerpt": "I had the same issue and switched to Waterfox. I am very happy about it.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "I switched to Brave"}, {"id": 768359696, "item_id": 48022481, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022481", "by": "sgc", "date": "2026-05-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Waterfox last year", "excerpt": "Are you referring to technical implementation or the poor anti-privacy decisions they keep making when you say 'slightly better'? I have not given up, but I am profoundly disappointed and for somebody who says they have used FF for so long, it feels like I am being gaslit when you say they are peachy. People have problems with what they choose to program, not the quality of their code. I too have used FF since the be", "context": "long-time Firefox user", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent"}]}, {"label": "No AI features", "summary": "Commenters value that it leaves out the AI features Mozilla is adding to Firefox.", "quotes": [{"id": 776918672, "item_id": 48557417, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48557417", "by": "water-data-dude", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm a big fan of WaterFox!", "excerpt": "I'm a big fan of WaterFox! I switched when Firefox decided to add a ton of AI crap without providing a \"turn this crap off\" button (you could force it, but I don't want to fight my tools). Really good experience, been recommending it to all my friends. Librewolf is also good, and I use that on one of my other machines. I like Waterfox a bit more, but that's probably just personal taste. Both are solid and both cut th", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Google Chrome's Next Update Will Mark the End of Popular Ad Blockers"}, {"id": 740800272, "item_id": 46300017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46300017", "by": "b00ty4breakfast", "date": "2025-12-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago", "excerpt": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago because my poor old linux box just couldn't keep up with the latest Firefox version (especially the Snap package! I literally unusable for me) and I am very thankful that they aren't going to be including any of the LLM crud that Mozilla has been talking up. I get the utility that this stuff can have for certain types of activities but on top of not having great hardware to run", "context": "Linux user with old hardware", "use_case": "browser on older Linux box", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "No AI* Here \u2013 A Response to Mozilla's Next Chapter"}, {"id": 740659648, "item_id": 46291228, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46291228", "by": "throwaway613745", "date": "2025-12-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Why do you think Waterfox and Librewolf leave this crap out?", "excerpt": "Mozilla for the love of God I do not want \u201cAI features\u201d in the tool I use to do my online banking. Stop this madness. Nobody is switching away from Firefox because it\u2019s not agentic. But there might be a small amount of people willing to switch away from Chromium slop browsers BECAUSE IT ISNT. Why do you think Waterfox and Librewolf leave this crap out?", "context": "", "use_case": "browser without AI features", "switched_from": "", "story": "Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo"}]}, {"label": "Plain browser", "summary": "Described as a plain browser with more usual defaults.", "quotes": [{"id": 746475424, "item_id": 46654714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654714", "by": "roughly", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using Waterfox recently, which feels almost nostalgic in how much it\u2019s just a plain goddamn browser. It\u2019s really delightful. Helium seems to be trying to be the same thing for Chrome - it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Just the Browser"}, {"id": 786618017, "item_id": 49163626, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163626", "by": "DarkUranium", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love WaterFox, myself.", "excerpt": "LobreWolf is a good recommendation, though if you want something with more \"usual\" defaults --- I love WaterFox, myself.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023)"}]}, {"label": "Long-term use", "summary": "One commenter has used it on desktop for years and adores it.", "quotes": [{"id": 776919856, "item_id": 48557491, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48557491", "by": "lom888", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've been using Waterfox on deskop for years and adore it.", "excerpt": "I've been using Waterfox on deskop for years and adore it. Firefox for mobile does great. I don't grasp how anyone uses Chrome as their daily driver willingly aside from just inertia.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome's Next Update Will Mark the End of Popular Ad Blockers"}]}, {"label": "Older hardware", "summary": "One commenter switched because the latest Firefox could not keep up on an old Linux machine.", "quotes": [{"id": 740800272, "item_id": 46300017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46300017", "by": "b00ty4breakfast", "date": "2025-12-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago", "excerpt": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago because my poor old linux box just couldn't keep up with the latest Firefox version (especially the Snap package! I literally unusable for me) and I am very thankful that they aren't going to be including any of the LLM crud that Mozilla has been talking up. I get the utility that this stuff can have for certain types of activities but on top of not having great hardware to run", "context": "Linux user with old hardware", "use_case": "browser on older Linux box", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "No AI* Here \u2013 A Response to Mozilla's Next Chapter"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Site compatibility", "summary": "One commenter says Walmart.com rarely works in it while Chrome works fine.", "quotes": [{"id": 801404912, "item_id": 50087807, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087807", "by": "5555624", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Waterfox for most general purpose browsing and it rarely works with Walmart.com, while Chrome works fine.", "excerpt": "> walmart: still get the \"technical issues\" error page. Try a different browser. I use Waterfox for most general purpose browsing and it rarely works with Walmart.com, while Chrome works fine.", "context": "", "use_case": "general browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Amazon pushes up prices all across the Internet"}]}], "who": [{"by": "sgc", "context": "long-time Firefox user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022481", "date": "2026-05-05"}, {"by": "godelski", "context": "Arch user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46323995", "date": "2025-12-19"}, {"by": "b00ty4breakfast", "context": "Linux user with old hardware", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46300017", "date": "2025-12-17"}], "tags": ["for ex-Firefox users", "for Linux users", "for older hardware"], "use_cases": ["web browsing", "web browser", "general browsing", "desktop browser", "daily browser", "browser"], "compared": [{"slug": "firefox", "name": "Firefox", "co": 10, "switched_from": 4, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "chrome", "name": "Chrome", "co": 5, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "microsoft-edge", "name": "Microsoft Edge", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "librewolf", "name": "LibreWolf", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "brave", "name": "Brave", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [{"id": 803864113, "item_id": 50241507, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50241507", "by": "MrAlex94", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "it's what I only dreamed of what I would achieve with Waterfox", "excerpt": "Congratulations to the developers of Zen, they've done so well with it. I can't help but be envious at the attention they've been getting the past year or so, it's what I only dreamed of what I would achieve with Waterfox. In a sense, I'd always hoped I'd end up being the alternative to the big boys, but I never quite got there - good for them.", "context": "developer of Waterfox", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Zen Browser is the Arc replacement I was looking for"}, {"id": 783553121, "item_id": 48972070, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972070", "by": "MrAlex94", "date": "2026-07-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I ported that to Waterfox after privileged extension support was removed from Firefox 56.", "excerpt": "It isn\u2019t really, just marketing fluff. Foxify[1] allowed Firefox to install Chrome extensions almost a decade ago and then I ported that to Waterfox after privileged extension support was removed from Firefox 56. Currently still in Waterfox stable but figured there\u2019s not actual much advantage to supporting Chrome extensions as Firefox ones are more featureful, so have removed it in the final version based on ESR 153 ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Orion Browser by Kagi"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48556414", "title": "Google Chrome's Next Update Will Mark the End of Popular Ad Blockers", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50239367", "title": "Zen Browser is the Arc replacement I was looking for", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50084757", "title": "How Amazon pushes up prices all across the Internet", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50070302", "title": "Firefox Enterprise", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49878759", "title": "I switched to Brave", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49136821", "title": "How Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023)", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 3}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 801404912, "item_id": 50087807, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087807", "by": "5555624", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Waterfox for most general purpose browsing and it rarely works with Walmart.com, while Chrome works fine.", "excerpt": "> walmart: still get the \"technical issues\" error page. Try a different browser. I use Waterfox for most general purpose browsing and it rarely works with Walmart.com, while Chrome works fine.", "context": "", "use_case": "general browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Amazon pushes up prices all across the Internet"}, {"id": 801126096, "item_id": 50070381, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50070381", "by": "sixhobbits", "date": "2026-10-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to WaterFox last year and don't have to deal with their shit any more", "excerpt": "every announcement I see from Mozilla makes me happier that I switched to WaterFox last year and don't have to deal with their shit any more", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Firefox Enterprise"}, {"id": 798177280, "item_id": 49886080, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886080", "by": "ivolimmen", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Waterfox. I am very happy about it.", "excerpt": "I had the same issue and switched to Waterfox. I am very happy about it.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "I switched to Brave"}, {"id": 786618017, "item_id": 49163626, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49163626", "by": "DarkUranium", "date": "2026-08-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love WaterFox, myself.", "excerpt": "LobreWolf is a good recommendation, though if you want something with more \"usual\" defaults --- I love WaterFox, myself.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023)"}, {"id": 777025457, "item_id": 48564091, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48564091", "by": "englens", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've switched from using Firefox and Chrome to Firefox and Waterfox, and couldn't be happier.", "excerpt": "Firefox respects the user's choices for ad blockers, and doesn't force local AI models on them. I've switched from using Firefox and Chrome to Firefox and Waterfox, and couldn't be happier.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Chrome", "story": "Firefox is easier than ever to customize"}, {"id": 776919856, "item_id": 48557491, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48557491", "by": "lom888", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've been using Waterfox on deskop for years and adore it.", "excerpt": "I've been using Waterfox on deskop for years and adore it. Firefox for mobile does great. I don't grasp how anyone uses Chrome as their daily driver willingly aside from just inertia.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome's Next Update Will Mark the End of Popular Ad Blockers"}, {"id": 776918672, "item_id": 48557417, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48557417", "by": "water-data-dude", "date": "2026-06-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm a big fan of WaterFox!", "excerpt": "I'm a big fan of WaterFox! I switched when Firefox decided to add a ton of AI crap without providing a \"turn this crap off\" button (you could force it, but I don't want to fight my tools). Really good experience, been recommending it to all my friends. Librewolf is also good, and I use that on one of my other machines. I like Waterfox a bit more, but that's probably just personal taste. Both are solid and both cut th", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Google Chrome's Next Update Will Mark the End of Popular Ad Blockers"}, {"id": 768359696, "item_id": 48022481, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022481", "by": "sgc", "date": "2026-05-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switched to Waterfox last year", "excerpt": "Are you referring to technical implementation or the poor anti-privacy decisions they keep making when you say 'slightly better'? I have not given up, but I am profoundly disappointed and for somebody who says they have used FF for so long, it feels like I am being gaslit when you say they are peachy. People have problems with what they choose to program, not the quality of their code. I too have used FF since the be", "context": "long-time Firefox user", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent"}, {"id": 761150305, "item_id": 47571894, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47571894", "by": "zettabomb", "date": "2026-03-30", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I remember using Waterfox when it was new.", "excerpt": "I remember using Waterfox when it was new. I moved away from it when Firefox started pushing 64 bit builds natively, and I've stuck with it since then. Recently though it does seem as if they might be going down a dark path, so perhaps I'll consider switching again. I remember Waterfox was hard forked after Quantum became a thing, in order to keep support with XPI - is that still the case?", "context": "", "use_case": "web browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "15 Years of Forking"}, {"id": 747622500, "item_id": 46726406, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46726406", "by": "princevegeta89", "date": "2026-01-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Currently I'm using Brave and Waterfox.", "excerpt": "I have been noticing this lately on my Macbook Pro. it was updated recently but my system has been freezing on and off at random times and I have found edge to cause quite an issue overall. This is a gentle reminder to remove these shithole browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera etc.) from your machines and move on to something more trustworthy. Currently I'm using Brave and Waterfox. I'll probably look for one more open sour", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "Edge", "story": "Microsoft Edge Constantly at 100% CPU Usage on OS X"}, {"id": 746475424, "item_id": 46654714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654714", "by": "roughly", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using Waterfox recently, which feels almost nostalgic in how much it\u2019s just a plain goddamn browser. It\u2019s really delightful. Helium seems to be trying to be the same thing for Chrome - it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Just the Browser"}, {"id": 743114688, "item_id": 46444668, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46444668", "by": "jzellis", "date": "2025-12-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I sync my history between Fire/Waterfox on my phone and laptops", "excerpt": "I sync my history between Fire/Waterfox on my phone and laptops, and since almost anything I wanna copy and paste is in the browser, I just open whatever it is from Other Devices. For files or images, I use LocalSend now for everything. Which is not to say there's not a big use case for this, but speaking only for myself, it's not a pain point. But it looks cool!", "context": "", "use_case": "syncing history across devices", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: I built a universal clipboard that syncs realtime on multiple devices"}, {"id": 741183923, "item_id": 46323995, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46323995", "by": "godelski", "date": "2025-12-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Go use a fork like the Mullvad browser or Waterfox.", "excerpt": "Last I checked Firefox was sitting at 4% browser market share. If you include Brave you just get to 5%[0]. So truth is that privacy isn't enough to get people to switch. 5% share isn't enough to stay alive and protect privacy. > they are blindly implementing things before they are requested This is the job of every engineer. Your job is to understand the product and where it advances and where it can help the users. ", "context": "Arch user", "use_case": "privacy browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Firefox will have an option to disable all AI features"}, {"id": 740800272, "item_id": 46300017, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46300017", "by": "b00ty4breakfast", "date": "2025-12-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago", "excerpt": "I switched to Waterfox about a year ago because my poor old linux box just couldn't keep up with the latest Firefox version (especially the Snap package! I literally unusable for me) and I am very thankful that they aren't going to be including any of the LLM crud that Mozilla has been talking up. I get the utility that this stuff can have for certain types of activities but on top of not having great hardware to run", "context": "Linux user with old hardware", "use_case": "browser on older Linux box", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "No AI* Here \u2013 A Response to Mozilla's Next Chapter"}, {"id": 740659648, "item_id": 46291228, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46291228", "by": "throwaway613745", "date": "2025-12-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Why do you think Waterfox and Librewolf leave this crap out?", "excerpt": "Mozilla for the love of God I do not want \u201cAI features\u201d in the tool I use to do my online banking. Stop this madness. Nobody is switching away from Firefox because it\u2019s not agentic. But there might be a small amount of people willing to switch away from Chromium slop browsers BECAUSE IT ISNT. Why do you think Waterfox and Librewolf leave this crap out?", "context": "", "use_case": "browser without AI features", "switched_from": "", "story": "Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo"}]}