I don’t know either. This one of those cases I wish people would elaborate, since I don’t know much about waterfox so would welcome more insight into it.
in the early days, waterfox was simply a fork of firefox that provided 64bit support when the official builds didn’t. since then i’ve kept using it since it seems like firefox with better default settings for me. between 2019 and 2023 waterfox was owned by an advertising agency although they exerted no control over the software as far as i can tell, and everything remained open source. maybe some peoples info is outdated and they don’t know that the partnership ended 2 years ago. sorry for bad formatting i’m on mobile.
The fundamental differences between Firefox and Waterfox are as follows:
Philosophy & Development
Firefox is developed by Mozilla and follows a mainstream development cycle with frequent updates, strong security policies, and telemetry (data collection).
Waterfox is a fork of Firefox designed for privacy-conscious users, removing telemetry and data collection while maintaining compatibility with legacy Firefox features.
Privacy & Telemetry
Firefox collects telemetry by default, though users can disable it.
Waterfox removes Mozilla’s telemetry entirely and disables other tracking features by default.
Extension Support
Firefox only supports modern WebExtensions, dropping support for older XUL/XPCOM extensions since Firefox Quantum (version 57).
Waterfox retains support for legacy extensions, making it a preferred choice for users who rely on older add-ons.
Update Frequency
Firefox follows a rapid release schedule, often updating every 4-6 weeks.
Waterfox updates more slowly, incorporating Firefox’s latest security patches but lagging behind in feature adoption.
Performance & Resource Usage
Firefox is optimized for modern hardware and multi-core processing, often outperforming forks in speed and efficiency.
Waterfox may use more memory due to its legacy support but offers some performance tweaks.
Default Services & Features
Firefox integrates with Mozilla services like Pocket, Sync, and its VPN.
Waterfox removes these integrations to minimize data-sharing concerns.
In summary, Firefox is better for users who want the latest security, performance, and mainstream web compatibility, while Waterfox is ideal for those prioritizing privacy and legacy extension support.
i like waterfox https://www.waterfox.net/
Whats the advantage of Waterfox over librewolf?
Better defaults for the average user who isn’t looking for maximum privacy
fair enough makes sense. LibreWolf is real strict about it.
eh? no idea, never used it. these downvotes are wild to me. is waterfox bad somehow?
I don’t know either. This one of those cases I wish people would elaborate, since I don’t know much about waterfox so would welcome more insight into it.
in the early days, waterfox was simply a fork of firefox that provided 64bit support when the official builds didn’t. since then i’ve kept using it since it seems like firefox with better default settings for me. between 2019 and 2023 waterfox was owned by an advertising agency although they exerted no control over the software as far as i can tell, and everything remained open source. maybe some peoples info is outdated and they don’t know that the partnership ended 2 years ago. sorry for bad formatting i’m on mobile.
I have no idea. I did not downvote lol. Was genuinely trying to figure out if there was a reason to switch.
I would assume there is no issue until someone actually explains what the problem is.
wonder if they’re somewhere else in the thread naming other browsers. i looked up librewolf and it looks solid enough anyway.
just a quick gpt comparison for people wondering
The fundamental differences between Firefox and Waterfox are as follows:
Firefox is developed by Mozilla and follows a mainstream development cycle with frequent updates, strong security policies, and telemetry (data collection).
Waterfox is a fork of Firefox designed for privacy-conscious users, removing telemetry and data collection while maintaining compatibility with legacy Firefox features.
Firefox collects telemetry by default, though users can disable it.
Waterfox removes Mozilla’s telemetry entirely and disables other tracking features by default.
Firefox only supports modern WebExtensions, dropping support for older XUL/XPCOM extensions since Firefox Quantum (version 57).
Waterfox retains support for legacy extensions, making it a preferred choice for users who rely on older add-ons.
Firefox follows a rapid release schedule, often updating every 4-6 weeks.
Waterfox updates more slowly, incorporating Firefox’s latest security patches but lagging behind in feature adoption.
Firefox is optimized for modern hardware and multi-core processing, often outperforming forks in speed and efficiency.
Waterfox may use more memory due to its legacy support but offers some performance tweaks.
Firefox integrates with Mozilla services like Pocket, Sync, and its VPN.
Waterfox removes these integrations to minimize data-sharing concerns.
In summary, Firefox is better for users who want the latest security, performance, and mainstream web compatibility, while Waterfox is ideal for those prioritizing privacy and legacy extension support.