In recent years, choosing a web browser has become an increasingly personal and conscious decision, driven by the need for privacy, performance, and user experience. While the most well-known browsers dominate the market, a host of alternatives based on Firefox has been gaining popularity thanks to their focus on specific features and user data protection.
In this article, I’ll discuss five modern browsers that I had the chance to try on Linux in 2024: Floorp, LibreWolf, Waterfox, Mullvad, and Zen. These browsers, all forks of Firefox, share the solid foundation provided by Mozilla’s project, but each introduces unique features designed to meet different needs.
From Waterfox’s extensive customization options to the obsessive focus on privacy offered by LibreWolf and Mullvad, and the innovative user experience of Floorp and Zen, we’ll explore how these solutions stand out in today’s landscape. If you’re looking for a browser that puts the user first, this journey through Firefox forks might hold some interesting surprises.
Floorp
Website for download: https://floorp.app/en/download?platform=linux
Main features:
Open source: Completely open-source, allows users to actively contribute and encourages community involvement
Innovative design: Offers a modern and highly customizable user interface, ideal for those seeking a unique experience.
Multitasking support: Includes tools to enhance productivity, such as side panels and enhanced reading modes.
Focus on privacy: Incorporates strengthened settings for protecting personal data compared to the standard Firefox
Student-oriented: Designed for a young audience, with features that simplify academic work.
What I liked best is the clean-looking sidebar with menu that provides quick access to bookmarks, history, downloads, notes and even web apps.
LibreWolf
Website for download: https://librewolf.net/installation
Main features:
Maximum Privacy: Removes telemetry, search suggestions and other intrusive features found in Firefox.
Frequent updates: Focuses on security, ensuring timely patches for vulnerabilities.
No dependence on Mozilla services: Completely excludes Mozilla’s online services, offering a stand-alone solution.
Open-source components: All code changes are transparent and controllable by the community.
What I liked most is the attention to privacy by preventing data tracking by default, it is as if the browser always runs in private mode, one note to make is that this can interfere by compromising the functionality of some websites, those that require the use of tracking data, cookies and fingerprints.
Waterfox
Website for download: https://www.waterfox.net/download
Main features:
Legacy Extension Compatibility: Supports older Firefox extensions, including those no longer compatible with modern versions.
Enhanced Customization: Allows detailed browser configuration, ideal for experienced users.
Enhanced Privacy: Removes telemetry and minimizes data collection while maintaining integration with some optional Mozilla services.
Open source and cross-platform support: Available on various operating systems, including Linux, Windows and macOS.
What I liked best is the ability to use both Firefox and Chrome extensions and that it is basically a lightweight version of Firefox.
Mullvad
Website for download: https://mullvad.net/en/download/browser/linux
Main features:
Collaboration with Mullvad VPN: Optimized to work in synergy with Mullvad VPN, but works well without it.
Default Anonymity: Relies on pre-configured settings to maximize online anonymity.
Tracer blocking: Integrates powerful tools to block trackers, ads, and fingerprinting.
Privacy as a top priority: Does not collect or store any user data.
What I liked most is the minimization of one’s online tracks by using one’s own VPN to hide metadata and block access to third-party cookies and trackers. It also eliminates the complexity of using a Tor-like browser.
Zen
Website for download: https://zen-browser.app/download
Main features:
Minimalist user interface: Aims for a clean and simple design to improve concentration and reduce distractions.
Optimized for speed: Offers a fast and lightweight browsing experience, suitable even for less powerful hardware.
Open source and improved privacy: It is possible to inspect code that is freely usable. Includes advanced configurations for script blocking, trackers and fingerprinting.
Focused on user experience: Designed for users looking for an essential browser without sacrificing important functionality.
What I liked best is the attractive interface and the split views feature that allows multiple tabs to be opened on the same screen encouraging multitasking.
Resources usage
A key issue for me is the resource utilization by the browsers I have tried. I use Linux on an old laptop with a Dual Core CPU and 4GB of RAM.
Below is the amount of RAM used for each browser with the default browser tab open.
| Browser | RAM |
|---|---|
| Floorp 11.21.0 | 366Mb |
| LibreWolf 133.0.3 | 366Mb |
| Waterfox 6.5.2 | 440Mb |
| Mullvad 14.0.3 | 450Mb (308Mb browser + 142Mb WebExtensions) |
| Zen 1.0.2 | 360Mb |
Privacy test
I performed a test regarding the privacy aspect with two tools, Privacy Check by digitale.co and Cover Your Tracks by EFF, here are the results.
With the first test, I analyzed 6 types of data:
- Connection (tries to determine local IP address (via WebRTC) and DNS server in addition to public IP address)
- Location (uses IP address to determine location)
- Advertisements and trackers (checks whether the browser allows advertisements and trackers)
- Hardware (determines various information about the hardware, including CPU and GPU)
- Software (determines software used, includes operating system, browser, plugins used)
- Fingerprint (from all this information, a browser-specific fingerprint is generated)
| Browser | Detected connection | Detected location | Tracking and ads | Detected hardware | Detected software | Detected fingerprint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floorp | Yes | Yes | Yes / Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LibreWolf | Yes | Yes | Not / Yes | Not | Not | Not |
| Waterfox | Yes | Yes | Yes / Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mullvad | Yes | Yes | Not / Yes | Not | Yes | Yes |
| Zen | Yes | Yes | Yes / Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
With the second test, I analyzed 3 types of data:
- Blocking tracking ads
- Blocking invisible trackers
- Fingerprint protection
| Browser | Blocking tracking ads | Blocking invisible trackers | Fingerprint protection? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floorp | partial protection | partial protection | unique fingerprint 1 |
| LibreWolf | partial protection | partial protection | unique fingerprint |
| Waterfox | Yes | Yes | almost unique fingerprint 2 |
| Mullvad | Yes | Yes | not unique fingerprint 3 |
| Zen | partial protection | partial protection | unique fingerprint |
- Unique fingerprint
It means that the characteristics of the browser (user agent, screen resolution, installed fonts, active extensions, etc.) make it unique from all other registered tests. In this case, it is very likely that the browser can be uniquely identified. - Almost unique fingerprint
It means that the browser shares many features with a small number of other users, but is still distinct enough to be identifiable with a high degree of certainty. - Not unique fingerprint
It means that the browser is similar to that of many other users and therefore more difficult to identify individually. This is the most desirable result, since it implies greater anonymity.
Performances test
I ran a test using the Speedometer 3 benchmark tool that measures the responsiveness of web applications.
| Browser | Time |
|---|---|
| Floorp 11.21.0 | 3.76s |
| LibreWolf 133.0.3 | 2.95s |
| Waterfox 6.5.2 | 3.47s |
| Mullvad 14.0.3 | 2.13s |
| Zen 1.0.2 | 3.54s |
