6 ms·

What browser should users opt for if they want performance, broad compatibility with websites and absolutely no tracking/analytics? Preferably open source and c

by davb 9y ago

What browser should users opt for if they want performance, broad compatibility with websites and absolutely no tracking/analytics? Preferably open source and cross platform.

coldpie 9y ago
Firefox is a good one. They're clearly implementing a fix for this bug.
- gcp 9y ago
  IMHO this should be blocked by Tracking Protection.
  - ianbicking 9y ago
    The general policy at Mozilla – which I'm pretty sure addons.mozilla.org follows (given https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/blob/28410742c206e53e568bdff557d416d970c0f1d0/src/core/tracking.js#L29 https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/blob/28410742c206...) is that we don't use Google Analytics on websites if you have Do Not Track on. It's a little less clear here because we're embedding a website into an interface that appears to be part of the browser, which is why there was a suggestion by a maintainer in the first response that we should use both Do Not Track and a Firefox data collection flag. But the Do Not Track preference is just as well-exposed as other flags, so I doubt that would have an effect on many users who would object to this tracking (who are very likely to have turned on Do Not Track).
    - kuschku 9y ago
      The discovery.addons.mozilla.org page does not respect Do Not Track, but as a result of the thread, someone just made a PR to implement that feature: https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787 https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787 Currently, no matter what privacy settings you set, you are being tracked, without being informed about it, without opt-out. This is likely even illegal in the EU.
      - MaxLeiter 9y ago
        The pull request was closed without merging https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787#issuecomment-314872289 https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787#issueco...
        kuschku 9y ago
        That facepalm hurt. Honestly, what the fuck are they even trying to do? This has to be the most mis-managed situation I’ve seen yet.
- davb 9y ago
  I guess I'm interested in browsers who's developers wouldn't have done this in the first place - a browser which has privacy as a core principle and who's develop we wouldn't consider pushing any data, regardless of aggregation or commercial value, to a third party without explicit consent..
  - coldpie 9y ago
    To be blunt, you're not going to find one. Developing a modern browser is extremely difficult, on the order of developing an entire operating system. Mozilla does respect privacy rights, and it is clearly treating this as a bug to be fixed. You're going to have to cut them some slack for not being 100% perfect always.
    - throwaway2048 9y ago
      The fact they thought this was a good idea to begin with speaks volumes about their actual position.
      - coldpie 9y ago
        I disagree. I think people who believe in protecting their privacy can also be OK with Google Analytics processing, anonymizing, and aggregating the data. I also understand why someone would not feel that way. I think it's something about which reasonable people can disagree. This is why Mozilla provides the option[1]. [1] Which is, incorrectly, not being respected. This is a bug which they will fix.
        hu3 9y ago
        http://i.imgur.com/fsATjLv.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fsATjLv.jpg
      - uAntabaka 9y ago
        They really didn't actively think it was a good idea. They changed the discovery tab to be a web page, which as the github repo linked by the OP will show you, is now handled in the same repo (by the same people) as the AMO website proper. It was a mistake, and not as huge of one as people are making it out to be. As they have repeatedly pointed out, their GA contract makes it essentially a non-issue, unless you believe Google is so obsessed with tracking that they will violate their contract with Mozilla.
Sir_Substance 9y ago
At this point, you need to take things into your own hands and modify your hosts file: http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/
- OJFord 9y ago
  There's also https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts
frik 9y ago
Mozilla mismanages Firefox for several years, and dropped Thunderbird. I can't use Firefox even for dev work anymore because of too many regression bugs and newly introduced UI annoyance and removal of classic addon-API, etc. The Rust/Servo movement is good, but Firefox needs badly a reboot/lightweight fork. I suggest to have a look at Iron browser (open source Chromium with phone-home stuff patched out) or Chromium build in general (with curated settings or stuff patched out yourself). And Vivaldi (reminds one to older Opera UI) is quite good, though closed source.
snakeanus 9y ago
There is https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium and also the tor browser. There is also netsurf and dillo but they are not as compatible due to the lack of js and incomplete css support.
driverdan 9y ago
Use separation of concerns. Block ads / tracking outside the browser, eg using a hosts blacklist: https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts This allows you to use any browser. I've found Firefox to be buggy and slow on OS X so I use Chrome. It's great on Windows though.
rhabarba 9y ago
> performance, broad compatibility with websites and absolutely no tracking/analytics Pale Moon (not too cross-platform), qutebrowser (if you're fine with Webkit and keybindings).

by davb 9y ago

What browser should users opt for if they want performance, broad compatibility with websites and absolutely no tracking/analytics? Preferably open source and cross platform.

coldpie 9y ago

Firefox is a good one. They're clearly implementing a fix for this bug.

gcp 9y ago
IMHO this should be blocked by Tracking Protection.
- ianbicking 9y ago
  The general policy at Mozilla – which I'm pretty sure addons.mozilla.org follows (given https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/blob/28410742c206e53e568bdff557d416d970c0f1d0/src/core/tracking.js#L29 https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/blob/28410742c206...) is that we don't use Google Analytics on websites if you have Do Not Track on. It's a little less clear here because we're embedding a website into an interface that appears to be part of the browser, which is why there was a suggestion by a maintainer in the first response that we should use both Do Not Track and a Firefox data collection flag. But the Do Not Track preference is just as well-exposed as other flags, so I doubt that would have an effect on many users who would object to this tracking (who are very likely to have turned on Do Not Track).
  - kuschku 9y ago
    The discovery.addons.mozilla.org page does not respect Do Not Track, but as a result of the thread, someone just made a PR to implement that feature: https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787 https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787 Currently, no matter what privacy settings you set, you are being tracked, without being informed about it, without opt-out. This is likely even illegal in the EU.
    - MaxLeiter 9y ago
      The pull request was closed without merging https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787#issuecomment-314872289 https://github.com/mozilla/addons-frontend/pull/2787#issueco...
      - kuschku 9y ago
        That facepalm hurt. Honestly, what the fuck are they even trying to do? This has to be the most mis-managed situation I’ve seen yet.
davb 9y ago
I guess I'm interested in browsers who's developers wouldn't have done this in the first place - a browser which has privacy as a core principle and who's develop we wouldn't consider pushing any data, regardless of aggregation or commercial value, to a third party without explicit consent..
- coldpie 9y ago
  To be blunt, you're not going to find one. Developing a modern browser is extremely difficult, on the order of developing an entire operating system. Mozilla does respect privacy rights, and it is clearly treating this as a bug to be fixed. You're going to have to cut them some slack for not being 100% perfect always.
  - throwaway2048 9y ago
    The fact they thought this was a good idea to begin with speaks volumes about their actual position.
    - coldpie 9y ago
      I disagree. I think people who believe in protecting their privacy can also be OK with Google Analytics processing, anonymizing, and aggregating the data. I also understand why someone would not feel that way. I think it's something about which reasonable people can disagree. This is why Mozilla provides the option[1]. [1] Which is, incorrectly, not being respected. This is a bug which they will fix.
      - hu3 9y ago
        http://i.imgur.com/fsATjLv.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fsATjLv.jpg
    - uAntabaka 9y ago
      They really didn't actively think it was a good idea. They changed the discovery tab to be a web page, which as the github repo linked by the OP will show you, is now handled in the same repo (by the same people) as the AMO website proper. It was a mistake, and not as huge of one as people are making it out to be. As they have repeatedly pointed out, their GA contract makes it essentially a non-issue, unless you believe Google is so obsessed with tracking that they will violate their contract with Mozilla.

Sir_Substance 9y ago

At this point, you need to take things into your own hands and modify your hosts file: http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/ http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/

OJFord 9y ago
There's also https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

frik 9y ago

Mozilla mismanages Firefox for several years, and dropped Thunderbird. I can't use Firefox even for dev work anymore because of too many regression bugs and newly introduced UI annoyance and removal of classic addon-API, etc. The Rust/Servo movement is good, but Firefox needs badly a reboot/lightweight fork. I suggest to have a look at Iron browser (open source Chromium with phone-home stuff patched out) or Chromium build in general (with curated settings or stuff patched out yourself). And Vivaldi (reminds one to older Opera UI) is quite good, though closed source.

snakeanus 9y ago

There is https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium and also the tor browser. There is also netsurf and dillo but they are not as compatible due to the lack of js and incomplete css support.

driverdan 9y ago

Use separation of concerns. Block ads / tracking outside the browser, eg using a hosts blacklist: https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts This allows you to use any browser. I've found Firefox to be buggy and slow on OS X so I use Chrome. It's great on Windows though.

rhabarba 9y ago

> performance, broad compatibility with websites and absolutely no tracking/analytics Pale Moon (not too cross-platform), qutebrowser (if you're fine with Webkit and keybindings).