4 ms·

Only way to make people switch is to make it privacy oriented like Safari now is... That would probably let Microsoft steal significant share away from Google.

Only way to make people switch is to make it privacy oriented like Safari now is... That would probably let Microsoft steal significant share away from Google. Privacy oriented Chrome, standards compliant, developer oriented. Do a 180 from the IE days which Google is now mimicking.

olyjohn 7y ago
No matter how good they make the privacy in the browser, will people really believe it? Microsoft has done nothing but say how much they care about your privacy and security through the whole IE lifecycle.
- skrowl 7y ago
  Same as Safari. If any part of it is closed source, you're basically just taking their word for it that they're respecting your privacy. Firefox is fully open source.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    And how many people have actually inspected the source code of Firefox closely enough to be sure what it is doing?
opencl 7y ago
The two biggest privacy-oriented browsers, Firefox and Safari, have ~10% and ~5% desktop market share[1]. It seems like the overwhelming majority of people do not care very much. [1] https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/desktop/worldwide https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/desktop/worl...
- devoply 7y ago
  They prefer the speed of Chrome. So give them that, with huge corporate backing, and privacy features and you have a good chance at taking some stuff away from Chrome.
  - nesadi 7y ago
    > They prefer the speed of Chrome. Judging by my experiences as a PC technician, 99% of those people wouldn't know if it's the browser that's slow or their PC or whatever crap adware they've managed to install or whatever. Most people don't know and don't care. Google has just leveraged their position as the dominant search engine to ensure their browser is the default. I've installed Firefox on enough devices to see that users just don't care - they'll use whatever is most convenient at the time and then they'll stick to it because they know it and because of habit. Hell, many people don't know what a browser even is, much less what the differences are between them. It's just that "internet thing".
- kyriakos 7y ago
  Safari is only available on Apple devices hence the low market share.
  - hiccuphippo 7y ago
    And not all Apple customers use it because of the privacy features.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      The number of desktop Apple customers - the only Apple customers that can use a third party rendering engine - is marginal compared to the number of iOS devices.
- kgwxd 7y ago
  Or they don't know better. There's a very big difference. What's Edges market share? If Edge (or any other browser) suddenly gets added to the privacy-oriented list, the number of people using privacy-oriented browsers goes up, which is the important part. It doesn't matter if they care.
  - elcomet 7y ago
    But why would Microsoft do this if it doesn't bring then new users?
    - kgwxd 7y ago
      Because it's the right thing to do. Yes, that sounds crazy to me too, but it's crazy that it's a crazy thing to say.
      - elcomet 7y ago
        Well it's the right thing for users, but not for Microsoft and their shareholders.
        kgwxd 7y ago
        A "user agent" should only act in the interest of it's user. If it does not, it shouldn't be used.
s1k3s 7y ago
Can someone explain how Safari is "privacy oriented" (or any other browser that claims that)?
- mping 7y ago
  Disallowing third party cookies by default, thus preventing most ad tracking. Some other browsers (ffox?) actively prevent fingerprinting techniques such as canvas fingerprinting.
mixedCase 7y ago
> Privacy oriented Chrome Brave already does this. Most people don't really care.
Andrex 7y ago
Not much hope for that when Windows and Office telemetry have been ballooning in recent years, with no end in sight.

olyjohn 7y ago

No matter how good they make the privacy in the browser, will people really believe it? Microsoft has done nothing but say how much they care about your privacy and security through the whole IE lifecycle.

skrowl 7y ago
Same as Safari. If any part of it is closed source, you're basically just taking their word for it that they're respecting your privacy. Firefox is fully open source.
- scarface74 7y ago
  And how many people have actually inspected the source code of Firefox closely enough to be sure what it is doing?

opencl 7y ago

The two biggest privacy-oriented browsers, Firefox and Safari, have ~10% and ~5% desktop market share[1]. It seems like the overwhelming majority of people do not care very much. [1] https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/desktop/worldwide https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/desktop/worl...

devoply 7y ago
They prefer the speed of Chrome. So give them that, with huge corporate backing, and privacy features and you have a good chance at taking some stuff away from Chrome.
- nesadi 7y ago
  > They prefer the speed of Chrome. Judging by my experiences as a PC technician, 99% of those people wouldn't know if it's the browser that's slow or their PC or whatever crap adware they've managed to install or whatever. Most people don't know and don't care. Google has just leveraged their position as the dominant search engine to ensure their browser is the default. I've installed Firefox on enough devices to see that users just don't care - they'll use whatever is most convenient at the time and then they'll stick to it because they know it and because of habit. Hell, many people don't know what a browser even is, much less what the differences are between them. It's just that "internet thing".
kyriakos 7y ago
Safari is only available on Apple devices hence the low market share.
- hiccuphippo 7y ago
  And not all Apple customers use it because of the privacy features.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    The number of desktop Apple customers - the only Apple customers that can use a third party rendering engine - is marginal compared to the number of iOS devices.
kgwxd 7y ago
Or they don't know better. There's a very big difference. What's Edges market share? If Edge (or any other browser) suddenly gets added to the privacy-oriented list, the number of people using privacy-oriented browsers goes up, which is the important part. It doesn't matter if they care.
- elcomet 7y ago
  But why would Microsoft do this if it doesn't bring then new users?
  - kgwxd 7y ago
    Because it's the right thing to do. Yes, that sounds crazy to me too, but it's crazy that it's a crazy thing to say.
    - elcomet 7y ago
      Well it's the right thing for users, but not for Microsoft and their shareholders.
      - kgwxd 7y ago
        A "user agent" should only act in the interest of it's user. If it does not, it shouldn't be used.

s1k3s 7y ago

Can someone explain how Safari is "privacy oriented" (or any other browser that claims that)?

mping 7y ago
Disallowing third party cookies by default, thus preventing most ad tracking. Some other browsers (ffox?) actively prevent fingerprinting techniques such as canvas fingerprinting.

mixedCase 7y ago

> Privacy oriented Chrome Brave already does this. Most people don't really care.

Andrex 7y ago

Not much hope for that when Windows and Office telemetry have been ballooning in recent years, with no end in sight.