You must log in or register to comment.
Except you’ve actually changed nothing. Apple forces all third party browsers on their devices to use WebKit (the Safari engine) for the backend, so really all changing browsers does is give you a reskin under Apple’s thumb.
Actually, I have. It gives me better tracking protection than vanilla Safari, it allows me to use SearXNG, and it means I can set a custom homepage. Also, for some reason, Safari has no private mode on my phone.
Not to mention that Mozilla is working on a Gecko-based version of the browser, as Apple is being forced by the EU to allow sideloading, third-party app stores, and third-party browser engines.
Safari has pretty decent tracking protection built in actually.
The big thing holding me back from Firefox on iPhone is the ad blocking side of things. Is there a way to block ads besides vpn based methods?
Well, there is NextDNS (and other providers, such as AdGuard DNS, rethinkDNS, and AhaDNS). It’s not a VPN, and it’s what I’m currently using alongside ProtonVPN (through WireGuard).
You could also try a Pi-Hole.
I just got a new router that puts the whole network behind Mullvad via WireGuard … getting the headless pihole to play nice was fun, but I’m pretty stoked that my phone now falls under that umbrella.
While Gecko should absolutely be made available for iPhone, it’s worth noting there’s nothing wrong with WebKit per se. It’s open source (forked from KHTML), servers as the base for among others the GNOME Web browser, and is not a monopoly player (outside of iPhones).
In some messed up way, Apple’s WebKit insistance has helped competition in the browser market by making sure there’s at least one popular platform where Blink is not dominating…
Damn, I never saw it that way. In that regard the EU regulation could actually harm the browser market, because it lowers the incentive for service providers to support anything but Chrome. At the moment that would exclude all iPhone users (which hurts business, because that’s a lot of users with large pockets). But then they could simply shrug and tell their users to install Chrome. 😐️
In the other way, there are multiple hacky workarounds needed for bugs Apple is too lazy to fix, since everyone has implemented workarounds on their end. I guess the pendulum swings in both ways… luckily, there are enough people using firefox on desktop , so that at least gecko is supported basically anywhere (this would still apply to webkit since most iPhone user just use the standard and don’t bother installing alternative browsers, except if their business uses Microsoft which forces you to have edge installed to open links from teams)
Luckily there’s one mainstream and about a half dozen non-mainstream mobile OSes besides Apple, and almost anyone looking for the best in anything would not have Apple hardware in the first place.
It’s not my choice. I’m a 17-year-old in a family of Apple shills.
You’re not allowed to buy a different phone?
“if we’re paying for it, you’re getting an iPhone where we know how to track your location!”
My parents have never explicitly said this, but this seems like something my dad would think.
They don’t have to pay for it, though. I’ve asked to buy a Fairphone with my money that I earned from my job several times, but they wouldn’t budge and I eventually just gave up.
Wth? Lol well now I don’t understand. If you have the money, what’s stopping you from just buying it anyway and swapping the SIM?
I’m not sure what would happen if I did that, and I don’t want to risk it.
I’ll wait until I’m a legal adult, and then I’ll do that.
well it’s still webkit but it’s for sure better than Chromnius (chromium based malware browser)
Firefox on Android sucks. I make a Google search, images show up in the results. I click an image and it doesn’t open up, just freezes the browser until I click the back button.
Is that a Firefox issue or Google making proprietary standards that only work with chromium based browsers?
I think Google is trying to be anti competitive. I have noticed similar issues when using Firefox with Google Docs.
Take a look at what a former Mozilla exec had to say on the issue: https://www.zdnet.com/article/former-mozilla-exec-google-has-sabotaged-firefox-for-years/
on my iPhone
Next step: get an Android so your can use the real Firefox
Next step: install it in termux for the REAL firefox
I would if I could. In an ideal world, I’d be running postmarketOS with LibreWolf on a PINEPHONE; but that’s simply not the way things are.
At the risk of being condescending… don’t worry too much about it for now. I assume the reason you can’t switch is because your parents or someone else is paying for it and won’t allow your input. If that’s the case, when you get to the point of being able to pay for it yourself, you get to choose exactly what you want.
Becoming self-sufficient is pretty wild, come to think of it. Also mildly traumatizing and occasionally terrifying, but mostly great. Need a new phone? You get whatever you want, if you can. Same with housing, transit, etc. If shit wasn’t so unbelievably expensive it’d be even better…
Thanks. However, it’s not a matter of cost. I get my phones second-hand from family, and they always go for iPhones.
I’ve asked for a Pixel or Fairphone and explained that I would be more than happy to buy it myself, but I’m always met with a long explanation on why iPhones are objectively better, and the idea is shut down.
Honestly, with only 229 days to go until I’m 18, and a year until I leave home for either university or a gap year, I’d may as well just wait this one out.
It’s great because I guess your user agent is now Firefox, but actually Apple only allows one Browser engine
I don’t give a flying fuck about whether I’m using Gecko or WebKit. Both are open-source.
As for why I’m using Firefox over Safari, it gives me better tracking protection than vanilla Safari, it allows me to use SearXNG, and it means I can set a custom homepage. Also, for some reason, Safari has no private mode on my phone.
Not to mention that Mozilla is working on a Gecko-based version of the browser, as Apple is being forced by the EU to allow sideloading, third-party app stores, and third-party browser engines.
