Maybe the problem is not Firefox here, but Apple.
Apple does not allow other browsers than Safari on iOS. All other browsers are just reskins of Safari.
Apple does not allow other browsers than Safari on iOS. All other browsers are just reskins of Safari.
And yet only Brave blocks ads effortlessly…
Of course it is an Apple issue in the core, but unless Firefox includes a proper ad blocking frautre (no add-ons needed because that’s unlikely to happen in iOS) is also a Firefox issue, and I I’d say the main reason why it loses market when competing against Brave in such a closed environment.
Imo builtin AdBlockers is much worse than addons. You have no free choice, have to trust that the devs will provide updates regularly and accurately (in contrast to just switching to another AdBlocker when eg. uBlock breaks), and are fucked once they decide it’s too much work/Google pays them a nice sum to not block them/they decide to just replace the ads instead of removing them.
Addons on iOS, just as on Android, are very much needed and an actual solution to a whole plethora of problems, that no browser on its own could ever solve.
Yes, I don’t think anyone thinks otherwise, but built in adblockers are better than DNS adblockers, which consecutively are better than nothing lol (also you could pair both I guess and get an improved experience).
I’m going to reject that criticism in this particular case. PiHole is a significantly more complex setup than Tailscale or ZeroTier. While I agree that it is beyond expectations for the “average person”, so is PiHole.
An OpenVPN server on a dynamic IP address is not that far beyond the skillset of the average PiHole user, especially if they are using an open source router with OpenVPN and DDNS preinstalled.
Tailscale or ZeroTier are well within the capabilities of a PiHole user.
I have tried it and while it works, DNS adblocking (and the hassle to remember to turn on the VPN for browsing) doesn’t works as good nor is as smooth as using a browser with AdBlock support, or Ublock Origin extension.
Both Vivaldi and Brave have working adblockers on iOS while Firefox does not. This is not WebKit’s fault, shouldn’t be an issue for Firefox mobile developers to implement.
This doesn’t solve your same browser issue, but just fyi the browser “Orion” on iOS supports full browser extensions. Its developed by the company that runs the Kagi search engine
Also simply compatibility, some sites just don’t work (or dont work well) on Firefox or librewolf, thats one key reason I go back to brave for a lot of things.
Agreed, but I also have work to do. On my personal PC at home I use librewolf, as for most casual browsing its fine.
But the question was why do people use brave over Firefox and my answer simply is cos it doesn’t have the functionality i need. I dunno about your boss but if I say to mine “I didn’t do my job cos my browser of choice doesn’t work” I don’t reckon I’ll stay employed for long.
Relatedly, does anyone know if there’s a public list of sites that don’t work (properly or at all) in Firefox somewhere? A quick (non-Google) web search doesn’t seem to turn one up. If I was working at Mozilla, that would be the kind of database I might be interested in making a public resource. And I don’t mean as part of the Bug Tracker, though links between the two for legitimate problems could be useful, I guess.
Something with a very basic interface that has an offending site name, how it doesn’t work, perhaps why, and what, if anything, Mozilla can do about it. In short simple sentences. One per offending site in 16pt text. And a search feature for when it runs to the hundreds.
It could be something like:
[favicon/logo] example.com - Outright states that it will not support Firefox. Mozilla cannot do anything about this. Complain to Example Inc.
[favicon/logo] example.net - interface is buggy in Firefox. Site misuses web standards in a way incompatible with Firefox’s renderer. We are looking into this. <Link to bug tracker here>
[favicon/logo] example.org - interface does not load. Site uses non-standard Google-only CSS properties. We are looking into this, but you could also contact The Example Organisation to ask them to review their CSS.
etc.
I’ve not had any problems with the handful of sites I use, at least not outside of something caused by browser security or add-ons which I eventually figured out how to fix.
That said, I’ve probably forgotten a handful I just straight up refused to visit again when they didn’t work and now they’re not in my regular rotation any more, so I don’t notice.
I want to use the same browser on desktop and mobile, but Firefox doesn’t support ad-blocking on iOS.
Maybe the problem is not Firefox here, but Apple.
Apple does not allow other browsers than Safari on iOS. All other browsers are just reskins of Safari.
And yet only Brave blocks ads effortlessly…
Of course it is an Apple issue in the core, but unless Firefox includes a proper ad blocking frautre (no add-ons needed because that’s unlikely to happen in iOS) is also a Firefox issue, and I I’d say the main reason why it loses market when competing against Brave in such a closed environment.
Imo builtin AdBlockers is much worse than addons. You have no free choice, have to trust that the devs will provide updates regularly and accurately (in contrast to just switching to another AdBlocker when eg. uBlock breaks), and are fucked once they decide it’s too much work/Google pays them a nice sum to not block them/they decide to just replace the ads instead of removing them.
Addons on iOS, just as on Android, are very much needed and an actual solution to a whole plethora of problems, that no browser on its own could ever solve.
Yes, I don’t think anyone thinks otherwise, but built in adblockers are better than DNS adblockers, which consecutively are better than nothing lol (also you could pair both I guess and get an improved experience).
The problem is absolutely Apple but a guy’s still gotta block his ads somehow
Extricating yourself from the Apple ecosystem can be tough for some people.
/yes, I use Android
Pihole.
That’s not a great suggestion for the stated use case of a mobile device which, presumably, will be leaving the pihole’s network frequently.
Tailscale, zerotier, or any other VPN server on your home network can keep your mobile device on your pihole network regardless of physical location.
This is not something the average person does, or is even technically capable of doing.
I’m going to reject that criticism in this particular case. PiHole is a significantly more complex setup than Tailscale or ZeroTier. While I agree that it is beyond expectations for the “average person”, so is PiHole.
An OpenVPN server on a dynamic IP address is not that far beyond the skillset of the average PiHole user, especially if they are using an open source router with OpenVPN and DDNS preinstalled.
Tailscale or ZeroTier are well within the capabilities of a PiHole user.
I have tried it and while it works, DNS adblocking (and the hassle to remember to turn on the VPN for browsing) doesn’t works as good nor is as smooth as using a browser with AdBlock support, or Ublock Origin extension.
Adguard dns
I thought all browsers on iOS were just wrappers for the same engine (webkit?), so they really can’t do much there.
Yes but multiple browsers managed to support ad-block on iOS, including Safari.
Firefox seems to be the ONLY browser without ad-block support on iOS.
Both Vivaldi and Brave have working adblockers on iOS while Firefox does not. This is not WebKit’s fault, shouldn’t be an issue for Firefox mobile developers to implement.
This doesn’t solve your same browser issue, but just fyi the browser “Orion” on iOS supports full browser extensions. Its developed by the company that runs the Kagi search engine
Also simply compatibility, some sites just don’t work (or dont work well) on Firefox or librewolf, thats one key reason I go back to brave for a lot of things.
I genuinely have not seen a site that doesn’t work on Firefox in years. Probably five or more. Can you think of an example off the top of your head?
Same here, I’ve been using it for years both on mobile and desktop, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve had to open chrome for a specific website
Several sites/web apps I use for work. And my bank is another one that immediately comes to mind.
They won’t make it compatible if they don’t have Firefox users.
Agreed, but I also have work to do. On my personal PC at home I use librewolf, as for most casual browsing its fine.
But the question was why do people use brave over Firefox and my answer simply is cos it doesn’t have the functionality i need. I dunno about your boss but if I say to mine “I didn’t do my job cos my browser of choice doesn’t work” I don’t reckon I’ll stay employed for long.
Fair enough.
Name and shame them. Send them a complaint.
Relatedly, does anyone know if there’s a public list of sites that don’t work (properly or at all) in Firefox somewhere? A quick (non-Google) web search doesn’t seem to turn one up. If I was working at Mozilla, that would be the kind of database I might be interested in making a public resource. And I don’t mean as part of the Bug Tracker, though links between the two for legitimate problems could be useful, I guess.
Something with a very basic interface that has an offending site name, how it doesn’t work, perhaps why, and what, if anything, Mozilla can do about it. In short simple sentences. One per offending site in 16pt text. And a search feature for when it runs to the hundreds.
It could be something like: [favicon/logo] example.com - Outright states that it will not support Firefox. Mozilla cannot do anything about this. Complain to Example Inc. [favicon/logo] example.net - interface is buggy in Firefox. Site misuses web standards in a way incompatible with Firefox’s renderer. We are looking into this. <Link to bug tracker here> [favicon/logo] example.org - interface does not load. Site uses non-standard Google-only CSS properties. We are looking into this, but you could also contact The Example Organisation to ask them to review their CSS. etc.
I’ve not had any problems with the handful of sites I use, at least not outside of something caused by browser security or add-ons which I eventually figured out how to fix.
That said, I’ve probably forgotten a handful I just straight up refused to visit again when they didn’t work and now they’re not in my regular rotation any more, so I don’t notice.
Conversely, no browser but Firefox supports ad blocking (and other) addons on Android.
Brave, Vivaldi, Samsung Internet all support ad-blocking on Android, as far as I remember.
But it is not addon support
There are no ads in my Firefox. Is it because of DNS?
Perhaps if you tell us which DNS you are using.
Pihole
Yes, Pi-hole helps, it is not as good as an inbuilt adblocker or a more capable one like Ublock Origin, but it is better than nothing :)
UBo is insane. I don’t think I have ever seen a more useful piece of software.