Will Firefox rise like phoenix from the ashes in 2024?

[harlan4096]

2024 will be an interesting year for web browsers. Google will make changes to its dominating Chrome web browser that may affect part of the browser's userbase negatively.

There is the move to Manifest V3 for extensions, which may impact content blockers, privacy extensions and some other extensions negatively. There is also Privacy Sandbox and the end of third-party cookie tracking, which bakes tracking into the browser directly to give Google even more control over user data while making it more difficult for others to keep up.

A main question that comes up is if other browsers will benefit from this, and if they do, which will benefit more than others.  There is a chance that most Chrome users simply don't care about all of this. If the sites they visit continue to work and if Google's "privacy" euphemisms worked as well, then Chrome may not lose much, if anything at all user-wise.

Chrome users have two core options when it comes to switching browsers. They can select another Chromium-based browser, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera or even Microsoft Edge come to mind. It seems a logical choice. They get the same web compatibility as in Chrome, can continue using all their extensions, and import most of their browsing data as well. It is a seamless process.

The problem with it is that these browsers are under constant pressure to evaluate features that Google pushes into Chromium, the open source core. Google controls Chromium, which is why other Chromium-based browser makers can only react to most of the changes indirectly.

Google introduces a change in Chromium, which would land in all Chromium-based browsers, unless it is disabled somehow by an engineer. Brave maintains a list of features and services that it removes from Chromium on a GitHub page. It is a growing list of features that Brave considers problematic for privacy or security reasons.

Firefox as an option

The second option that Chrome users have is to switch to Firefox. Firefox is the only major browser, with the exception of the special case Safari, that is not based on Chromium.

This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the plus side, Mozilla has full control over Firefox. If Google introduces a new feature in Chromium and Chrome, Mozilla may still decide to implement it. It can also ignore it, especially if it looks to be negative for users.

The disadvantage is that Mozilla needs to spend resources on development, more than the non-Chrome Chromium-based browsers. It may take more time to implement new standards and features. There is also performance and stability to consider.

Most Chromium-based browsers match the web compatibility and performance of Chrome. Firefox fights a battle with every new release. Some sites may not work in Firefox because they expect a Chromium-based browser.

It does not help that Mozilla does not control any major platform. Microsoft uses Windows to push its Edge browser, and Google uses its web properties to push Chrome.
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[dinosaur07]

It is still a great browser but others are better.

[harlan4096]

In the past I used Netscape, and when it died I switched to Firefox, and it has remained my go-to browser ever since.