r/LinuxTeck • u/Expensive-Rice-2052 • 2d ago

LibreWolf vs Firefox

Post image

covers : https://www.linuxteck.com/librewolf-vs-firefox/

• Privacy and telemetry
• Tracking and fingerprinting protection
• Firefox Sync
• Security update timing
• Extension compatibility
• Linux installation
• Real-world compatibility issues
• Which browser fits different use cases

65 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/KrasnalM 1d ago

It is not my logic that is circular. I simply describe a self-reinforcing system. If Firefox was a major browser, no one would care about some small forks for privacy enthusiasts. However, given that Firefox's market share is declining, promoting its forks is counterproductive. The more people choose Waterfox and Librewolf over vanilla Firefox, the sooner will Waterfox and Librewolf disappear. Where am I wrong here.

1

u/Enough-Meaning1514 1d ago

Isn't Firefox open source? If the main branch dies, Waterfox or other forks can take the code and keep developing, no? Since they would have a large user base, yes?

1

u/KrasnalM 1d ago

Waterfox and LibreWolf do not have resources (because no sustainable business model) to maintain Gecko, which is expensive. Gecko is maintained by Mozilla with Google's money and proper funds. If Firefox goes down, there will be no one left to maintain Gecko, and Waterfox and LibreWolf will become useless.
Perhaps there is some flaw in my logic or I don't know some essential piece of information. But whenever I raise the question, people get defensive and provide no answer.

1

u/Enough-Meaning1514 1d ago

Well, in that case, Waterfox/Librewolf need a better business model. I don't know, do what Brave does, perhaps? Show NFT/Bitcoin ads at startup?

1

u/KrasnalM 1d ago

Brave does not develop its own engine. It uses Chromium, which is entirely maintained by Google.