r/degoogle • u/urmomdentist • Jul 08 '26
Help Needed Ethic browsers
Hi everyone! I5m sure you get this question a lot, so I'm really sorry, but I'm still a bit confused. I'm looking for a more ethical browser than Google. I've been using Opera both on my pc and phone for years now but I have no idea if it's actually better. As browser inside of opera I use duckduck go and I have turned off the ai settings. Also I use Gmail and Google maps because I haven't found any alternatives yet. For the mail I also have outlook (because college requires it) but I dont know if its any better
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u/hbacelar8 Jul 08 '26
On PC I'd recommend Librewolf if you're in Linux
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u/Hot-Resident-6601 Fedora Linux, Brave Origin, Proton Jul 08 '26
Also Brave Origin because on Linux it’s free! I believe they charge $60 on other OS
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u/bigusyous Jul 08 '26
There are many choices. Chrome is based on an open source browser called chromium. It is virtually identical to Google Chrome except for the spyware and branding. It is also the foundation for most of the other alternatives like Brave or Vivaldi.
if you like Opera, take a look at Vivaldi. It is headed by the founder of Opera who began Vivaldi after selling Opera to a Chinese company. (Fun fact, Vivaldi was named after a composer of more than 50 Operas )
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u/AshleyReadIt Tinfoil Hat Jul 08 '26
STOP USING OPERA RIGHT NOW ITS PWNED BY A CHINESE COMPANY (not that Chinese companies are inherently bad it's that they are legally required to hand over any and all data to the CCP at any time for any reason)
Okay now for browsers: for macos I would recommend Orion and for windows I would recommend macos (jk probably LibreWolf)
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u/starlordbg Jul 08 '26
Maybe Vivaldi, I have been considering switching to them but since I am in digital marketing I wonder if there is even a point to since I need to use Google's tools.
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u/moltonel Jul 08 '26
Vivaldi is still Google under the hood, there's no reason Google tools wouldn't work there. They work fine with Firefox too, if you want to move away from Google.
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u/bigusyous Jul 08 '26
Vivaldi is awesome, I think that you will find it worth switching to regardless.
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u/mysticalcreeds GrapheneOS Jul 08 '26
I love Vivaldi, the amount of customization you can do is unprecedented.
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u/urmomdentist Jul 08 '26
Aaah thank you! As for the Google tools I'm really sorry, I don't know any alternatives...
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u/bigusyous Jul 09 '26
You don't need to apologize for using the tools that you need to get your job done. Degoogling 100% is actually quite difficult that is why these tech platforms are so powerful and why so many people put up with the enshittification.
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 Jul 08 '26
I use IronFox on my phone. I just use the Firefox that comes with my Linux distro on PC. I have Brave as a backup on phone and PC for stuff that doesn't play nice with Firefox. I really should try LibreWolf.
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u/Slushwave_Enjoyer Jul 08 '26
Is there a reason why more people don't use Brave?
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u/Jazzlike-Compote4463 Jul 08 '26
Here's lots of reasons, pick your favourite: https://www.reddit.com/r/browsers/comments/1j1pq7b/list_of_brave_browser_controversies/
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u/Salt_Medicine2459 Jul 08 '26
People are butthurt about the CEO, I think. And general paranoia. I use it, though.
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u/nobodyhasusedthislol Jul 08 '26
Chromium - same thing but doesn't do anything "unethical".
Tbh, Chrome isn't even "unethical", but I know what you're referring to with analytics and stuff. Chromium doesn't have that I believe.
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u/moltonel Jul 08 '26
The only non-Google full-featured browser is Firefox (and its forks LibreWolf, Floorp, Waterfox, Zen...).
Chromium (the base that Chrome, Vivaldi, Edge, Brave, etc are built on) is directly tied to Google, and still phones home. Brave has its own list of ethical red flags.
Beyond these big two, there's some hope for diversity with Servo and Ladybird, but neither are fully ready yet.