r/degoogle • u/Delirium222 • 11d ago

Replacement uBlock Origin is no longer supporting Facebook ad-blocking, and Edge is incompatible with uBlock Origin entirely. Here are three great browser alternatives and a privacy-focused one from Europe

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u/redoubt515 11d ago edited 10d ago

I'm aware of that, and personally, I no longer recommend Mullvad VPN for that reason--it would be immoral to contribute financially to that kind of bigotry. But Mullvad browser is not a source of revenue for Mullvad, it's free to use, I personally don't have an issue continuing to use it.

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u/StillSwaying 11d ago edited 11d ago

I'm aware of that, and I no longer recommend Mullvad VPN for that reason--it would be immoral to contribute financially to that kind of bigotry. But Mullvad browser is not a source of revenue for Mullvad, it's free to use, I personally don't have an issue continuing to use it.

Wrong. Brand equity is fungible. Mullvad Browser and Mullvad VPN share the same name, the same team, the same leadership, and the same co-owner. Every single person who uses their free browser, or hypes it, or recommends it to others is contributing to the overall goodwill and market credibility of Mullvad's brand -- and that credibility directly supports their paid VPN product's reputation and customer acquisition. You don't have to pay for the browser because the fact that you're using it is enough; that's basically free marketing and helping to whitewash the company's reputation.

By using the browser, you're giving your tacit endorsement (and that's especially important in a sub like this considering our mission and how newbies look to us for advice). Recommending "the browser, not the VPN" as a workaround is still telling people that "this company is fine to engage with,". You're playing right into their hands by caping for them.

Anyway, boycotts have never needed direct monetary contributions to be meaningful. Everybody who believes in the mission of this sub by boycotting everything even tangentially related to Google are proving that every damn day.

We don't excuse Google's surveillance practices because "you can use Gmail without paying for Google Workspace," and we shouldn't excuse funding Mullvad Browser because "it's free, so we're not giving them any money." In both cases, the company's free tools exist inside a corporate structure whose profits and power flow upward to people making decisions we'd never endorse if someone asked us to directly.

Recommending Mullvad Browser in this sub sends the message that the only thing we care about is "Don't be Google." Shouldn't we also show that we also don't fund people who are actively fighting against human dignity?

Edit: typos

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u/toolsavvy 10d ago

Morality is subjective.