I have given up on Google (maybe there will be a future post on that) which is one of the main (but not only) reason, why I am using Firefox on desktop and mobile for some time.
First, why I use Firefox
- Since their “Quantum leap”, it is fast. I like, that it display pages as it’s loading them, so I do not have to wait before I can start reading.
- It is Google independent – currently it is the only major browser not running Chromium engine.
- It is privacy focused – it contains very good tracking protection out of the box, both in Desktop and Android versions.
- Furthermore, it has great Add-ons not available in Chromium based browsers.
- And it offers (limited) add-on support on Android.
You should definitely give it a try. Here are my setup tips and Add-ons I can recommend making your experience better.
Desktop Firefox
In the Settings I have
- Tracking protection set to Strict by default
- Sync between devices enabled via Firefox account (works great for sending tabs between devices)
- Disabled sync for logins and passwords
- Ecosia search engine as my default
Add-ons I am running
- Bitwarden – My password manager of choice, it is free, open source, works great also on Android
- ClearURLs – Great for getting rid of clutter in URLs, used mainly for tracking
- Decentraleyes – Blocks calls to external libraries in webpages
- Don’t track me Google – Helps with privacy when I sometimes have to use Google instead of Ecosia
- Facebook Container – I am not using Facebook for a long time, but this extension makes sure, that Facebook cannot track you at all as any Facebook links are opened in separate session
- Firefox Translations – Offline translation tool
- Grammar and Spell Checker – LanguageTool – I had major issues with performance using Grammarly for spellchecks and suggestions, this one works like a charm
- I don’t care about cookies – Annoyed by all the cookie request? This will solve it for you
- Privacy Badger – Learns to block external trackers as you visit different sites
- SponsorBlock – Shows you and automatically skips sponsored parts in YouTube videos
- uBlock Origin – Best ad-blocker. I have enabled all the rules in setup I could (on top of the default blocking)
- Video Speed Controller – Great way to save time, speed up any video (YouTube, Netflix, HBO Max etc.)
Firefox on Android
I am running a stable version, even tough Beta has advantage in terms of more add-ons.
In settings, I have
- Sync enabled via my Firefox account
- Ecosia search engine as my default
- Tabs to only Close manually
- Homepage without sponsored shortcuts
- Opening Last tab on start
- Disabled sync for logins and passwords
- Set as Default Browser, Chrome is disabled on my phone
- HTTPS-Only Mode enabled
- Enhanced Tracking Protection set to Strict
- Data Collection disabled
- Open links in apps Enabled
Add-ons I am running
- uBlock Origin – Best ad-blocker. I have enabled all the rules in setup I could (on top of the default blocking)
- Privacy Badger – Learns to block external trackers as you visit different sites
- Decentraleyes – Blocks calls to external libraries in webpages
- YouTube High Definition – Allows you to setup default video speed and resolution on YouTube
- Video Background Play Fix – Allows you to play videos in background. So e.g. even without YouTube premium I can listen to YouTube videos (I do not use YouTube app due to ads and no ability to listen in background)
- Google Search Fixer – Shows Google results (if I sometimes need them) the same as in Chrome (because Google tries to make life hard in other browsers)