In everyday Internet life, our browser can confidently be called the gateway to the world. While native Apps have made the offers of many services even more easily accessible, the browser will remain the number one contact point forever and ever. Such an important application therefore needs to be chosen wisely.
While on the PC, alongside Chromium in the form of Chrome, Edge, Brave and the like, the air is getting thinner and thinner Mozilla with its Firefox as the last real bastion to resist, the reality looks a little different on mobile. Although Google has played out its power here, at least with Android, Apple’s restrictions on iOS have even given the internet giant a hard nut to crack.
Browser-Wars
All browsers on Apple’s mobile operating system must – as of today – be forced to Apples WebKit-Engine set. In contrast, specially developed engines, such as those offered by Mozilla, are not permitted.
As a result, all browsers in the App Store run under the hood like Safari and only through Additional functions from the Apple browser. However, a change in this much-criticized situation is in sight.
The Digital Markets Act of the European Union, which will come into force on May 2, 2023, is intended to force Apple to open up. It is believed that iOS 17, which is due to be released later this year, will bring a breath of fresh air to the browser market on iOS. Both Google and Mozilla are already working on standalone variants. Until then, there are already some interesting alternatives on both platforms.
We present you these Browser-Apps before:
- Firefox: iOS and Android
- Firefox Ready: iOS and Android
- DuckDuckGo Browser: iOS and Android
- Tor Browser: Android
- Onion Browser: iOS
- Bromite: Android
Firefox
If you’re on the Internet and care a little about your own privacy, you’ll make it Firefox barely over. The browser is the last bastion in a world permeated by Chromium. The browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation has also been used on mobile platforms for years market dominance of Apple and Google but an extremely difficult stand against Chrome and Safari. The mobile version of Firefox comes with a number of means to protect your own privacy on the Internet.
If desired, the app blocks several thousand trackers that are of no use to end users and instead simply follow our movements. If you want to detach yourself from the data octopus Google, you can also switch the standard search to a website like DuckDuckGo. While the iOS version is still subject to Apple’s restrictions for the time being and therefore neither on its own engine nor on Add-On-Support can set, the Android variant is a house number of its own.
This allows us to turn our browser into a real fortress, thanks to the many add-ons available. Extensions like uBlock Origin or the Privacy Badger are now a must if the volume of inquiries from third-party providers is to be kept in check. In addition, hundreds of other add-ons can be found through Mozilla’s add-ons website. The sync of Firefox can also be secured.
we want Bookmarks, History and Passwords synchronize across multiple devices, you can run your own sync server, for example on a Raspberry Pi, instead of the Mozilla cloud. This allows us to keep the data completely within our sphere of control without sacrificing the convenience of the Sync-Features having to do without. Thanks to these features, Firefox is the number one place to go on my devices and has been my personal favorite for years.
Firefox Ready
The Mozilla Foundation has been represented with 2 of its own browsers for a long time. Known worldwide as Firefox Focus, but used in the DACH region as Firefox Klar, the browser alternative sets the standard on the subject privacy one more. Firefox Klar was originally released as pure content blocker launched for iOS, but later developed into a full browser, which has since been available to both iOS and Android users.
A visual difference is immediately noticeable when using Firefox Klar. The browser interface is significantly more compact, so also superficially dispenses with one or the other addition. If we open the browser, we are immediately greeted by the search, which we can of course also predefine here.
In contrast to the normal Firefox variant, Firefox Klar blocks tools for Analytics and Advertising Tracking. This also includes tools from social networks such as Facebook, which track us even without contacting the provider. If desired, we can also adjust the behavior of Firefox Klar and loosen certain blockages.
In the very compact look, only the delete button stands out. This can be used by us at any time to reset the current session. Everything from history to cookies will then be wiped out and we’ll be sent back to the search window.
DuckDuckGo Browser
DuckDuckGo has made a name for itself over the years thanks to its privacy-focused search. While Google has continued to solidify its reputation as a data kraken, would like DuckDuckGo offer its users an alternative that does not follow every single step. The focus on privacy has now also moved to the browser itself, where DuckDuckGo offers its own variant. While the iOS version runs WebKit like everyone else, the Android version uses it Android WebView als Rendering-Engine.
The DuckDuckGo browser is relatively compact, so users should not expect a feature festival here. Instead, clear goals are pursued here. By default, the search of the same name activated. In addition, the blocking of tracking scripts is enforced by default. The handling of cookies is also handled differently here. If we close a tab on DuckDuckGo, the browser immediately discards all the data that has accumulated.
What is a protective feature for general browsing can be done on our favorite sites but also become a nerve factor. Here, too, they have thought about it a bit and let us exclude desired pages from this regulation. Since the DuckDuckGo browser is more of an add-on to existing software material, it must be mentioned here Additional functions like synchronization or Addons omitted become. However, the recent release of the PC browser gives hope that the company would like to expand its range of functions even further in the future.
Tor Browser and Onion Browser
The anonymization network Tor is also represented on mobile devices. While almost all other browsers take care of data processing and querying on the device, Tor can also be used to reinforce the network layer. There are 2 browsers to access the Tor network. The Tor Project provides one for Android own browser available that allows us access.
On iOS, however, they decided against their own project, mainly due to the WebKit limitation, and instead recommend Onion Browser, which comes with a similar range of functions. Although both browsers come from different sources, they follow one similar approach. Both rely on a compact surface that is surrounded by the address bar and menu bar. By default, they rely on the restriction of activity tracking, which is rampant on some websites.
The Onion Browser also supports this HTTPS-Everywhere, to force even those websites to use HTTPS that have not yet managed to activate this function by default. The actual focus of both is of course on the Tor network. If you not only worry about trackers and co., but also that Eavesdropping on your own network connection wants to prevent, can connect to Tor with both variants at the push of a button.
3 different levels allow us to select the scope of protection. While we are on level 1 more or less unsecured, worry Level 2 and 3 for increased security. However, this can also result in restrictions on the use of various websites. In addition to accessing the normal web, both browsers also allow you to visit .onion websites. Especially in countries with excessive censorship, these represent an important alternative for access to information.
Onion Browser is free for iOS available. Tor Browser is free for Android available.
Bromite
While some the compatibility of privacy and Chromium fundamentally doubt, others do see the possibility of combining both. The browser app Bromite tries to realize exactly this combination. Bromite is a Chromium-Forkwho mainly takes care of tracking and wants to put an end to the bad habits of today’s browser world.
Bromite retains the many good components of Google’s Chrome while cutting off just about everything that helps us to keep our privacy could get in the way. Users have the opportunity to set certain limits without having to rely on some Comfort forced to give up.
The differences are hardly noticeable on the surface, so previous Chrome users will hardly have any problems with a switch. Even that Sync-Feature of Chrome is on board with Bromite. The Synchronize bookmarks or sending tabs is theoretically possible here too.
Bromite is free for Android via the official website or the official one F-Droid-Repository available.
