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MBAir2010

macrumors 603
May 30, 2018
6,433
5,922
there
today everything is firefoxed!
and
they knew i used or logged into a imac (bondi blue g3) in 2006 when i started my account.
obviously i deleted that but now i'm think maybe they know too much?
i had devices from Pasadena, Montreal that i did log into
kinda wow, kinda creepy!
now everything is what i use today, and can sync with these devices in seconds
airport-icloud takes minutes and is hit or miss.

OP
thanks for posting this thread, i would have never leapt to firefox this quickly!
 

aevan

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2015
4,415
7,018
Serbia
Safari looks the nicest (least obtrusive) and is really fast. It syncs best with the iPhone and iPad. And there are some really nice extensions that I use. So - Safari wins by default.

Chrome (like most Google apps) never felt native to the Mac and I don't really like its design. And it's a resource hog.

On Windows I use Edge.
 

aevan

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2015
4,415
7,018
Serbia
Chrome as come a long way honestly. There's lots of customizable security settings, far more than Safari, and if you have a Google account everything syncs up across your accounts if you want it to. If Google's "security" settings aren't super effective I have almost every filter in uBlock Origin active to ensure as much privacy as possible albeit the internet is never fully secure. Based on this I feel safer in Chrome and the people that hate on Chrome I ask you, do you hate Chrome because it's the cool thing to do? You can trust what any company says when it comes to privacy.

I don't hate it, but I dislike it. I don't really like the way it looks. But the main reason is - it doesn't sync well with Safari on iPhone and iPad, and it doesn't work with Keychain - Safari works best with Apple services.

Basically, Chrome is if you're into Google services.
 
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Colstan

macrumors 6502
Jul 30, 2020
330
711
On my daily Mac running Monterey: Safari exclusively. I think Apple has implemented the best macOS integration with the default browser. The AdGuard for Safari extension works great for ads/privacy/malware blocklists, and I haven't experienced any issues with it. I use a Quad9 DNS over HTTPS profile for added security and privacy. I also use DuckDuckGo as the default search engine.

On my older Macs, which are hand-me-downs: Firefox. Family members inherit my old Macs when I no longer use them. Firefox still supports older versions of macOS, even after Apple's two-year legacy support ends, with supported versions going as far back as Sierra. For anything that requires a secure environment, such as online shopping, I have them use my daily Mac, but for casual use, they are good with Firefox.

As a secondary browser, or for the rare times I need to boot into Mojave for 32-bit support, I also use Firefox, plus the uBlock Origin extension, the Decentraleyes privacy extension, and HTTPS Everywhere released by the EFF. Also, I use the same combination for Windows on Boot Camp.

For my generic Android tablet: Samsung Internet Browser. I found it to be surprisingly usable, with good "dark mode" support that doesn't need an extension, strong privacy settings, and a robust "secret mode" for tabs that you want to keep secure. It also supports the AdGuard extension.

While there are certainly many quality browsers, these are the ones that work best for me, and I have used this combination for years.
 

ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
I don't hate it, but I dislike it. I don't really like the way it looks. But the main reason is - it doesn't sync well with Safari on iPhone and iPad, and it doesn't work with Keychain - Safari works best with Apple services.

Basically, Chrome is if you're into Google services.
Google services for consumers work well with other Chromium based browsers as well like Edge and Brave.

Imo the only thing where Chrome is necessary is if you are a heavy duty users of Google productivity suites (Google Docs, etc), as their advance features (eg offline mode) are only available on Chrome.
 

clevins

macrumors 6502
Jul 26, 2014
413
651
Only one website for me: https://cards.barclaycardus.com. (Can't log in.) I use Chrome, which I hate, for that one.

Otherwise, I only use Safari because I'm lazy.
I can't login, but that's because I'm not a Barclay's customer :) Thanks though. I'm curious because this is one of those things I hear, but people don't link public sites that do this and it's professional curiosity (I'm a webdeveloper ).

I get internal corporate sites that are tailored to Chrome - it's not what I'd do but it does simplify the IT team's life.
 
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TinHead88

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2008
214
39
Only one website for me: https://cards.barclaycardus.com. (Can't log in.) I use Chrome, which I hate, for that one.

Otherwise, I only use Safari because I'm lazy.
Some banking websites have issues if you don't sign out. I had this caching issue with my bank and had to go to Privacy - Manage Website Data and then remove the data for that website.
It's something to do with cookies or caching. Once I kept signing out each time I logged in it all worked as expected.
 
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aevan

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2015
4,415
7,018
Serbia
Google services for consumers work well with other Chromium based browsers as well like Edge and Brave.

Imo the only thing where Chrome is necessary is if you are a heavy duty users of Google productivity suites (Google Docs, etc), as their advance features (eg offline mode) are only available on Chrome.

Well, yeah, that’s why I use Edge on my PC. But I see no reason to use any Chromium browser on my Mac instead of Safari.

With Safari I get the best sync with iPhones and iPads, it works with Apple Keychain, it’s the most unobtrusive and attractive (in my opinion), had great privacy, has an attractive Reader mode, it’s energy efficient and fast. What’s not to like?
 

Sheepish-Lord

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2021
2,314
4,756
See.... none of this happens for me* and the last sentence is just not accurate (and I don't need weekly updates anyway. I want actual changes when i get updates). In fact, Safari recently has been implementing new features as fast or faster than other browsers.

Chrome is RAM hog. But if it works for someone, that's fine.

View attachment 1992420

*obviously the work websites aren't something I can test but that's usually more a fault of the authoring than anything else - internal devs often target one official browser for ease of IT support.
Appreciate the graph but you're kind of proving my point. Chrome not only sends out incremental updates every 1-2 weeks but their big revision updates are usually monthly and while that may not be of interest to you it definitely gives the feeling that Google is more pro active than Apple. According to your graph we're lucky to get updates every month and sometimes pushing 2 months. While the rest of the world uses Chromium, small market browsers that don't (FF & DDG) will continue to fall behind and while I do want to use Safari on MacOS for my M1 iMac and M1 MBA Safari is the memory hog not Chrome. Great Safari takes up low resources on a tab but if that tab doesn't work properly then what do I care?

I use Safari on my iPhone and enjoy it so I really wish MacOS Safari worked for me but it doesn't and honestly if Apple let other iOS browsers do their own thing then it may have been Chrome on my iPhone as well but they don't. Safari's performance is hit or miss depending on the day and I just want a browser that works for what I do. It speaks volumes when developers are calling Safari the next IE.
 

clevins

macrumors 6502
Jul 26, 2014
413
651
Appreciate the graph but you're kind of proving my point. Chrome not only sends out incremental updates every 1-2 weeks but their big revision updates are usually monthly and while that may not be of interest to you it definitely gives the feeling that Google is more pro active than Apple. According to your graph we're lucky to get updates every month and sometimes pushing 2 months. While the rest of the world uses Chromium, small market browsers that don't (FF & DDG) will continue to fall behind and while I do want to use Safari on MacOS for my M1 iMac and M1 MBA Safari is the memory hog not Chrome. Great Safari takes up low resources on a tab but if that tab doesn't work properly then what do I care?

I use Safari on my iPhone and enjoy it so I really wish MacOS Safari worked for me but it doesn't and honestly if Apple let other iOS browsers do their own thing then it may have been Chrome on my iPhone as well but they don't. Safari's performance is hit or miss depending on the day and I just want a browser that works for what I do. It speaks volumes when developers are calling Safari the next IE.
I don't care about getting 5 bug fixes every 1-2 weeks. I just don't. Yes, it feels new and shiny to get that but if the changes are trivial, is that pace really an advantage? I'll say no. It's just another philosophy on how to roll out releases.

The thing is, I want updated when there's something to actually care about. My graph was meant to show that the 'oh Safari only updated every year' statement isn't at all true. Safari recently has delivered a lot of important web stuff and while it was behind is now about on par.

As far as sites that don't work on Safari, as I've said, I just don't see that nor do i see Safari being a memory hog. Obviously, that will depend a little on what the site in a given tab is doing (running a heavy JS animation over and over? Or displaying text?)

As for calling Safari the next IE... that's laughable. On desktop, that would be Chrome. Not the others. A browser that uses marketshare to push out browser specific technologies is much more true of Chrome that FF or Safari.
 

Apple fan from Korea

macrumors regular
Mar 27, 2021
175
210
I have been using Brave for a while but I am trying Firefox again now after many years. What makes you choose a browser over others?
I use Safari. Works for all my needs as a student and is pretty snappy, only downside is the lack of good extensions (chrome seems to be best for extensions)
 

Zoddino

macrumors regular
Jun 27, 2010
116
70
Safari and Firefox for me, i'm more and more using Firefox as primary browser on the Mac because it seems faster than Safari and has much better UI (i just can't get why in 2022 Safari doesn't have an indicator on a bookmarked page to say if that page is already present in bookmarks), not to mention extensions that work best on Firefox like ublock even compared to Chromium browsers. On iPhone and iPad it's Safari.
 
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Danfango

macrumors 65816
Jan 4, 2022
1,294
5,777
London, UK
Safari.

1. Consistent with rest of macOS
2. Doesn’t suck RAM
3. Doesn’t suck battery life
4. Sync with all my other devices
5. Keychain works properly.
6. Hide my email works properly.
7. Isn’t run by an advertising company (Chrome).

This is used with AdGuard only.

Sometimes I fire up Firefox if I have to navigate some particularly garbage filled wastelands as that has some more vicious content blocking addons available. But I don’t like Firefox now. Their internal politics are crapfest and they are building out unnecessary features and reskins rather than concentrating on core browsing experience.
 
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aevan

macrumors 601
Feb 5, 2015
4,415
7,018
Serbia
It speaks volumes when developers are calling Safari the next IE.

I haven’t heard a single developer to call Safari “the next IE”.

And if some are, they are talking nonsense. IE was different to today’s Safari in market share, quality, performance, etc.

Safari is one of the slickest, fastest, least resource-intensive, most stylish browsers out there. IE was none of those things.
 
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MindYourMind

macrumors regular
Aug 27, 2020
224
249
The Netherlands
On macOS I am content with Firefox and Privacy Badger as an extension. I hardly use my MacBook Air, hence I don’t mind missing out iCloud Private Relay.

On iOS I prefer Safari and Firefox Focus as an extension. Working through iCloud Private Relay, Safari with its ITP seems to be working together quite effectively with FireFox Focus as an ad blocking extension.
 

artfossil

macrumors 68000
Oct 5, 2015
1,765
2,031
Florida
Some banking websites have issues if you don't sign out. I had this caching issue with my bank and had to go to Privacy - Manage Website Data and then remove the data for that website.
It's something to do with cookies or caching. Once I kept signing out each time I logged in it all worked as expected.
Thank you! That worked! I had to clear website data on another website but never thought of doing it here.
 

ipponrg

macrumors 68020
Oct 15, 2008
2,309
2,087
I use Chrome for all desktop (both PC and Mac) needs. It’s usually been the most predictable in terms of site rendering and syncing. I have some plugins that block cookies and ads if I really am bothered.

I also have a few fallbacks in case if I get frustrated: Firefox, Brave, Chromium, and Edge. For Mac, add on Safari to this list.

The reason I don’t use Safari frequently is because I go back/forth between OSes, and the compatibility is not great for rendering pages and syncing profiles. I used to be a Firefox loyal user till they screwed up the perf and stability on it (I think like 10 years ago). I lost faith in them, but I understand now they are back to being more reliable. Brave was just another flavor of the month, and it had its ups and downs. Other Chromium based browsers like Edge are also different flavors. Their pros/cons tend to fluctuate with each release, so it’s hard to keep track

For mobile, I use Safari because it’s convenient and works well enough for most mobile sites. I have DDG but don’t really use it
 

Sheepish-Lord

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2021
2,314
4,756

JuanPC2021

macrumors newbie
Dec 6, 2021
5
2
to be honest Russian tech is getting better than BigTech...

just try.
browser.yandex.com
or
translate.yandex.com/ocr
or
etc...

i tested all browsers available for linux,Windows, OSX list is very long,

i use for different tabs open, different projects / ideas.
like a juggler.
or to keep ram usage low.
8GB Ram is absolute minimum for a decent multiple tab experience.

opera = has slow free vpn, very slow start-up in linux when installed from snap, when installed form apt-get has No sound.
firefox = slow load all pinned tabs, but my second browser. i miss Netscape.
does Not allow to add easy other seach engines... very bad.
requires address bar and | search bar separated for a better search experience. all in one, is bad.

edge = meh, has disable inactive tabs after x time, but... there was a bug, plays netflix in weak hardware.
chrome = required for some websites, to pay public services, etc...
brave = i dont trust "add free", but... works with web3.0 .crypto websites.
vivaldi = a light weight opera, no vpn, no etc... very fast start.

yandex is the default...but i dont like the latest update, "we want to spy your bookmarks." just click anywhere on the screen to continue. No need to click [OK] button at the bottom.

problem with Yandex is the seach engine,
if you select Yandex, selects yandex.ru "everything in Russian"
need to manually create a
h t t p s : / / yandex.com/search/?text=%s
different than DuckDuckGo or StartPage
others are .com/?q=%s

also i dont like short url address bar, i have to disable that, and other features.
i like to see where i am, exactly.
opera also has annoying short url feature.

safari = too simple, not attractive. not smart, not configurable, minimalistic.
other browsers make much more effort to create something revolutionary, advanced, new, different, ahead
almost never use safari. still has No Dark Mode?

old websites with java calculators require Safari 5 or IE8,9,10 Not ie11.
installed with PlayOnMac / PlayOnLinux "Wine".
or
installing Java 32-bit & 64-bit also seem to work in new browsers.
bug was fixed.

Firefox has different sound than chrome, opera or yandex.
i like it, more warmer, less digital.
but is a small difference "for audiophiles"...
same youtube video or same netflix movie.

for iOS / iPad there was Opera Ocean, very revolutionary...
i liked a lot, very different, all swipe movements, very futuristic.
for Android there is a similar, but Not as good, boring, Not swipe, but push & hold, weird.
Opera Turbo for Mobile is nice... similar to Brave to save metered bandwidth / battery / speed.
sends all .jpg images to their server, lowers jpg quality and sends to your phone, has 3 settings + disabled.

puffin,
maxon,
were ok,
 
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Sheepish-Lord

macrumors 68020
Oct 13, 2021
2,314
4,756
Proof of Twitch memory issues using Safari after 15-30min on my M1 MBA, also does it on my M1 iMac and will just keep rising the longer you watch. How is this acceptable?
Screen Shot 2022-04-17 at 12.09.17.png
 
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Danfango

macrumors 65816
Jan 4, 2022
1,294
5,777
London, UK
I haven’t heard a single developer to call Safari “the next IE”.

And if some are, they are talking nonsense. IE was different to today’s Safari in market share, quality, performance, etc.

Safari is one of the slickest, fastest, least resource-intensive, most stylish browsers out there. IE was none of those things.

Usually this stupid marketing ploy comes from the advertising and tracking sector when they are trying to push some new privacy compromising feature into the standards so they can abuse it.

Safari is the most conservative of browsers for sure but that's a good thing. The whole www has been blighted by stupid and dangerous specification extensions for a very long time.
 
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