I know Firefox is essentially a skin on top of WebKit. Having said that, when I use iOS with a VPN and AdGuard DNS on the router, is Firefox a good alternative browser for iOS/iPadOS?
IMHO stick with Safari. As you say it’s basically just a WebKit skin anyway but also you blend in more as an iOS Safari user than the relatively small niche that is an iOS Firefox user as far as things like fingerprinting go.
Is the difference really that drastic though? Firefox iOS already blocks known fingerprinters through ETP, and in my CreepJS test it blocked the same major stuff as Safari. Safari had some extra protections like canvas noise, but aren’t we mostly talking about lower entropy exposure at that point?
I need more browsers because I segregate my activities depending on the browser. I’m already using Safari.
I only recommend Brave, Orion and Safari!
there is no reason to use any other browser (some exception with tor browsers but seperate conversation) like firefox unless you use its sync feature, otherwise just stick to those
You can add uBlock Origin Lite as an extension to block some things in Safari
I think this right here gets to the heart of what people are actually asking. Safari being sufficient alone isn’t really the question. I understand why it’s the default recommendation and of wanting to curate a short list does make sense. I don’t want to digress, but also, it’s interesting you say Orion, because isn’t Orion closed source still?
But “you don’t need anything else” and “there’s a privacy reason you shouldn’t use anything else” are two very different arguments.
If someone already uses Firefox on their desktop, Firefox Sync alone is a perfectly legitimate reason to want Firefox on iOS like you said. It’s still using WebKit underneath, it gets WebKit’s ITP protections, and Firefox layers its own Enhanced Tracking Protection on top of that.
But I think what people keep trying to find out is much easier, am I still reasonably well protected privacy wise if I choose Firefox on iOS because I prefer its features or ecosystem?
If there’s some significant privacy issue with Firefox on iOS that makes the answer to that “no,” then I think that’s really what people are looking for in this whole thing. Saying “Safari is good enough, just use that” is answering a slightly different question than “Can I use Firefox because I prefer it and still be in a good place privacy wise?”
Do you have an opinion?
Personally I use Firefox and Vivaldi as browsers that sync setups across devices.
I use Safari for a handful of websites, sort of my “high security browser” on apple operating systems.
It makes no difference whatsoever to security, since almost all of that is a function of the browser engine.
It has some privacy benefits but all of them can be achieved by other means.
Safari with ublock origin lite or Brave are both either equal or better recommendations in my opinion, with the one exception being if you specifically want Firefox’s account based sync.
You might not have a Mac to sync to desktop and I don’t particularly like Brave’s sync system.
Things Firefox does accomplish.
- It now has a built in ad-blocker, although it seems pretty basic and is not enabled by default.
- It syncs with Firefox accounts to other platforms.
What I’d personally like to see.
- I still see no way of having browsing history and data automatically deleted. Brave autoshred isn’t 100% but it usually does that.
- New features such as the Firefox VPN are not currently on iOS as far as I can tell.
Anyone know if there are real browser engines for iOS in the EU? They are allowed since a year or so.
On another note, things like adboock extensions only work for Safari, but Firefox for iOS has some builtin adblocker. I guess it is okay, both are worse than UBlock Origin etc
That comment I will endorse
if you use the browser’s sync ecosystem, by all means use it, if you don’t, that’s why the big three stay ss recommendation
Orion has the compatibility layer addon system
Brave has the built in adblock and youtube distractions and night mode
but anyway these are on top of Webkit that apple forces onto and even enforces (say if you use downtime) which at that point you could just use Safari with UBoL
this is why I recommend these
the only reason I can see people wanting to use firefox or vivaldi or whatever it may be is if you already sync your data accross devices with them which in that case Sure go ahead, Unless you start by migrating to brave on your desktop, Just use firefox or Vivaldi and sync it
I remember Firefox has up-to-date fingerprinting protection as Safari since iOS 26, together with its Enhanced Tracking Protection. On Cover Your Tracks by EFF website you can see they have randomised fingerprints.
I am sure if Brave is still using their own ways to randomize fingerprints or adopt Safari’s.
Although Firefox is not perfect, I think they are improving and atm they are solid enough. Background audio and VPN coming later.
Orion is also a good option.