# Mercury and Floorp browsers **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/mercury-and-floorp-browsers/19740 **Category:** Questions **Created:** 2024-07-29T16:06:20Z **Posts:** 27 ## Post 1 by @Average_Joe — 2024-07-29T16:06:20Z Good morning, I was looking for another Firefox fork browser to have as a “Backup” to Firefox and so that I can test out new extensions so that I don’t risk Firefox which is my primary browser. The new super secure browsers I’m referring to: Mercury and Floorp I did some searching and I couldn’t believe Mercury has never been mentioned in ths community? Link: [Mercury Browser](https://thorium.rocks/mercury) Floorp has been mentioned, but this is the first time I’ve looked into in depth: [https://floorp.app/en](https://floorp.app/en) Thank you for reading my question! --- ## Post 2 by @redoomed1 — 2024-07-29T16:09:56Z > [@Average_Joe](#): > > Mercury has never been mentioned in ths community? It has. > [@Thorium Browser, Thorium OS](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/thorium-browser-thorium-os/13715/5): > > Why? Mercury doesn’t even deliver on its performance claims: [https://www.phoronix.com/review/mercury-firefox-perf](https://www.phoronix.com/review/mercury-firefox-perf) Thorium isn’t even up to date right now: they’re shipping 115.0.5790.172: [Releases · Alex313031/Thorium-Win · GitHub](https://github.com/Alex313031/Thorium-Win/releases) latest is 116.0.5845.111: [Chromium Dash](https://chromiumdash.appspot.com/releases?platform=Windows) Mercury also changes things that it shouldn’t, like the User Agent which both breaks compatibility and introduces privacy concerns. Librewolf and my Mull both have a far longer track record and set the bar high, yet aren’t… --- ## Post 3 by @fria — 2024-07-29T16:11:10Z Looks like mercury is on 123 which is many versions behind upstream. Not acceptable security practice. Not sure what floorp offers over standard Firefox other than a funny name. --- ## Post 4 by @seize — 2024-07-29T16:15:23Z As far as i know, the main appeal of Floorp is its very Vivaldi like feature set. Providing lots of features people miss from chromium based browsers in a Firefox based package. Security wise though i’m pretty sure floorp doesn’t do anything special. --- ## Post 5 by @Average_Joe — 2024-07-29T16:15:28Z > [@redoomed1](#): > > ![](https://forum-cdn.privacyguides.net/user_avatar/discuss.privacyguides.net/average_joe/48/6_2.png) Average\_Joe: > > > Mercury has never been mentioned in ths community? > > It has. > [Thorium Browser, Thorium OS - #5 by SkewedZeppelin](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/thorium-browser-thorium-os/13715/5) I appreciate your replies! I just came across another 2 Firefox forks that supposedly improve on the main Firefox browser: Pulse: [https://pulsebrowser.app/](https://pulsebrowser.app/) Betterfox: [GitHub - yokoffing/Betterfox: Firefox user.js for speed, privacy, and security. Your favorite browser, but better.](https://github.com/yokoffing/Betterfox) --- ## Post 6 by @fria — 2024-07-29T16:17:21Z I think unless it does something really extraordinary like tor browser it’s not really going to be worth mentioning any more Firefox forks. --- ## Post 7 by @Average_Joe — 2024-07-29T16:18:39Z I appreciate your reply! I’m getting the exact same feeling as you… there are just so many Firefox forks out there now! :scream: :scream: --- ## Post 8 by @Valynor — 2024-07-29T16:19:59Z [Thread topic edited to something less sensational] --- ## Post 9 by @Average_Joe — 2024-07-29T16:53:40Z Sorry! lol I was just so surprised there were so many Firefox forks that claim to be more secure and better for user privacy! --- ## Post 10 by @exaCORE — 2024-07-29T18:00:47Z > [@Average_Joe](#): > > I was looking for another Firefox fork browser to have as a “Backup” to Firefox and so that I can test out new extensions so that I don’t risk Firefox which is my primary browser. You could use profiles in Firefox --- ## Post 11 by @xe3 — 2024-07-30T01:51:26Z > [@fria](#): > > Not sure what floorp offers over standard Firefox other than a funny name. Some UI stuff that some people want (akin to Vivaldi) and more settings exposed in the GUI that would be about:config settings in Firefox. But I don’t know of anything that Floorp offers that make it relevant to our community/mission compared to the already recommended Firefox options (Firefox, Arkenfox user.js, Mullvad & Tor Browser). > [@Average_Joe](#): > > I just came across another 2 Firefox forks that supposedly improve on the main Firefox browser: > […] > Pulse > […] > Betterfox Betterfox isn’t a Firefox fork, its like Arkenfox with somewhat different goals/focus, it is a set of preference changes that you apply to Firefox itself, with a user.js file. Never heard of ‘Pulse’ but it looks like essentially a reskin + uBO. A lot of these little forks aren’t really forks, they are more like heavily _visually_ customized examples of what you I or anyone else could do with Firefox if we were motivated to do so. ([scroll a bit](https://www.reddit.com/r/FirefoxCSS/top/?t=year) to see what I mean). --- ## Post 12 by @Ash — 2024-08-03T14:30:11Z I have tried Floorp; it’s solid and feature-rich like Edge, but the only reason why I keep using Firefox is that Floorp is based on Firefox “ESR,” which often misses the latest fixes/features from the upstream. Rightfully so, as I can feel good improvements with every new “release” as opposed to “ESR.” I did not try Mercury though. --- ## Post 13 by @whoami5 — 2024-08-04T17:45:37Z > **We’re moving away from the Firefox ESR base to a rapid release model to address long-standing web compatibility issues in Floorp** [..] However, the transition requires extensive refactoring, a labor-intensive process. We’ll spend the next one to two months rewriting the code before offering a preview version. **Floorp 11 will continue receiving updates until Floorp 12 achieves stability.** [https://blog.ablaze.one/4364/2024-06-14/](https://blog.ablaze.one/4364/2024-06-14/) --- ## Post 14 by @Ash — 2024-08-04T18:02:57Z Wow, this is great news. Thanks for sharing. In such a case, I will definitely give Floorp another spin. --- ## Post 15 by @anon63378630 — 2024-08-04T19:04:36Z Floorp 11 is based on esr115 so it is not possible for them to continue providing any security updates after September as it will no longer be a supported branch by Mozilla. v11.15.0 is based on esr 115.13.0 which is the third to last release of esr115: - [Floorp/browser/config/version.txt at 9b889c59168fb5800183a1fd5f835d3fd444dac8 · Floorp-Projects/Floorp · GitHub](https://github.com/Floorp-Projects/Floorp/blob/9b889c59168fb5800183a1fd5f835d3fd444dac8/browser/config/version.txt) - [Firefox Release Calendar](https://whattrainisitnow.com/calendar/) As a side note, I really hate when forks change version numbers because it adds confusion and prevents users from knowing what actual version they are running and being able to follow upstream security advisories. --- ## Post 16 by @whoami5 — 2024-08-04T20:53:42Z Thanks for the heads up. Will reconsider using if it stops receiving security patches. > [@anon63378630](#): > > As a side note, I really hate when forks change version numbers It does show the ESR version alongside browser version in the settings UI. --- ## Post 17 by @Average_Joe — 2024-08-26T21:06:10Z > [@anon63378630](#): > > As a side note, I really hate when forks change version numbers because it adds confusion and prevents users from knowing what actual version they are running and being able to follow upstream security advisories. I appreciate your reply! One thing that’s holding me back from trying out Floorp is that it’s new software. It seems better to use older software that has a proven track record instead of jumping on something new. --- ## Post 18 by @whoami5 — 2024-09-24T18:26:19Z > [@anon63378630](#): > > Floorp 11 is based on esr115 Providing an update for the quoted post. Floorp 11 got rebased to esr 128 on August 16th, well before esr115 went end of life. Meaning it was always up to date with upstream security updates. --- ## Post 19 by @Average_Joe — 2024-09-30T16:07:18Z > [@whoami5](#): > > ![](https://forum-cdn.privacyguides.net/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/c0322f/48.png) anon63378630: > > > Floorp 11 is based on esr115 > > Providing an update for the quoted post. Floorp 11 got rebased to esr 128 on August 16th, well before esr115 went end of life. Meaning it was always up to date with upstream security updates. I appreciate your reply! **For people still thinking of trying it:** I’ve been using Floorp and man it has good performance. More importantly, they have updated their website that now says this: _“Floorp is based on Firefox ESR. Floorp will be updated every 4 weeks, with security updates provided before each Firefox release.”_ _“We don’t collect personal information from users. We don’t track users. We don’t sell user data. We have no affiliation with any advertising companies.”_ _“Floorp’s source code is entirely open, allowing anyone to view it and contribute to the project. Not only is the browser itself open source, but the build environment is as well.”_ --- ## Post 20 by @Average_Joe — 2025-08-10T00:21:29Z I’ve searched the forums but there’s not much regarding Mercury browser? It’s cross-platform: > **[Releases · Alex313031/Mercury](https://github.com/Alex313031/Mercury/releases)** > > Firefox fork with compiler optimizations and patches from Librewolf, Waterfox, and GNU IceCat. - Alex313031/Mercury However, the last time Mercury received an update was nearly a year ago… Sept 2024… --- ## Post 21 by @anon11657877 — 2025-08-10T13:55:51Z So Floorp is basically Waterfox without a track record and feature bloat? or Vivaldi but open source and Firefox-based? Just use userChrome.css and extensions if really needed and hope you don’t get hacked. > _Floorp is based on Firefox ESR._ So basically an old version of Firefox with some security fixes backported each release, sort of like QtWebEngine. --- ## Post 22 by @Average_Joe — 2025-08-10T15:49:38Z > [@anon11657877](#): > > or Vivaldi but open source and Firefox-based? Well you’re mostly correct. Vivaldi is built on Chromium. It definitely uses a lot of RAM but they’re parterned with Proton so I think that carries a tonne of weight in trusting them… --- ## Post 23 by @anon11657877 — 2025-08-10T18:57:05Z Vivaldi - not open source - ads on home page and bookmarks - mandatory telemetry - very slow engine updates - massive bloat - probably extra fingerprintable - no actual privacy improvements Even Chrome would make more sense privacy-wise. Avoid at all costs. --- ## Post 24 by @anon94117004 — 2025-08-11T15:22:36Z There is zero reason to use these browsers like Mercury, Thorium, Floorp, Waterfox, Zen, Vivaldi, etc. --- ## Post 25 by @anon11657877 — 2025-08-11T18:07:36Z For Mercury, Thorium, and Waterfox I agree. Only reason anyone would want to use Floorp and Zen is for customization but if that’s all just use userChrome.css (as long as you trust the maintainers of the custom CSS themes) on Firefox instead. --- ## Post 26 by @seize — 2025-08-12T01:30:09Z You don’t have to trust the maintainers if you write the CSS yourself :zany_face:. --- ## Post 27 by @Average_Joe — 2025-12-07T08:47:41Z > [@anon11657877](#): > > Vivaldi > > - not open source I appreciate your reply! However, Proton has made a significant partnership with Vivaldi so I think this boosts Vivaldi’s security repertoire. Mercury on the other hand, I just checked and it hasn’t been updated in over a year…: [GitHub - Alex313031/Mercury: Firefox fork with compiler optimizations and patches from Librewolf, Waterfox, and GNU IceCat.](https://github.com/Alex313031/Mercury)