I currently use a few browsers on various platforms:

  • Mullvad on Linux and macOS
  • Firefox (w. Arkenfox User.js) on FreeBSD
  • Safari (w. extensions & privacy settings changed) on iOS

However, I am finding the absence of any sort of cookie persistence in Mullvad and Safari to be a little annoying, as just about everything I use has 2FA enabled.

So, I was wondering what you would say a good choice for a second browser would be. I would use this to access a small number of privacy-respecting sites (such as CloudTube and Lemmy), which would involve saving cookies and allowing third-party content (i.e. googlevideo in CloudTube). Ideally, this should be Firefox or WebKit-based, and I would like suggestions for Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and iOS.

On macOS, I have not signed in with an Apple ID, so I can’t use the App Store; but I do have Homebrew and pkgsrc(7) installed.

Any ideas?

EDIT: I am NOT moving away from Mullvad. I’m looking for a COMPLEMENTARY browser which I can use for stuff like CloudTube.

  • ChallengeApathy@infosec.pubEnglish
    410·
    10 months ago

    I’m skeptical of any supposed privacy advocate that refuses to recommend Brave. It’s no Tor Browser but in my own experience and tests, it consistently wins over just about everything else outside of Tor Browser.

    Anyways, it recently added a forgetful browsing feature. What I do is have that toggled on by default, turning it off on individual sites that I want to keep logged in. Ultimately, this is better for privacy AND security, since it’d limit the damage of a token stealer.

    Another option might be Librewolf if you absolutely can’t handle a Chromium-based browser (I also take issue with that approach but that’s a different topic for a different day). Firefox but more private than default. Waterfox is also an okay option nowadays, since they’re now independent from the hostile takeover that they dealt with for a while.

    Overall, for my own setup, I use Brave for ~70% of my browsing, with the remaining 30% split between hardened Firefox (with BetterFox) at 20%, Librewolf at 8% and Mullvad at 2%. I only use Tor Browser once in a blue moon for sensitive subjects that could financially impact me, like medical sites, insurance research and so forth.

    • LWD@lemm.ee
      2·
      10 months ago

      > tests

      Are you talking about the man paid by Brave who chose the tests that say Brave is best? 🤔

      • ChallengeApathy@infosec.pubEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        No, I’m talking about running it through test sites. No other browser outside of the Tor Browser is able to pass fingerprinting tests as consistently as Brave, in my experience.

    • Delusion6903English
      1·
      10 months ago

      Covermytracks makes never Brave look better than, say Librewolf, because Brave randomizes fingerprinting info while other browsers try to thwart fingerprinting by all looking the same.

      • ChallengeApathy@infosec.pubEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I’d argue that randomization is more effective than making everyone look the same. It’s less noticeable when the fingerprint is randomized.

        • Delusion6903English
          2·
          10 months ago

          You’re probably right. I’d rather do it that way too.