Waterfox

Waterfox is an independent, open-source browser built from Firefox's code, with a simple pitch: keep the Gecko engine and the familiar Firefox base, strip out the data collection, and hand interface control back to the user. Underneath, it is the same Gecko engine that powers Firefox, so page compatibility is a solved problem for almost every site. It is free, licensed under the MPL-2.0, and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, with an Android version alongside. The Windows installer is about 101 MB, and the project publishes builds directly from its own website and CDN.

The project started in 2011 as one of the first 64-bit Firefox builds, and it has outlived most of its contemporaries by staying focused. Telemetry is stripped out entirely. An ad and tracker blocker is built in rather than bolted on. Private and anonymised DNS, using Oblivious DNS over HTTPS, keeps lookups away from your provider, and private tabs can live inside a normal window instead of requiring a separate private window.

Interface control is the other half of the deal. Tree tabs give you a vertical, nested view of open pages, a classic status bar is available for people who miss it, and the browser chrome can be switched between design languages. Because Waterfox shares Firefox's Gecko engine, most websites and Firefox WebExtensions work as expected, but Chrome-only extensions do not transfer.

Waterfox is developed by BrowserWorks Ltd, the company of founder Alex Kontos, who brought the project back to independent ownership in 2023 after a period under the advertising company System1 that made some users nervous. Releases follow the Firefox ESR model: Mozilla security fixes are incorporated into regular updates, and version numbers track the long-term support branch rather than Firefox's rapid-release train. Funding comes from search partnerships, an optional private search subscription, and donations, not from user data.

The trade-offs are the familiar small-team ones. Support is community-driven, releases land when a small team ships them, and you are trusting a one-company project with your browsing. Sync through a Mozilla account is documented for the Android app; on desktop, check the current release notes for account features before relying on it. Chrome-only extensions are out, and Firefox extras like Pocket or Mozilla VPN integration are absent by design.

For people who want Firefox's engine without Mozilla's product decisions, Waterfox remains one of the few serious options left, and one of the last browsers that still treats deep customization as a feature rather than a liability.