I want my web browser to actively defend me against tracking/enshittification/exploitation/hostile design, then show me cleaned-up web pages with all the ads and shit removed, then get out of the way.
I want it to show me the information (which is not same thing as the "page" as a whole) that I'm looking for without modifying it or hallucinating some kind of AI summary, but I want it to aggressively get rid of as much of the extraneous crap obfuscating said information as possible.
There's a massive difference between AI being used to help the user, and AI being used as a method to spy on users, collect data, monetize from, and weaponize.
I'm happy with using local AI tools, if needed. For example, using local AI contextual search on my self-hosted IMMICH photos is awesome.
But I absolutely do not need or want AI features that have to connect somewhere. Because that just means I'm being data harvested and profiled for someone else to profit from.
I get what they are trying to say, but I definitely don't want my browser to just facilitate me raw-dogging the internet. I had to use someone else's computer at work the other day, and they don't have any ad block and have apparently clicked "yes" to every dialog box for years. It was a fucking nightmare. Every web page was so full of ads, pop-ups, notifications, banners, auto-playing videos, etc. Jesus christ, I just needed to check the weather on a local news website and the internet skull-fucked me until I had ocular hepatitis. Decided the safest course of action was to just stand outside and look for tornadoes myself.
I'm far from an AI hater, but I fully agree with this.
I think there's a distinct business oppotunity coming up for two things: Hassle-free self-hosting and back-to-basics apps and services.
Nobody is tapping into those correctly (you're going to want to give me examples of self-hosted things, and you're wrong), and it's extremely hard to do either right, but if you can figure it out and are ballsy enough to build a proper business around it I may be interested in your pitch deck.
The same for search engines.
I want to search for information about a hobby or new interest. I dont want to see 61 pages of the same 3 websites with different summaries to make it seem like I've got a lot to choose from. I dont want ad content shoved down my proverbial throat. I dont want to see influencer bullshit.
The internet is the single greatest repository of information that this planet has ever seen, and we allow it to overflow with drivel so that a billionaire can get a bit more rich.
Firefox offered me a survey the other day on this exact topic. I said I don't want it in my browser for all questions.
"What if your browser.."
No, just no. Please stop shoving new features in that I won't use.
As much as I hate Firefox having AI, they really don't have a choice. If the majority of people are already using it and don't give a rats ass, they're absolutely gonna switch to the AI integrated browsers ( chrome, edge, probably safari if they already have AI in it or are working on it, etcetera ).
Firefox is inbetween a rock and a hard place right now. They either not add AI integration and attract less users or they do and risk alienating their current small userbase and becoming irrelevant enough to become unusable because big tech 100% enforces a new web standard that non-AI Firefox cannot handle.
For now, I'm siding with Mozilla on this because I can almost 100% guarantee if Firefox falls, the free web will die in less than a year. No more Librewolf, Firedragon ( floorp w/ Librewolf settings/patches IIRC ), etcetera, because if we're being honest, what open source company/rando volunteer has the time, drive, and money to keep the Gecko rendering engine alive? And that's just a start to keeping Firefox alive.
Laughs in LibreWolf user
A good
OSbrowser gives you the tools you need, then steps out of the way.Tek Syndicate
Right, except even if you find a browser that returns pure searches, it won't be long before it's just AI slop with extra steps
I'm fine with ai, as long as its off by default
Really looking forward to when Ladybird is stable
I use Qwant.
I clear my cookies everytimes my browser closes.
Qwant uses a cookie to remember I don't want AI summary.It'll get to a point where you just have to work on your critical thinking skills and just be a pessimist because everything that's going to be presented to you is just bullshit lies. So just acknowledge that this relationship is adversarial. Listen to other people talk about work cited, maybe dig into the unknown, the abyss. They will take everything away from you. And they'll make you feel bad for being angry. You are the product. There is no escaping capitalism until you're ready to do something about it. At this point it's just the game of cat and mouse and you're getting closer to the corner. Please, I know, I'm super fucking negative. Don't stop doing things. I'm just saying. Half of the battle is being aware.
This is how I felt when Windows 3.1 dropped
I have Firefox on my PC but I gotta say, Safari on my MacBook and iPhone hase been solid. It has, so far, done exactly what the post wants. Safari doesn’t just stay the hell out of my business but it also seamlessly shares tab groups with my phone and that’s super nice, too.
I’m sure there are many more hidden things that I will learn are bad about it after posting this comment but on the surface it has been a perfectly unexciting, simple, and easy to use browser. I didn’t even think about it right away and had to come back to this post because of how delightfully boring it is despite using it every day.
The worst part about the Firefox AI stuff is their provider selection is shit. No Deepseek, no OpenRouter, so I have a stupid pane and a stupid popup button every time I select text that only works with models that are either inferior or closed off.
How do I 10x my upvote for a post?
Cómo ha cambiado todo y lo que queda...
