Privacy @lemmy.ml ayon @lemmy.ml 2y ago

3rd party browsers on iOS

Given that all iOS browsers have to use Webkit for rendering, are there any privacy benefits in using say Firefox or Brave on iOS over stock Safari?

19 comments

Not really, and thanks to iOS browser extensions (exclusive to Safari because apple), the few additions other browsers had are now avaliable on Safari.

It's best to use Safari anyway because close to everyone on iOS uses it. This makes it harder to fingerprint someone, because they all have the same general browser ID.

I'd follow the Privacy Guides safari config. It hardens Safari and adds the best privacy extension to block ads and tracking. It's the best for iOS private browsing right now.
- Thanks for the tip. I haven’t checked privacy guides in a while. I’ll definitely give their recommendation a try.
- I believe they’re allowing new browsers on iOS now but they’ll likely not be performant as safari due to Apples WebKit optimizations.
  
  https://9to5mac.com/2023/02/14/mozilla-firefox-without-webkit-iphone/
  
  This isn't allowing non-webkit browsers, it's just Mozilla saying they'll make a sideloaded version if they can. Unfortunately, iOS 17 didn't add sideloading, and it looks like Apple is programming iPhones to explicitly restrict it to the European Union :(
I think using Brave, just by virtue of ad blocking, probably isn’t worse than using Safari. I use Brave on iOS myself.
I use Firefox Focus instead of Firefox.

Its added benefits are it can also serve as some ad and tracker blocking for Safari browser as well.
- Do you use Focus exclusively? Or you use another browser for bookmarks, logged in browsing, tabs, etc. ?
  
  Firefox Focus is set as my default browser so that if I click on random links from Lemmy, email, etc. the session is disposed immediately. (I had a bad habit of ‘collecting’ hundreds of tabs before Firefox Focus)
  
  I have a few things bookmarked in Safari, which still gets the protection of the Firefox Focus blockers. Safari is what I use for my self-hosted services.
I guess this this exactly what Apple thought when they implemented that BS policy. But yes, Brave blocks ads so you get some kind of extra protection.
I recommend you take a look at privacytests.org for iOS browsers to get a better idea of what browsers block what. DuckDuckGo has the best test results in iOS as of this post.
- Thanks. The issue I personally have with those tests is that they compare browsers using their default settings, which makes sense. It wouldn’t scalable to test every setting combination for every browser.
  
  So I wonder how Safari would fare if it’s used exclusively in Private Mode with ad measurement and cross-site tracking disabled.
I knew someone who complilled chromuim for iOS but don't have a ton of information
firefox to use uBlock origin + a quick cookie toggle extension. You can't do that with Safari.
- AFAIK browser extensions on iOS are only available for Safari.

19 comments