Firefox

I used to use firedfox years ago but switched like many to chrome when it became popular, I then moved to Edge which i preferred and used for many years now due to some video playback issues and the fact Chrome will soon stop us blocking adverts I decided to give Firefox another try, I am finding Firefox a joy to use and wish i had switched back years ago however having watched many review videos before installing it it would seem the majority believe it'll soon be over for Firefox and we will all be stuck with no option but to use a chrome based browser, i hope this is not the case.

Do those that use it regularly believe the time may be up or is there is life in the old dog yet?

That stems from one of the legal cases against Google at the moment. They may be forced to stop paying other companies to default to Google search, and if that happens, Mozilla stands to lose over 1 dollar per year. If that happens to Mozilla and they cannot find another way to stay afloat, we’ll need to see what happens. Maybe another company will step in, maybe Mozilla goes away, who knows.

pseymour said:

That stems from one of the legal cases against Google at the moment. They may be forced to stop paying other companies to default to Google search, and if that happens, Mozilla stands to lose about $100 million per year. If that happens to Mozilla and they cannot find another way to stay afloat, we’ll need to see what happens. Maybe another company will step in, maybe Mozilla goes away, who knows.

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Substantially more than that.

Google directly pays 80%+ of Mozilla and Safari’s budget​

Google pays Mozilla and Apple to make Google Search the default search engine for Firefox and Safari. Google pays Apple about $18 billion each year, and pays Mozilla about $450 million each year.

Okay yes, the exact dollar amount is super important.

The Communists profit from maintaining the illusion of free choice.
Don't worry for now.

It's true that Firefox had a hard run in past years (supposedly loosing 50 million users, Mozilla self-sabotaging themselves with foolish/unclear revision of TOS, also firing 30% of its employees). But there's still over 140 million Firefox users (this number alone it's proof that it still has a future).

If there's one thing that could mean the end for Firefox (supposedly) - that would be Google... terminating/dropping the Google service (since that's the main source of Mozilla financial revenue). So hey, if there's any proof that Google - intends to kill their Google service - and maybe replace it with Gemini... who knows? Since Mozilla also implemented the option to use A.I. chat boots: Access AI chatbots in Firefox | Firefox Help - the modern alternative to Search Engines. So maybe even if that's the case - Mozilla could simply endorse Gemini - as a replacement for Google Search engine. It's already doing that as we speak - accessing the sidebar - Gemini is the default A.I. chat bot.

Anyway, FF is still my main browser - and personally i still think it has a future (still actively developed and improved). Even if it can't compete with Chromium - cause of the huge monopoly it holds (even Microsoft switch to it - while developing Edge Browser). That being said, FF has 140 million users "as a choice (since it doesn't come with any hardware preinstalled)" - while Chrome - is both a choice (maybe Chromium based browsers - more than Chrome), but for the majority - it's simply the default preinstalled browser (and they don't bother to look for an alternative).

You can support Firefox financially, for example by using Mozilla VPN.

abactuon said:

You can support Firefox financially, for example by using Mozilla VPN.

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Or make an annual donation.

OAT said:

Sorry if that annoyed you. But when you use a figure that is a fifth of the actual number, I feel the need to correct the post.
Nothing personal as it's me, not you.

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Didn't annoy me. I corrected my post to reflect a more accurate number.

neves said:

So maybe even if that's the case - Mozilla could simply endorse Gemini - as a replacement for Google Search engine. It's already doing that as we speak - accessing the sidebar - Gemini is the default A.I. chat bot.

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That's not going to happen, if Google is forced to stop giving money to Apple, Mozilla, etc. Whether it's old fashioned Google search, Gemini, whatever, they're going to have to stop what they're doing, if that's what the court decides and they lose on appeal.

pseymour said:

Didn't annoy me. I corrected my post to reflect a more accurate number.

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Your so-called correction is exactly what I expected from you Pat; so predictable.

So its looking like the days are numbered Firefox

MaxHeadroom said:

So its looking like the days are numbered Firefox

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I think it's way too early to make that conclusion.

Many open source programs were taken over when the original developer company failed to continue or did nothing no more further developement. Example: Open Office -> Libre Office.
There are (already for years) other developers making forks of Firefox and I would expect they need to continue their development of their products as well. One of them might take over.

We'll see at the end, but I refuse to leave Firfox at this moment, because for me it still is the best customizable browser of all.

Kees said:

We'll see at the end, but I refuse to leave Firfox at this moment, because for me it still is the best customizable browser of all.

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I agree and will carry on using it i just hope people don't move in droves to Chrome because they think its all over or then it may be.

just to add
some Linux distro's have now stopped setting Firefox as the default browser
which is not a good sign.

best of luck, Steve ..

pseymour said:

That's not going to happen, if Google is forced to stop giving money to Apple, Mozilla, etc. Whether it's old fashioned Google search, Gemini, whatever, they're going to have to stop what they're doing, if that's what the court decides and they lose on appeal.

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I know (or at least it seems - logical to be that way). That was actually my point (Firefox still works in Google's favor - as part of their mutual agreement).

MaxHeadroom said:

I agree and will carry on using it i just hope people don't move in droves to Chrome because they think its all over or then it may be.

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For most part - Firefox is still "a choice browser" - so moving from FF to "Chrome" is far from a (smart) choice. More like going for an alternative that's based on Chromium like Brave browser and such. Anyway, that choice - was viable for couple of years now - so most of those aiming to change FF for another browser - already did. The FF market share as a desktop browser (over 150 millions users) is pretty stable:


They lost around 0.30% cause of Mozilla's TOS changes from February - and now close to half of those came back. Probably, cause Chromium/Chrome - killed the support for uBlock Origin - and Firefox is now the only browser who fully supports it. Or maybe they simply couldn't get used to any Chromium alternative. Firefox is still the most customizable browser (on a user level) - that being the main reason - i can't get used to Chromium alternatives (something i use only as alternative - when/if something doesn't work in FF).

For most part - Firefox is still "a choice browser" - so moving from FF to "Chrome" is far from a (smart) choice. More like going for an alternative that's based on Chromium like Brave browser and such. Anyway, that choice - was viable for couple of years now - so most of those aiming to change FF for another browser - already did. The FF market share as a desktop browser (over 150 millions users) is pretty stable:

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I am sticking with Firefox, will ad-blocking be disabled in all chromium based browsers in the future if so people may flock back to Firefox.

neves said:

and now close to half of those came back. Probably, cause Chromium/Chrome - killed the support for uBlock Origin

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I have been trying Ghostery it seems to do as good a job as uBlock Origin which I used to use i only switched because of the news that Chrome is going to stop users using Ublock, do members here have a preference?

I've never found anything that works like uBlock Origin, it's like magic for whacking ads!

"The FF market share as a desktop browser (over 150 millions users) is pretty stable:"
Inaccurate, no surprise to anyone.

"just hope people don't move in droves to Chrome because they think its all over or then it may be."
The deed has already been done, it's history.

Apr 2009 to Apr 2025 stats, that speaks for itself:

"Firefox is still "a choice browser" - so moving from FF to "Chrome" is far from a (smart) choice."

People choose to install many Browsers over the years. They make the comparisons themselves use the Browser of their choice. Not based on manipulated stats, viral promotions, or any pretentions as to being smart.

" when/if something doesn't work in FF"

That is precisely why people choose alternatives.