#and switch to Firefox 🦊

[nando161mando]

Stop using blatant, monopolistic, persistently worsening malware, and switch to Firefox 🦊

https://prism-break.org/en/

https://12ft.io/

https://www.removepaywall.com/

https://www.hackthissite.org/

[space-elf-11]

Chrome finally pulled the trigger on the web’s best ad-blocker, uBlock Origin.

Now that Chrome has hobbled uBO, Firefox—my beloved—1 is surging again. I want to do my part to convince you to switch to Firefox and show you how I use it.

Why Firefox

Let’s get through the important talking points, in case you need a quick copy paste to convince a friend.

100% open-source

Un-enshittify the web

Android users rejoice

Customize to your heart’s content

100% open-source

[intexda]

I have confirmed that youtube is throttling firefox users. I also found an addon that fixes it for now.

Once installed, open the extension, then choose one of the Chrome versions listed and hit Refresh.

"The add-on switches your user agent to Chrome automatically, so you can browse sites like YouTube as if you were using Google's browser instead. However, this add-on requires access to all data on each site you use it with, which is obviously not ideal from a privacy perspective."

[cleversand]

I use wiki.gg redirect, which automatically keeps you off of old, outdated wikis, and off of fandom if they're switched off of it.

idk if this link works but it looks like it does?

in case you haven't thought about switching to firefox yet, here's an extension that will...

Notify you if a website you're on has employees that are on strike

Bypass paywalls for major news outlets like the New York Times

Change the browser theme based on the time of day

Directly install third party non-extension scripts

Save individual browser sessions to be reopened at any time

Use the TV format of YouTube in-browser

Make all chrome extensions compatible with Firefox

Turn YouTube dislikes back on

Fix Twitter and make it way less fucked up

Automatically remove trackers from URLs

And many more!

Feel free to add any other firefox extensions you think are slept on.

[albonium]

bruh

[pacificseaotter]

reasons to switch to firefox:

[ailtrahq]

With its new platform, MetaMask wallet can be used seamlessly for operations with Assets issued on non-EVM blockchains. The team stresses that this release is one more step toward making MetaMask fully premissionless and decentralized.bitcoin (BTC) on MetaMask, third-party Apps, more decentralization: MetaMask Snaps launched in betaMetaMask Snaps, a platform for features and functionalities that allow third-party developers to customize MetaMask wallet, goes live in open beta version today, Sept. 12, 2023. Through the platform, any team can create and deploy its own add-on to MetaMask, even if it works with Assets on blockchains that do not use Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).Today marks a major milestone for MetaMask: we're launching MetaMask Snaps Open Beta, the first step towards our journey to create a fully permissionless ecosystem with MetaMask. 🦊Read the 🧵for everything you need to know ��https://t.co/DuHrwxQvi8— MetaMask 🦊💙 (@MetaMask) September 12, 2023 The first iteration of MetaMask Snaps kicks off in Extension v11.0+, which is already available for Google Chrome users. The release for Mozilla Firefox is on its way to users, the MetaMask team added.The MetaMask team highlights that by releasing Snaps, the wallet reaffirms its commitment to building a  peer-to-peer ecosystem of Decentralized Applications with zero possibilities of censorship:You may wonder: why would you want just any dev to build a feature for MetaMask? The answer is simple: we believe a decentralized internet that is accessible to all and owned by the people who use it, will give rise to human flourishing on an exponential scale. While our roots are in Ethereum, and our expertise is grounded in building the leading self-custodial wallet, we appreciate that innovation occurs in many domains across the web3 ecosystem.As of press time, over 30 "Snaps," third-party Apps for MetaMask, are available on the wallet's portal. The first generation of extensions can connect MetaMask to bitcoin (BTC), Cosmos (ATOM), Solana (SOL), Starknet, Algorand (ALGO), SUI (SUI) and Aptos (APT), i.e., the most popular non-EVM blockchains in the world.Besides new blockchains, Snaps platform offers MetaMask users secret chat functionality, integration with XMTP protocol and other eccentric features.MetaMask airdrop one step closer?The developers of MetaMask stressed that switching to more decentralized mechanisms is ahead for its team and community:Today, MetaMask Snaps is not at the final destination of our vision of being a fully permissionless ecosystem just yet. This is a journey that requires time, iterations, and improvements to accomplish.That said, the hotly anticipated airdrop of hypothetical MetaMask's token might be one step closer, as it is the only way to establish fully decentralized governance.As covered by U.Today previously, in March 2023, the MetaMask team released a Software development kit (SDK) that is necessary to streamline the integration of the wallet into Web3 games.

[thymewayster]

Switching to duck duck go is good advice, but also here's a firefox extension to get rid of ai stuff on the Google search page:

[appleceobutnot]

👋hi citizens of tumblr! 🩰 this is your reminder 📢 to switch 🔄 your browser 🌐 to firefox 🦊

[can-of-pringles]

Guess who just switched to Firefox :3 🦊

[gobusto]

this add-on stopped working on my laptop for some reason (despite still working on my desktop PC), so i switched to a different one:

begging youtube to let me block channels so i never have to see them again

[the-most-sublime-fool]

ok listen. so i know it's near impossible to extricate yourself completely from the googlesphere. that can feel discouraging.

BUT! ☝️

google still makes most of their $ on search. so, if you simply 👉make the switch to duck duck go👈 or another independent search engine, you've already made a big difference in your google footprint.

another easy win is dumping google chrome and 🔥 using firefox 🦊 instead.

and remember, if you're feeling hopeless about a big problem you can't tackle on your own, don't give up -- look for things you CAN do. you can start small, but start.✌️

Seriously, Google? You actually changed Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Google Maps?

What the fuck?!

[fred-the-dinosaur]

[captain-acab]

@jmtorres replied:

wish that extension was an option on mobile

Good news! You can install extensions on mobile! Just use Fennec F-Droid, the fully-open-source version of Firefox mobile. You can install any extension, including ones designed for desktop, by following these steps (Fennec works the same as FF Nightly).

I've actually moved from User-Agent Switcher to Chameleon, which has a user-friendlier interface, a dev who's more responsive about bugs and requests, and can do other things besides switch UA, like spoof your timezone and block some malicious code/trackers.

@b0kunoanime replied:

Literally why I still have chrome on my laptop… just had a telehealth appointment this morning

And if you absolutely must use a Chromium browser for something, try using Brave Browser. It's at least open-source and privacy-oriented

One thing that Firefox can’t do is allow me to access my telehealth therapy appointments. Three different platforms now have rejected my use of Firefox. I use Safari instead bc that’s what works and at least it isn’t chrome, but for folks who rightfully use Firefox, be aware that many, if not all, telehealth platforms will not work on Firefox (something about the encryption/security not being up to their standard, I believe; if there are hacks that Firefox gurus know to bypass this, please share with the class?).

[demifiendcruithne]

for firefox users, may i recommend for youtube:

if you go to youtube from a link or a bookmark or anything it'll immediately redirect to a frontend instance.

you may have to switch instances a couple of times with the button above if an instance is gone or broken, and if you use noscript you will have to allow the instances through. but there's a lot of settings i haven't looked at so you can probably get it to default to only a couple of instances

this also works with a lot of other sites: twitter as shown, but also tiktok, reddit, imgur, fandom wikis etc. you can turn on or off redirecting a given site easily

Google is going to start scraping all of their platforms to use for AI training. So, here are some alternatives for common Google tools!

Google Chrome -> Firefox

If you’re on tumblr, you’ve probably already been told this a thousand times. But FireFox is an open-source browser which is safe, fast and secure. Basically all other browsers are Chrome reskins. Try Firefox Profilemaker, Arkenfox and Librewolf! Alternatively, vanilla Firefox is alright, but get Ublock Origin, turn off pocket, and get Tabliss.

Google Search -> DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo very rarely tracks or stores your browsing data (though they have only been known to sell this info to Microsoft). Don’t use their browser; only their search engine. Domain visits in their browser get shared. Alternatively, you can also use Ecosia, which is a safe search engine that uses its income to plant trees! 🌲

Google Reverse Image Search -> Tineye

Tineye uses image identification tech rather than keywords, metadata or watermarks to find you the source of your image!

Gmail -> ProtonMail

All data stored on ProtonMail is encrypted, and it boasts self-destructing emails, text search, and a commitment to user privacy. Tutanota is also a good alternative!

Google Docs -> LibreOffice

LibreOffice is free and open-source software, which includes functions like writing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, formula editing and more.

Google Translate -> DeepL

DeepL is notable for its accuracy of translation, and is much better that Google Translate in this regard. It does cost money for unlimited usage, but it will let you translate 500,000 characters per month for free. If this is a dealbreaker, consider checking out the iTranslate app.

Google Forms -> ClickUp

ClickUp comes with a built-in form view, and also has a documents feature, which could make it a good option to take out two birds with one stone.

Google Drive -> Mega

Mega offers a better encryption method than Google Drive, which means it’s more secure.

YouTube -> PeerTube

YouTube is the most difficult to account for, because it has a functional monopoly on long-form video-sharing. That being said, PeerTube is open-source and decentralized. The Internet Archive also has a video section!

However, if you still want access to YouTube’s library, check out NewPipe and LibreTube! NewPipe scrapes YouTube’s API so you can watch YouTube videos without Google collecting your info. LibreTube does the same thing, but instead of using YouTube servers, it uses piped servers, so Google doesn’t even get your IP address. Both of these are free, don’t require sign-ins, and are open source!

Please feel free to drop your favorite alternatives to Google-owned products, too! And, if this topic interests you, consider checking out Glaze as well! It alters your artwork and photos so that it’s more difficult to use to train AI with! ⭐️