Waterfox Review 2019: A Browser That Keeps Classic Add-ons Alive

In a recent announcement, Waterfox revealed that they will be introducing two new types of browsers, which marks a significant change in their approach to browser development. The WF Classic browser will continue to receive full maintenance and updates, while the other type of browser will offer more features and capabilities.

The frequency of updates for Waterfox is expected to increase from every six weeks to every four weeks, which may seem like a minor change but could have a significant impact on users who rely on specific features. As Mozilla continues to remove features that only a minority of users employ, it's possible that they will eventually affect everyone's experience.

For those who are happy with Firefox's offerings, Waterfox may not offer anything new or exciting. However, for users who want to take advantage of powerful classic add-ons that go beyond what Chrome and Firefox have to offer, Waterfox is definitely worth considering. Additionally, if you need Java or NPAPI plugins, Waterfox is a great option.

One of the key advantages of Waterfox is its lack of telemetry, which allows users to maintain complete control over their browsing data. This is in contrast to Firefox, where telemetry is an optional feature that can be turned off but may not always work as intended.

Despite Mozilla's claims that removing classic add-ons was necessary to improve Firefox's performance, Waterfox remains just as fast as Firefox on the same benchmark (SpeeDOMeter 2.0). This suggests that the removal of classic add-ons was unnecessary and that users can still enjoy a fast and secure browsing experience with Waterfox.

For those who value the large library of classic add-ons that defined Firefox for many years, Waterfox is an excellent choice. While it may not offer anything revolutionary, it does provide a way to continue using these add-ons without compromising on performance or security.

Waterfox review 2019