GlyphDec 26

Per recent discussion, I am now curious. If you have significantly reduced your Firefox usage in the last 5 years… why is that? (And what browser did you switch that usage to?)

(Please just relate your personal experiences, no screeds about relative browser superiority, thank you.)

Show threadmirthDec 26
@glyph Do you have a link to the data? (FWIW I'm not in the group, Firefox has been my secondary browser since around a decade ago, with Safari as primary due to the large performance difference historically and now mostly inertia.)
Show threadGlyphDec 26
@mirth click around on https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/all/worldwide/2015 for various years, but you can look at other reports like https://radar.cloudflare.com/reports/browser-market-share-2025-q3 . Different absolute numbers by a few percent depending on where you source your data, but similar trends all around
Browser Market Share Worldwide | Statcounter Global Stats

This graph shows the market share of browsers worldwide based on over 5 billion monthly page views.

StatCounter Global Stats
Show threadmirthDec 26

@glyph Interesting. Their self-reported data shows a slow decline in absolute usage [1] while ITU data [2] shows a big increase in total usage, consistent with the reports of rapidly dropping share.

1. https://data.firefox.com/dashboard/user-activity
2. https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/2024/11/10/ff24-internet-use/

Firefox Public Data Report

Show threadGlyph
@mirth interesting! the idea that the total internet population was increasing had not occurred to me but I guess if we are looking over a decade that makes sense!
Dec 26 at 8:29pmToot!
Show threadmirthDec 26
@glyph I have observed but not followed closely the conversations about Firefox direction, "AI" features, etc. I'm not well-informed enough to have any strong opinions but one thing that's certainly different vs a decade ago is all of the major browsers work well in terms of compatibility, performance, stability, etc. There are differences, but they're all plenty usable. At the same time there a lot of smaller hurdles to switching (bookmarks, device sync, G acct sign-in).
Show threadmirthDec 26
@glyph What that suggests to me is the usage dynamics are more like soft drinks, an inexpensive product where choices are driven by habit, brand perception, and distribution more than anything in the product itself. Not much different from how Coca-Cola and Pepsi are more or less interchangeable and equally bad for you.
Show threadmirthDec 26
@glyph @glyph On the one hand this is an uninspiring possibility because it implies that without an external stabilizing force the browser world will stabilize with just a few dominant brands. On the other, it suggests that succeeding with a new browser doesn't necessarily entail a massive technical effort, more a cultural, packaging, and marketing project.