Op het eerste gezicht niet het meest schokkende nieuws: het aantal gebruikers van Firefox blijft afnemen - ondanks de voortdurende implementatie van privacy-features. Maar wat staat ons te wachten wanneer deze trend echt doorzet?
Lees verder (It's FOSS)
Firefox Lost Almost 50 million Users: Here’s Why It is Concerning
Mozilla’s Firefox is losing users big time since 2018, why are users moving away from it? Is this something to be worried about?
by Ankush DasAugust 4, 2021
Mozilla’s Firefox is the only popular alternative to Chromium-based browsers.
It has been the default choice for Linux users and privacy-conscious users across every platform.
However, even with all benefits as one of the best web browsers around, it is losing its grip for the past few years.
To be honest, we do not even need a stat to say that, many of us have switched over to Chromium-based browsers or Chromium itself instead of Firefox or Google Chrome.
However, I came across a Reddit thread by u/nixcraft, which highlighted more details on the decline in the userbase of Firefox since 2018.
And surprisingly, the original source for this information is Firefox’s Public Data Report.
As per the official stats, the reported number of active (monthly) users was about 244 million at the end of 2018.
And, it seems to have declined to 198 million at the end of Q2 2021 .
So, that makes it a whopping ~ 46 million decline in the userbase.
Firefox’s Decline is Concerning But Obvious
Considering 2021 is the year when privacy-focused tools saw a big boost in their userbase, Mozilla’s Firefox is looking at a constant decline.
Especially when Firefox manages to introduce some industry-first privacy practices. Quite the irony, eh?
In case you have never used Firefox or have moved away for a long time, a comparison between Brave and Firefox highlights that it is still a solid web browser choice to date.
So, why are users moving away to Chromium-based web browsers or Chrome in particular?
There are a few things that I can think of right off the bat:
- Google Chrome being the default web browser on Android
- Microsoft Edge as the default web browser for Windows (which naturally has a huge marketshare)
-
Google.com (the biggest search engine) recommending users to install Google Chrome (which is potentially an anti-competitive behaviour)
- Some web services are exclusive to Chrome-based browsers
In addition to that, there are also a few things that Firefox may have done wrong:
- Constantly breaking the user experience with major overhauls
- Lack of significant performance improvements in the recent years
Of course, no web browser is perfect but is this something to worry about? Well, I think, yes.
Here’s Why You Should be Worried
Mozilla’s Firefox is the only viable competitor to Chromium-based browsers. If Firefox disappears, users won’t have a choice to select a different browser engine.
I’m sure you will agree that monopoly is bad; hence, we need something to survive as an alternative to Google’s chrome engine.
In fact, a significant number of websites optimize the user experience by keeping chrome-based browsers in mind.
So, eventually, if the declining trend continues, users like us may just be forced to switch to other browsers by adapting to new workflows .
Even if we ignore the dominant control of Google’s chrome engine on the web by arguing that it is technically better, Firefox is still something precious. Because it provides way more customizations and constantly improves its privacy practices unlike any other.
In other words, we will be losing out on a lot of good things (forcefully) just because all the competition prefers using Chromium as its base or engage in anti-competitive activities.
Maybe, you’re frustrated with Firefox now and move away to something else. That’s completely your choice.
But, how would you feel if you won’t have an alternative when Firefox ceases to exist because of all the factors affecting its decline?
Hence, to keep things balanced, I think we should constantly oppose the anti-competitive behavior by tech giants and start using Mozilla Firefox (in whatever capacity, even as a secondary browser).
Of course, Mozilla needs to give this situation some serious attention as well.
While they are busy introducing VPN services, email relays, and other service integrations, they are not succeeding with the user experience improvements.
Lees verder (Security.nl)
Firefox verliest ondanks privacyfeatures ruim 46 miljoen gebruikers
donderdag 5 augustus 2021, 13:57 Bron: Security.nl
Mozilla heeft de afgelopen jaren allerlei privacyfeatures aan Firefox toegevoegd, maar dat heeft niet kunnen voorkomen dat de browser ruim 46 miljoen gebruikers verloor. En dat kan slecht zijn voor de concurrentie op de browsermarkt, aangezien andere browsers zoals Chrome en Edge gebruikmaken van het door Google ontwikkelde Chromium.
Eind 2018 telde Firefox meer dan 244 miljoen gebruikers. Een aantal dat eind juli naar een kleine 198 miljoen is gedaald. Volgens StatCounter heeft Google Chrome op de desktop een marktaandeel van bijna zeventig procent, gevolgd door Safari, Edge en Firefox. Mozillas browser is inmiddels door zowel Safari als Microsoft Edge ingehaald. In Nederland heeft Firefox op de desktop nog een aandeel van 7,3 procent.
Al in 2018 luidde Mozilla de noodklok over een nieuw browsermonopolie door het stijgende gebruik van op Chromium-gebaseerde browsers. Chromium is een door Google ontwikkelde opensourcebrowser die de basis voor Google Chrome en andere browsers vormt. Google is al de dominante speler in de markt voor zoekmachines en heeft met Chrome ook de meestgebruikte browser.
“Als Mozilla morgen zou verdwijnen, zou Google bijna een volledig monopolie hebben over hoe wij allemaal het web op Windows en Android ervaren. Een enorm gecombineerd marktaandeel”, aldus Mozilla-ceo Mitchell Baker destijds. Een ander probleem is dat het kleiner wordende marktaandeel van Firefox ervoor zorgt dat webontwikkelaars en bedrijven geen rekening meer met Firefox houden en zich alleen op Chrome richten.
“We concurreren niet met Google omdat het een goede zakelijke kans is. We concurreren met Google omdat de gezondheid van het internet en online leven afhankelijk is van concurrentie en keuze”, liet Mozilla eerder al weten.