Firefox - AI services experiment

WizardofCOR · 2026-02-25 03:41:06

Ok, initial impressions of Vivaldi are very favorable. Was able to import favorites/bookmarks, and it has plenty of customizables - even has ProtonVPN built-in (major plus, IMO.)
No AI crap, and it allows you to select how it appears (i.e. Chromium, etc.), secure DNS, built-in ad-blocker and a host of other configurables I personally appreciate.
So far, so good - would love to hear opinions from others, of course. But I'm definitely happy with it so far!

Döbbie03 · 2026-02-25 04:42:21

Check this out, well worth a look if you want to remove general AI slop via Ublock Origin.

For example, it has removed the AI summary and the AI button from YouTube. YT in general seems snappier though that could be a placebo.

https://www.reddit.com/r/uBlockOrigin/c … ?sort=best

WizardofCOR · 2026-02-25 05:06:10

I've used UBlock Origin in the past - nice to see there's continued development with it!

Because Vivaldi can use Chrome Extensions, uBlock Origin Lite is available.
Now I'm curious as to whether this will work.
Vivaldi doesn't incorporate any AI hooks (from what I can tell), and while their ad-blocker isn't as comprehensive as some might like, it does work.
Like I said, mightily impressed with this browser so far - enough to uninstall firefox-esr from BL.

Last edited by WizardofCOR (2026-02-25 05:24:56)

WizardofCOR · 2026-02-26 08:29:58

Ok, so that won't work with Ublock Lite - looks like support for Ublock Origin is waning:
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock
But it does look like you can still get it for Chromium-based browsers from the Chrome Web Store:
https://chromewebstore.google.com/detai … ldiemgcoii
and
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/deta … phjbkeiagm

WizardofCOR · Yesterday 09:40:15

Just as a status report:

Ditched FF for Vivaldi, haven't looked back. It's non-AI, privacy oriented, and can even spoof browser ID on other sites - and it can sync between different devices, and do everything I need it to do. Even comes with ProtonVPN built-in. Sold.
Now, I've also heard exceptional things about LibreWolf as well - and while I can't personally vouch for it, some other highly respected security experts I know solidly recommend it. Worth checking out, IMHO.

F3 · Today 00:04:26

I haven't used Vivaldi in while. Although I have FF and keep in up to date, I prefer LibreWolf as my default browser on my laptops. I use IronFox as my default browser on my deGoogled Android phone. I look forward to trying out LadyBird when it's finally released.

Döbbie03 · Today 00:16:14

F3 wrote:

I haven't used Vivaldi in while. Although I have FF and keep in up to date, I prefer LibreWolf as my default browser on my laptops. I use IronFox as my default browser on my deGoogled Android phone. I look forward to trying out LadyBird when it's finally released.

I'm looking forward to Ladybird as well. Hopefully they are on track for us to have a taste later this year.

#21 2026-02-25 03:41:06

Re: Firefox - AI services experiment

#22 2026-02-25 04:42:21

Re: Firefox - AI services experiment

#23 2026-02-25 05:06:10

Re: Firefox - AI services experiment

#24 2026-02-26 08:29:58

Re: Firefox - AI services experiment

#25 Yesterday 09:40:15

Re: Firefox - AI services experiment

#26 Today 00:04:26

Re: Firefox - AI services experiment

#27 Today 00:16:14

Re: Firefox - AI services experiment

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