Waterfox
Privacy-tuned Firefox with a gentler touch.
An independent Firefox fork that removes telemetry and adds privacy polish without the site-breaking strictness of harder forks. A comfortable middle ground.
- Engine
- Gecko
- License
- Open source
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
- Top marks
- Extension ecosystem, Site compatibility, Open source, Independence
- Updated
- September 2026
Why it shines
- No telemetry, sane private defaults
- Rarely breaks sites
- Container tabs and Firefox extensions work
Worth knowing
- Small team — updates can trail Firefox slightly
- Less hardened than LibreWolf or Mullvad
Origins
Waterfox belongs to The Mozilla family — descended from Firefox.
Does well
Ranked in
Scorecard
- Tracking protection2/3
- Fingerprinting resistance0/3
- Anonymity0/3
- Built-in ad blocking1/3
- Customization2/3
- Keyboard control0/3
- Built-in tools0/3
- Minimal interface0/3
- Fresh design0/3
- Classic interface1/3
- Light on resources0/3
- Raw speed2/3
- Battery efficiency0/3
- Extension ecosystem3/3
- Cross-device sync1/3
- Site compatibility3/3
- Low maintenance2/3
- Open source3/3
- Independence3/3
- Built-in AI0/3
- Gaming features0/3
- Dev tooling0/3
0–3 on each of the 22 criteria the quiz and the guides rank by. How we score.
