Mozilla Firefox

Fast, secure, and easy to use, Firefox tends to be the destination for those who venture away from Google or their preinstalled OS browser. Firefox is not based on Chromium, so you aren’t feeding the beast you’re trying to abandon, and its non-profit founder Mozilla has a strong (though not unscathed) reputation for protecting the privacy of its users.

Firefox, an open-source software, is unmatched when it comes to security, and you’ll realize it from the moment you download the browser. That’s because Mozilla claims it “collects so little data about you, we don’t even require your email address to download.” Noteworthy features include a private browsing mode that auto erases your cookies, history, and passwords when you close the browser; tracking protection that blocks ads and sites that try to stealthily track you; an unauthorized-cryptomining blocker; and a plug-in made specifically to prevent Facebook from following you around the web. Firefox also blocks trackers by default and comes with a built-in password manager.

You can also expect good performance from Firefox, though you might run into a rare compatibility issue. In general, Firefox is speedy (though not as lean as Edge) and its customizable UI should suit most users. While not the most feature-filled, Firefox has some nice additions not available on Chrome, including containers that let you separate work, shopping, or personal browsing without having to clear your history, log in and out, or use multiple browsers.

While Edge is preinstalled on Windows PCs and Chrome is tied to Chromebooks, Firefox is the default browser on many Linux distros. Ready to switch? Here are 12 things you didn’t know you could do in Firefox.