Over a year ago, we put out a Privacy Cookbook section entitled Beyond Firefox. But let's be honest, the browser is the tool we all do most with and sadly most people use Chrome, which makes the entire concept of privacy go out the "Windows".

Yes, I just did that!

But let's also be frank here...when you use Windows, you probably "have nothing (left)" to hide anyway. And don't get me started on Windows 11 which appears to be Orwell's final nail in the coffin of most peoples privacy...

So let's dig a little deeper into browsers and see what you can do to find a great one. Today we're looking into LibreWolf which is a hardened, fully open-source fork off Firefox. It is my personal daily drive browser for a while now and so I believe it could be a great companion for you as well.

A fork of Firefox, focused on privacy, security and freedom.

LibreWolf is indeed more private than Firefox as it removes all the telemetry Firefox has pre-configured.

LibreWolf is designed to minimize data collection and telemetry as much as possible. This is achieved through hundreds of privacy/security/performance settings and patches. Intrusive integrated addons including updater, crashreporter, and pocket are removed too.

Docs — LibreWolf Browser

An independent fork of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy security and user freedom. It is the community-run successor to LibreFox.

LibreWolfLibreWolf Community

When you look a little deeper into the docs of LibreWold you learn a few more things.

• Extensions firewall: limits internet access for extensions.
• IJWY (I Just Want You To Shut Up): embedded server links and other calling home functions are removed. In other words, zero unauthorized or background connections by default.
• User settings updates: gHacks/pyllyukko base is kept up to date.

Let's be clear, LibreWolf is a Firefox fork, and that usually means security updates are usually a little behind when it comes to the mother project Firefox. However, LibreWolf is pretty swift when it comes to such patches and also addresses that on the website

LibreWolf is always built from the latest Firefox stable source, for up-to-date security and features along with stability.

The search engine pre-selected is not Google (as on FireFox) but DuckDuckGo, other privacy-focused search engines are pre-installed for selection. Including Searx, Quant and a few others.  

uBlock origin is pre-installed in the setup. You can install any Mozilla Firefox add-on by simply visiting the Firefox extension website.

LibreWolf has also an extension firewall and other security improvements included, without sacrificing usability.

LibreWolf works on Linux, Windows and macOS.

Installation — LibreWolf Browser

An independent fork of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy security and user freedom. It is the community-run successor to LibreFox.

LibreWolfLibreWolf Community

I use this browser as my daily drive and really enjoy the way it works. It has no trackers or telemetry whatsoever, which makes it a great browser when it comes to privacy. You can add encrypted DNS in Settings -> Network Settings -> Enable DNS over HTTPS and add your provider of choice.

Stay secure and stay safe...happy browsing!