Safari or Firefox- Should I stay or should I go?

Safari is my primary browser. I like how it synchs with my Mac, iPad and iPhone, and that all the data is kept in iCloud. And Safari is the only browser I have loaded on my iPad and iPhone. If I need to do a lot of work related research, I find Chrome gets results a little faster on my elderly Mac. Since the work stuff is business related, I don’t mind if Google tracks me; but I prefer they don’t know what type of underware I like.

I think Firefox is the clunkiest of the three.

There is one major problem with Safari not present in Firefox or Chrome.

You cannot spoof your GPS location in Safari. There are approved extensions in the Add-Ons for Firefox or Chrome.

Even with a solid VPN, many sites (especially streaming sites) demand you reveal your location.

So even if you are a paying subscriber, if you reveal your actual location you cannot watch the streaming content in English that you pay for when you are traveling outside the United States.

I didn’t know about GPS location spoofing. Could it create a problem in case I ever need to call 911 and need to be geolocated?

I use the ESR version of Firefox currently and have used Firefox from shortly after its first release. I’ve hated Safari since it was first released and only use it for certain Apple events which Apple refuses to allow be viewed on a different browser. I’m starting to look at Brave as a possible adjunct to Firefox. As for Chrome, remember that its raison d’etre is so Google can monetize its users.

So, I’d suggest you look at the main Firefox release with very frequent updates, the Firefox ESR (extended service release) with maybe 6 - 8 releases a year, and Brave (especially if you are very security conscious). But run, don’t walk away from Chrome!

Then after some use of the browser(s) above, compare them to your Safari experience.

Based on security isolation, I use Brave for random not-signed-in browsing, and Safari ONLY for sites that I use logged in.

Transition to Brave was astoundingly simple. “Import [stuff] from Chrome” worked like a charm, and in less than a minute I was up and operating as if I were still on Chrome – but without Google’s onerous tracking. I’ve been using it less than a week, and love it already.

I’d be very surprised, since we’re not really talking about GPS spoofing on a device like an iPhone with an actual GPS radio, but location-spoofing on a Mac, where your location is often determined by your IP address. And if you were using Wi-Fi calling, you set the emergency address for that manually in case your location can’t be determined.

Why don’t you use Brave for sites that require login?

I use mainly Safari because I can add links to the reading list via the share function on the iPhone which are synced for later reading on the Mac/iPad. I could not find a similar function OOTB in any other browser. Am I wrong?

Both Firefox and Chrome (and possibly Brave) have a Reading List feature that allows one to sync between all devices, via a login account.

l’ve been using iCab since it came out for Mac because you could configure and filter out so many things. Now that I use my iPad for most browsing l use the iOS version which is a bit less versatile. As iPads seem to have become less popular, many sites serve you a horrible iPhone vision of their site, something you can get around often with iCab.

I use Safari as my “Logged-in” browser since I can use KeyChain. I use Brave as my random searches and non-logged browser.

I don’t use 1Pass or the other password savers, just iCloud KeyChain.

I would never trust Apple with my passwords.

Here’s why. If somehow your 6 digit unlock code is compromised, a bad actor can use just the 6 digit unlock code to change your Apple ID password. If they have your Mac and your iPhone, the password change lets them have full access to your iCloud Keychain.

Sounds bizarre, but I was robbed by a so-called friend who after drugging me, took everything. I was locked out of my Apple ID for 32 days, because Apple uses my credit card on file as one of two factors to recover and change my password.

Well, they stole my credit and debit cards too. So when Apple uses the Financial Services Network to validate the card on file, it is not valid since I reported the cards stolen right away.

Anything you get for free generally has no value. I’ve used 1Password for years and it is very difficult if not impossible for a bad actor to compromise. Plus great support. And features like identifying re-used passwords, easy to guess passwords or passwords compromised in a data breach.

Their Password Generator can be set up to use random letters and numbers, with or without symbols or capitalized letters. Or you can generate two, three or more random words separated by hyphens or periods.

They even have a letter you can print out and leave with your will, so if you die, your next of kin can access your accounts.

Apple will unlock keychain upon presentation of a death certificate and a long wait, at least 30 days, more often more.

Open your wallet and buy 1Password. You won’t regret it.

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