Waterfox is a free and open-source web browser and fork of Firefox. It claims to be ethical and user-centric, emphasizing performance and privacy. There are official Waterfox releases for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It was initially created to provide official 64-bit support, back when Firefox was only available for 32-bit systems.
Divisions
Waterfox
Waterfox shares core features and technologies like the Gecko browser engine and support for Firefox Add-ons with Firefox. It is also compatible with Google Chrome and Opera extensions. It disables telemetry and Pocket by default, which are present in Firefox builds. However, it collects technical information about the user's device to update properly.
Waterfox Classic
Waterfox Classic is a version of the browser based on an older version of the Gecko engine that supports legacy XUL and XPCOM add-on capabilities that Firefox removed in version 57. It is still partially maintained with fixes and patches from Waterfox and Firefox ESR releases. However, its development has been separated due to several changes from Waterfox that are otherwise unapplicable.
Vulnerability
Waterfox Classic has multiple unpatched security advisories. The developer states that "changes between versions so numerous between ESRs making merging difficult if not impossible".
History
Waterfox was first released by Alex Kontos on March 27, 2011 for 64-bit Windows. The Mac build was introduced on May 14, 2015 with the release of version 38.0, the Linux build was introduced on December 20, 2016 with the release of version 50.0, and an Android build was first introduced on October 10, 2017 in version 55.2.2.
From July 22, 2015 to November 12, 2015, Waterfox had its own search-engine called "Storm" that would raise funds for charity and Waterfox. Storm was developed with over £2 million of investor funding and powered by Yahoo! Search.
In December 2019, System1, an advertising company which portrays itself as privacy-focused, acquired Waterfox. In July 2023, Alex Kontos announced that Waterfox had been turned into an independent project again.