How I’v Let Go of Chrome, Dodging The CLOUD Act And Seeking A Truly Ethical Desktop Browser

Where This All Started

For a while now, I’ve been using DuckDuckGo as my default search engine. It’s simple, it works, and I like that it doesn’t try to guess what I want or follow me around. But here’s the funny thing: even with DuckDuckGo set up, I kept falling back into old habits. On autopilot, I’d end up opening Chrome or Edge. Something about convenience, I guess.

It started to feel like I was whispering secrets to DuckDuckGo, then shouting them across the street through Google. Not ideal.

So I decided to finally stop messing around and look for a browser I could actually stand behind. Not just one that blocks ads or promises privacy in marketing copy, but something I could trust without needing to deep-dive into its settings or cross-check its privacy policy.

What I Wanted (and Needed)

As I started looking, I realized I had a pretty specific idea of what I was after. Some of it was about principle, some about practicality — but each part mattered.

No U.S. Jurisdiction

I wanted to stay out of reach of the CLOUD Act, which allows U.S. authorities to demand user data from companies under U.S. jurisdiction — even if the data is stored elsewhere.

That ruled out:

  • Chrome
  • Edge
  • Brave
  • Even Firefox (since Mozilla is U.S.-based)

Privacy by Default

I didn’t want to go digging through menus to make things private. I wanted a browser where privacy wasn’t optional — no telemetry, no background connections, no hidden toggles. Just quiet respect for the user.

Browsers that didn’t make it:

  • Firefox (still collects telemetry unless you disable it manually)
  • Vivaldi (has extra features I didn’t want, and some tracking too)

Fully Open-Source and Community-Driven

No corporate influence, no weird licensing. I was looking for something maintained by a community, not a company, with no profit motive pushing things behind the scenes.

That excluded:

  • Brave (crypto ad model)
  • Opera (ad-tech owned)
  • Vivaldi (not fully open-source at the UI layer)

Full Extension Support (Especially uBlock Origin)

This was a must. I rely on uBlock Origin, and I’m not giving it up.

But this is where things got complicated. With Manifest V3, Google is changing how extensions work in Chromium. It limits what blockers can do — especially dynamic filtering. Most Chromium-based browsers will be forced to comply, even if they don’t want to.

So that cut out:

  • Chrome
  • Edge
  • Brave
  • Ungoogled Chromium (even though it tries to delay the inevitable)

What Was Still Standing

After all that, only a few browsers were left in the running. Each had a specific strength, but also limitations.

Mullvad Browser
Built with the Tor Project. No telemetry, hardened setup, very strong on fingerprinting resistance. But no extension support, which makes it a bit too minimal for everyday use.

Tor Browser
Excellent for anonymity and escaping surveillance. But it’s slow, and many sites don’t load properly or block Tor outright. Great for specific use cases, not for daily browsing.

Zen Browser
A newer option with a nice minimalist UI, based on Firefox. It’s promising, but still early-stage. I’ll be watching how it develops — it’s not quite ready yet for me.

And the Winner Is…

🐺 LibreWolf

I almost missed this one. I’d heard the name floating around but hadn’t taken the time to try it. Turns out it was exactly what I’d been looking for.

LibreWolf is based on Firefox but completely stripped down. No Mozilla telemetry. No background pings. No Pocket. No Sync. No search engine deals. No nonsense.

It’s maintained by a global, independent community, not a company. And it ships with uBlock Origin out of the box.

  • ✅ Fully open-source
  • ✅ No ties to U.S. governance
  • ✅ Full extension support (not affected by Manifest V3)
  • ✅ Hardened privacy defaults
  • ✅ Doesn’t try to upsell, suggest, or track

It doesn’t try to be clever. It just works. And most importantly, it doesn’t try to know anything about me while doing it.

If you’ve been looking for a browser that aligns with your values — not just another app with a “privacy” sticker slapped on — this might be the one.

🐺 https://librewolf.net
No accounts. No telemetry. Just the browser.

(and I’m still using DuckDuckGo my mobile)