Arkenfox is simply a set of configuration you can (and should) apply yourself onto a clean Firefox installation.

A fork means taking the source code and modifying it directly, not providing an alternative configuration file.

Arkenfox is not a fork FYI

Hosting data yourself wouldn’t be required, but it would become an option.

You’d have the option of leaving your identity on your home server, or a separate domain/website, or host your data and identity but use another instance to federate.

Though, designing UX for this will be an interesting challenge.

I think Whoogle does that?

use Tor Browser.

If your concern is fingerprinting, that is undeniably the best there is out of the box.

If you want Tor Browser without having to use the Tor Network, Mullvad is basically just that; Tor Browser without the Network.

What exactly does Google have left that people like? Gmail?

Nope, not GMail either, even GMail has ads now.

yes but active usage doesnt mean it was not used?

If their criteria was “at least 1 person uses it at all, sometimes” then it would not have been removed 🤔

likely no maintenance effort at all.

The maintenance comes less from the code and more from making sure that every single menu added or changed in any way continues to behave correctly in three different sizes with themes and everything.

It’s hidden away behind a flag now because it hasn’t been actively used for years on end.

Not the other way around.

It is essentially just extra maintenance of a feature in Firefox that (statistically) not many people use

As such, it’s marked as “unsupported” to make clear that if any issues arise, Mozilla won’t help you with those issues.

SimpleX is quite a promising project, uses Double Ratchet End-to-End-Encryption (from Signal), and has a very interesting protocol and model to provide quite strong metadata protection, especially in regards to whom you talk to and groups you’re in.

If your threat model requires exceptionally strong Metadata protection, SimpleX is probably going to be your go-to

Though, for a more lenient threat model, where still good, but less laser-focused metadata protection is enough, Signal will probably do just fine.

Personally I use Signal, but I also have a SimpleX Profile, an XMPP Account and Matrix. (preferred in that order)

The “NO AI” clause is conditional, though.

As mentioned in their FAQ, they will reverse that rule when it is “viable in terms of data privacy and ethicality”

unless the rampant ethical and data privacy issues around datasets are resolved via regulation.

Whilst they aren’t VC-Backed, their servers already had to do nearly 10 upgrades, their “AI Detection” is backed by another, third-party AI, and it’s not transparent what said service is.

And to top it off, it’s a closed ecosystem. You upload your art there, and either Cara dies one day and your following is gone, or they change their policies, leadership or anything else, at which point everyone will have to move again

it’s yet another case where the Fediverse and other Federated networks address the core issue that lead to this disaster - content ownership - better than systems like these do. I’m not hopeful for Cara.

Yes, they self-implemented that.

So unlike Heliboard, you don’t need to import Google’s Swypelibs.

Its great, same as their standalone Speech-To-Text Application.

NPUs existed before recall and have other uses apart from that.

Generally, if your admin set something like that up, they will have instructions in their privacy policy.

Just FYI, SearX is dead. Long live SearXNG

Codeberg, woo!

It’s not a traditional matrix client mind you, and when I say “Matrix First” I mean architecturally.

Yes.

After their plan of starting with local iMessage and expanding later didn’t turn out well, they turned it around. Start with Matrix, add local bridges later.

The current application is based on the Beeper Mini codebase, is Matrix-First and will soon allow you to use local bridges to better preserve E2EE. As seen by some MSCs opened up by the beeper team, they are also looking into encrypted chat backups with these local bridges.

atomic updates 🧠