Waterfox

Built on the Mozilla platform, Waterfox is a Firefox derivative shipped with data collection and telemetry disabled. The repository carries Mozilla platform code alongside Waterfox product code, branding, features, packaging and release files, and it builds through the usual mach commands.

Privacy work goes past simply removing telemetry.

• Ad blocking: a built in desktop blocker stops adverts, trackers, pop ups and overlays before they load, with filter lists and site exceptions you manage yourself.
• Oblivious DNS: lookups are encrypted and passed through a relay, so the relay knows who asked but not what, and the resolver knows the query but not who sent it.
• Private tab: one private tab sits beside your normal ones in its own container, and its site data clears when you close the last one.

Customisation is the other half of the pitch. You choose the browser chrome design from Nova, Proton or Photon, pick a colour palette, switch between light and dark, and lay tabs out horizontally or vertically. Tree tabs branch the tab strip the way browsing itself branches.

Downloads cover Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, all free and open source.

Because the tree stays close to upstream, most Firefox development documentation still applies. Contributors can lean on the Firefox source docs for the shared build system, the testing tools and the platform code underneath.