Hybrid working continues to increase in popularity and we’re seeing how data mismanagement is making huge headlines around the world. You just might be shocked to learn how so many people aren’t bothered about their privacy being disrupted while browsing.
And that’s why we’re seeing a decline in browsers that are designed keeping this privacy thought in mind.
A set of data has been put in the spotlight by a media outlet, who received details on the matter thanks to SimilarWeb which proved how some of the classic browsers out there like Opera and Mozilla Firefox are really facing roadblocks.
Let’s take a glance at Opera for instance. After looking at the traffic on the browser’s installation page, it delineated how June really proved to be worrisome. It was a point of great low, where figures decreased by a staggering 23% since 2022 began. Yes, gains were there but very minor. And Opera looked to be really declining in popularity for both old and new users.
But Firefox seems to have compared even worse than that. This might be related to its decision of introducing Mozilla VPN and a series of other privacy-related goods. Meanwhile, in August, we saw visits on the browser’s page fall by 7% this January. And then its share in the market also fell by 3.3%.
This type of raw data appears to dictate how Firefox is only getting around several 100,000 new users every month. Opera seems to be getting around 2 million. But then you’ve got market leaders like Chrome where figures go up to a staggering 3.1 billion.
It’s interesting to note how such findings are actually coinciding with those seen in Mozilla’s report that was published in September 2022. It accused search engine giant Google and a few other tech firms such as Apple and Microsoft of taking advantage of their leading position. And that made it awfully difficult for others to change browsers as these came as default.
And then we saw some battle lines get drawn in 2022 when the EU’s antitrust legislation went about pinpointing big tech giants for similar findings. Google was called out further when it failed to return billions of Euros in terms of anti-trust fines that were linked to the production of different services on Android.
This way, the search engine was able to manipulate others with its dominant position, as confirmed by a spokesperson in the General Court of EU. But it’s not just Google’s Chrome but even Edge by Microsoft that’s guilty of such behavior. They’re trading on the concept of brand recognition. Also, their fame as leading default options on different operating systems can be seen as is the case with Safari by Apple.
Mozilla’s report adds how default settings may really end up taking a toll on consumers that like to use options other than the usual default. Many aren’t even aware of how they can change the default settings.
And the reason being has also been outlined by Mozilla. It’s related to making huge profits made from collecting a user’s data. By this, we mean that although browsing is done for free, the data available is awfully valuable for firms linked to advertising businesses. Hence, it’s no major shock that such companies aren’t implementing the best anti-tracking forms of technology out there when it comes to their browsers.
But the study from SimliarWeb has also noted how Opera and Mozilla may be struggling lately, but there is also a great demand linked to having alternative browsers.
So yes, the big names are leading in the industry and they’re working great thanks to their brand recognition.
Read next: 52% of Americans Report Seeing More Ads on Facebook
And that’s why we’re seeing a decline in browsers that are designed keeping this privacy thought in mind.
A set of data has been put in the spotlight by a media outlet, who received details on the matter thanks to SimilarWeb which proved how some of the classic browsers out there like Opera and Mozilla Firefox are really facing roadblocks.
Let’s take a glance at Opera for instance. After looking at the traffic on the browser’s installation page, it delineated how June really proved to be worrisome. It was a point of great low, where figures decreased by a staggering 23% since 2022 began. Yes, gains were there but very minor. And Opera looked to be really declining in popularity for both old and new users.
But Firefox seems to have compared even worse than that. This might be related to its decision of introducing Mozilla VPN and a series of other privacy-related goods. Meanwhile, in August, we saw visits on the browser’s page fall by 7% this January. And then its share in the market also fell by 3.3%.
This type of raw data appears to dictate how Firefox is only getting around several 100,000 new users every month. Opera seems to be getting around 2 million. But then you’ve got market leaders like Chrome where figures go up to a staggering 3.1 billion.
It’s interesting to note how such findings are actually coinciding with those seen in Mozilla’s report that was published in September 2022. It accused search engine giant Google and a few other tech firms such as Apple and Microsoft of taking advantage of their leading position. And that made it awfully difficult for others to change browsers as these came as default.
And then we saw some battle lines get drawn in 2022 when the EU’s antitrust legislation went about pinpointing big tech giants for similar findings. Google was called out further when it failed to return billions of Euros in terms of anti-trust fines that were linked to the production of different services on Android.
This way, the search engine was able to manipulate others with its dominant position, as confirmed by a spokesperson in the General Court of EU. But it’s not just Google’s Chrome but even Edge by Microsoft that’s guilty of such behavior. They’re trading on the concept of brand recognition. Also, their fame as leading default options on different operating systems can be seen as is the case with Safari by Apple.
Mozilla’s report adds how default settings may really end up taking a toll on consumers that like to use options other than the usual default. Many aren’t even aware of how they can change the default settings.
And the reason being has also been outlined by Mozilla. It’s related to making huge profits made from collecting a user’s data. By this, we mean that although browsing is done for free, the data available is awfully valuable for firms linked to advertising businesses. Hence, it’s no major shock that such companies aren’t implementing the best anti-tracking forms of technology out there when it comes to their browsers.
But the study from SimliarWeb has also noted how Opera and Mozilla may be struggling lately, but there is also a great demand linked to having alternative browsers.
So yes, the big names are leading in the industry and they’re working great thanks to their brand recognition.
Read next: 52% of Americans Report Seeing More Ads on Facebook
