Waterfox

Last updated

Waterfox
Original author Alexandros Kontos
Developers Alexandros Kontos, BrowserWorks Ltd.
Initial release27 March 2011;14 years ago (2011-03-27)
Stable release
6.6.6 [1] / 9 December 2025;12 days ago (9 December 2025)
Preview release
G6.0 Beta 5 / September 14, 2023;2 years ago (2023-09-14)
Repository
Written in C, C++, CSS, JavaScript, XUL
Engine Gecko, SpiderMonkey
Operating system
Platform x64, ARM64, PPC64LE
Type Web browser, mobile web browser, feed reader
License MPL-2.0
Website www.waterfox.com   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

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. [2] There are official Waterfox releases for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. [3] [4] It was created in 2012 to provide official 64-bit support when Firefox was only available for 32-bit systems. [5]

Contents

Divisions

Waterfox

Waterfox shares core features and technologies like the Gecko browser engine [6] and support for Firefox Add-ons [7] with Firefox. It is also compatible with Google Chrome and Opera extensions. [2] It disables telemetry by default, which is present in Firefox builds. However, it collects technical information about the user's device to update properly. [5]

Waterfox Classic

Waterfox Classic was a version of the browser based on an older version of the Gecko engine that supported legacy XUL and XPCOM add-on capabilities that Firefox removed in version 57. [8] [9] It was partially maintained with fixes and patches from Waterfox and Firefox ESR releases. However, its development had been separated due to several changes from Waterfox that were otherwise inapplicable, [10] and with its final published release in November 2022 it is effectively discontinued as of 2025.

Vulnerabilities

Waterfox Classic has multiple unpatched security advisories. The developer states that "changes between versions so numerous between ESRs making merging difficult if not impossible". [11] [10]

History

Waterfox was first released by Alex Kontos [12] [5] on 27 March 2011 for 64-bit Windows. The macOS build was introduced on 14 May 2015 with the release of version 38.0, [13] the Linux build was introduced on 20 December 2016 with the release of version 50.0, [14] and an Android build was first introduced on 10 October 2017 in version 55.2.2. [15]

From 22 July 2015 to 12 November 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. [16] [17] [18]

In December 2019, System1, an advertising company which portrays itself as privacy-focused, [19] acquired Waterfox. [20] [21] In July 2023, Alex Kontos announced that Waterfox had been turned into an independent project again. [22]

An Android release of the browser was made available via the Google Play Store in November 2023. [23]

In April 2025, Waterfox launched a privacy-friendly metasearch engine, using Google's search results. [24]

Logos

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Release 6.6.6". 9 December 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 "What Is Waterfox and Is It Safe?". MUO. 13 September 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Waterfox, Free Web Browser". www.waterfox.net. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Waterfox: Privacy Web Browser - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Proven, Liam. "Waterfox: A Firefox fork that could teach Mozilla a lesson". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "FAQ". www.waterfox.net. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Find and install add-ons to add features to Waterfox". www.waterfox.net. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  8. ↑ Kev Needham (21 August 2015). "The Future of Developing Firefox Add-ons". blog.mozilla.org. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  9. ↑ Villalobos, Jorge (16 February 2017). "The Road to Firefox 57 – Compatibility Milestones". blog.mozilla.org. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Waterfox Classic development will continue, but as a separate project from G4". ghacks.net. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "Unpatched Security Advisories · BrowserWorks/Waterfox-Classic Wiki". GitHub.
  12. ↑ "About Waterfox". www.waterfox.net. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  13. ↑ Kontos, Alex. "Waterfox 38.0 Release". www.waterfoxproject.org. Archived from the original on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  14. ↑ Kontos, Alex. "Waterfox 50.1.0 Release (Windows, Mac & Linux)". www.waterfoxproject.org. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  15. ↑ Kontos, Alex. "Waterfox 55 Release (Windows, Mac, Linux and Android)". www.waterfoxproject.org. Archived from the original on 21 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  16. ↑ Kontos, Alex (12 May 2015). "4 Year Anniversary: Waterfox Charity and Storm Search". www.waterfoxproject.org. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  17. ↑ "New search engine from Waterfox founder aims to take a punch at Google". www.telegraph.co.uk. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  18. ↑ Lake, Howard (7 August 2015). "'Ethical search engine' Storm to generate funds for charities". UK Fundraising. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  19. ↑ Brinkmann, Martin (14 February 2020). "Waterfox web browser sold to System1". ghacks.net. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "Waterfox has joined System1". www.waterfox.net. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  21. ↑ "Welcome Waterfox!". www.system1.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  22. ↑ Kontos, Alex (3 July 2023). "A New Chapter for Waterfox". www.waterfox.net. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  23. ↑ Eswarlu, Venkat (30 November 2023). "Firefox fork Waterfox is now available for Android with strict privacy defaults". MSPowerUser.
  24. ↑ Brinkmann, Martin (1 May 2025). "Waterfox Private Search: a first look at the privacy-friendly search engine". Chipp.in Tech News and Reviews. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
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