This is a timeline of web browsers from 1990 to the present. Prior to browsers, many technologies and systems existed for information viewing and transmission. For an in-depth history of earlier web browsers, see the web browser article.
The following table chronicles the major release dates during the 1990s for the more popular web browsers.
1990 | WorldWideWeb (Nexus) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Lynx | |||||
Jan | ||||||
Feb | ||||||
Mar | 2.0* | |||||
Apr | ||||||
May | ||||||
Jun | ||||||
Jul | 2.0.10 | |||||
Aug | 2.0.11 | |||||
Sep | ||||||
Oct | ||||||
Nov | 2.0.12 | |||||
Dec | 2.1 | |||||
1994 | Lynx | Mosaic Netscape | Opera | |||
Jan | ||||||
Feb | 2.2 | |||||
Mar | ||||||
Apr | ||||||
May | 2.3 | |||||
Jun | ||||||
Jul | ||||||
Aug | ||||||
Sep | ||||||
Oct | 0.9* | |||||
Nov | 1.0β* | |||||
Dec | 1.0 | |||||
1995 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | ||
Jan | ||||||
Feb | ||||||
Mar | 1.1 | |||||
Apr | 1.0 | |||||
May | ||||||
Jun | 2.4 | |||||
Jul | ||||||
Aug | 1.22 | 1.0* | ||||
Sep | ||||||
Oct | ||||||
Nov | 2.0 | |||||
Dec | ||||||
1996 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Mac IE | |
Jan | 2.0B* | |||||
Feb | ||||||
Mar | 2.0 | |||||
Apr | 2.0 | 2.0 | ||||
May | 2.5 | |||||
Jun | ||||||
Jul | ||||||
Aug | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.1 | |||
Sep | 2.6 | |||||
Oct | ||||||
Nov | ||||||
Dec | 2.10 | |||||
1997 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Mac IE | |
Jan | 3.0 | |||||
Feb | 2.7 | |||||
Mar | ||||||
Apr | ||||||
May | ||||||
Jun | 4.0 | |||||
Jul | ||||||
Aug | ||||||
Sep | ||||||
Oct | 4.0 | |||||
Nov | ||||||
Dec | 3.0 | |||||
1998 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Mac IE | |
Jan | 4.0 | |||||
Feb | ||||||
Mar | 2.8 | |||||
Apr | ||||||
May | ||||||
Jun | ||||||
Jul | ||||||
Aug | ||||||
Sep | ||||||
Oct | 2.8.1 | 4.5 | ||||
Nov | 3.5 | |||||
Dec | ||||||
1999 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Mac IE | Mozilla |
Jan | 4.5 | |||||
Feb | ||||||
Mar | 5.0 | M3* | ||||
Apr | ||||||
May | ||||||
Jun | 2.8.2 | |||||
Jul | ||||||
Aug | ||||||
Sep | ||||||
Oct | ||||||
Nov | ||||||
Dec |
The following table chronicles the major release dates during the 2000s for the more popular web browsers.
2000 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Mac IE | Mozilla | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan | |||||||||||
Feb | |||||||||||
Mar | 5.0† [1] | ||||||||||
Apr | 2.8.3 | ||||||||||
May | |||||||||||
Jun | 4.0 | ||||||||||
Jul | 5.5 | ||||||||||
Aug | 5.6 | ||||||||||
Sep | |||||||||||
Oct | |||||||||||
Nov | 6.0 | ||||||||||
Dec | 5.0 | 0.6 | |||||||||
2001 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Mozilla | ||||||
Jan | 0.7 | ||||||||||
Feb | 0.8 | ||||||||||
Mar | |||||||||||
Apr | |||||||||||
May | 0.9 | ||||||||||
Jun | |||||||||||
Jul | 2.8.4 | ||||||||||
Aug | 6.1 | ||||||||||
Sep | |||||||||||
Oct | 6.2 | 6.0 | |||||||||
Nov | 6.0 | ||||||||||
Dec | |||||||||||
2002 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Chimera | Mozilla | Phoenix | ||||
Jan | |||||||||||
Feb | 0.1* | ||||||||||
Mar | |||||||||||
Apr | 0.2 | ||||||||||
May | |||||||||||
Jun | 1.0 | ||||||||||
Jul | 0.4 | ||||||||||
Aug | 7.0 (& 4.8) | 1.1 | |||||||||
Sep | 6.0 SP1 | 0.5 | 0.1* | ||||||||
Oct | 0.4 | ||||||||||
Nov | 0.6 | 1.2 | |||||||||
Dec | 0.5 | ||||||||||
2003 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Camino | Mozilla | Firebird | Safari | Maxthon | ||
Jan | 7.0 | ||||||||||
Feb | |||||||||||
Mar | 0.7 | 1.3 | |||||||||
Apr | 7.1 | ||||||||||
May | 0.6 | ||||||||||
Jun | 7.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 | ||||||||
Jul | |||||||||||
Aug | |||||||||||
Sep | 7.2 | ||||||||||
Oct | 1.5 | 0.7 | |||||||||
Nov | |||||||||||
Dec | .9* | ||||||||||
2004 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Camino | Mozilla | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | ||
Jan | 1.6 | ||||||||||
Feb | 2.8.5 | 0.8 | |||||||||
Mar | |||||||||||
Apr | |||||||||||
May | 7.5 | ||||||||||
Jun | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | ||||||||
Jul | |||||||||||
Aug | 7.2 | 6.0 SP2 | |||||||||
Sep | 0.10 (PR) | 1.0* | |||||||||
Oct | |||||||||||
Nov | 1.0 | ||||||||||
Dec | |||||||||||
2005 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Camino | Mozilla SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | |
Jan | |||||||||||
Feb | |||||||||||
Mar | |||||||||||
Apr | 8.0 | 2.0 | |||||||||
May | 8.0 | ||||||||||
Jun | |||||||||||
Jul | |||||||||||
Aug | |||||||||||
Sep | 8.5 | SM 1.0α* | 1.5 | 3.0* | |||||||
Oct | |||||||||||
Nov | 1.5 | ||||||||||
Dec | |||||||||||
2006 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Camino | Mozilla SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | |
Jan | 8.1 | SM 1.0 | |||||||||
Feb | 1.0 | ||||||||||
Mar | |||||||||||
Apr | M. 1.7.13† [2] | ||||||||||
May | |||||||||||
Jun | 9.0 | ||||||||||
Jul | |||||||||||
Aug | |||||||||||
Sep | |||||||||||
Oct | 2.8.6 | 7.0 | 2.0 | ||||||||
Nov | 4.0 | ||||||||||
Dec | 9.1 | ||||||||||
2007 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Camino | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 1.1 | ||||||||||
Feb | |||||||||||
Mar | |||||||||||
Apr | 9.2 | ||||||||||
May | 1.6 | 1.0* [3] | |||||||||
Jun | 1.5 | 3.0 | |||||||||
Jul | 2.0 | ||||||||||
Aug | 1.1 [3] | ||||||||||
Sep | |||||||||||
Oct | 9.0 | ||||||||||
Nov | |||||||||||
Dec | |||||||||||
2008 | Lynx | Netscape | Opera | IE | Camino | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | |||||||||||
Feb | 9.0.0.6† [4] | ||||||||||
Mar | 3.1 | 1.2 [3] | |||||||||
Apr | 1.6 | ||||||||||
May | |||||||||||
Jun | 9.5 | 3.0 | |||||||||
Jul | |||||||||||
Aug | |||||||||||
Sep | 0.2.149.27* | ||||||||||
Oct | 9.6 | ||||||||||
Nov | |||||||||||
Dec | 1.0 | 2.5 | |||||||||
2009 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Camino | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | |||||||||||
Feb | |||||||||||
Mar | 8.0 | ||||||||||
Apr | 2.0 [3] | ||||||||||
May | 2.0 | 2.1 [3] | |||||||||
Jun | 3.5 | 4.0 | |||||||||
Jul | 2.8.7 | ||||||||||
Aug | |||||||||||
Sep | 3.0 | 10.0 | 5.1 | ||||||||
Oct | 2.0 | ||||||||||
Nov | 10.10 | 2.0 | |||||||||
Dec | 6.0 |
The following table chronicles the major release dates during the 2010s for the more popular web browsers.
2010 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Camino | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan | 4.0 | 3.6 | |||||||||
Feb | |||||||||||
Mar | 10.50 | ||||||||||
Apr | 6.1 | 2.5 [3] | |||||||||
May | 5.0 | ||||||||||
Jun | 4.1, 5.0 | ||||||||||
Jul | 10.60 | 6.2 | |||||||||
Aug | 6.3 | ||||||||||
Sep | 6.0 | 3.0 [5] | 2.6 [3] | ||||||||
Oct | 7.0 | ||||||||||
Nov | |||||||||||
Dec | 8.0 | 11.0 | |||||||||
2011 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Camino | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 6.4 | ||||||||||
Feb | 9.0 | ||||||||||
Mar | 10.0 | 9.0 | 4.0 | ||||||||
Apr | 11.0 | 11.10 | 2.7 [3] | ||||||||
May | 6.5 | ||||||||||
Jun | 12.0 | 11.50 | 2.1 | 5.0 | 3.1 [6] | ||||||
Jul | 2.2 | 5.1 | |||||||||
Aug | 13.0 | 6.0 | |||||||||
Sep | 14.0 | 2.4 | 7.0 | 2.8 [3] | |||||||
Oct | 15.0 | 3.2 [6] | |||||||||
Nov | 2.1 | 2.5 | 8.0 | ||||||||
Dec | 16.0 | 11.60 | 2.6 | 9.0 | 3.3 [6] | ||||||
2012 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Camino | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 2.7 | 10.0 | |||||||||
Feb | 17.0 | ||||||||||
Mar | 18.0 | 2.1.2† [7] [8] | 2.8 | 11.0 | |||||||
Apr | 2.9 | 12.0 | 6.7 | 2.9 [3] | |||||||
May | 19.0 | ||||||||||
Jun | 12.00 | 2.10 | 13.0 | 3.4 [6] | |||||||
Jul | 20.0 | 2.11 | 14.0 | 6.0 | |||||||
Aug | 21.0 | 2.12 | 15.0 | ||||||||
Sep | 22.0 | 6.8 | |||||||||
Oct | 10.0 | 2.13 | 16.0 | ||||||||
Nov | 23.0 | 12.10 | 2.14 | 17.0 | 3.5 [6] | ||||||
Dec | 4.0 [9] | ||||||||||
2013 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf | |
Jan | 24.0 | 2.15 | 18.0 | ||||||||
Feb | 25.0 | 2.16 | 19.0 | ||||||||
Mar | 26.0 | ||||||||||
Apr | 12.15 | 2.17 | 20.0 | 3.0 [3] | |||||||
May | 27.0 | 21.0 | |||||||||
Jun | 22.0 | 4.1 [9] | |||||||||
Jul | 28.0 | 15.0 | 2.19 | ||||||||
Aug | 29.0 | 2.20 | 23.0 | ||||||||
Sep | 16.0 | 2.21 | 24.0 | ||||||||
Oct | 30.0 | 17.0 | 11.0 | 2.22 | 25.0 | 7.0 | |||||
Nov | 31.0 | 18.0 | 4.2 [9] | ||||||||
Dec | 2.23 | 26.0 | |||||||||
2014 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf | |
Jan | 32.0 | 19.0 | |||||||||
Feb | 2.8.8 | 33.0 | 2.24 | 27.0 | 4.3 [9] | ||||||
Mar | 20.0 | 2.25 | 28.0 | ||||||||
Apr | 34.0 | 29.0 | 4.4 [9] | 3.1 [3] | |||||||
May | 35.0 | 21.0 | 2.26 | ||||||||
Jun | 22.0 | 30.0 | |||||||||
Jul | 36.0 | 23.0 | 31.0 | 6.9 | |||||||
Aug | 37.0 | 3.2 [3] | |||||||||
Sep | 24.0 | 32.0 | 7.1 | ||||||||
Oct | 38.0 | 25.0 | 2.30 | 33.0 | 8.0 | ||||||
Nov | 39.0 | ||||||||||
Dec | 26.0 | 34.0 | |||||||||
2015 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 40.0 | 2.32 | 35.0 | ||||||||
Feb | 27.0 | 36.0 | |||||||||
Mar | 41.0 | 28.0 | 2.33 [10] | 37.0 | 3.3 [3] | ||||||
Apr | 42.0 | 29.0 | |||||||||
May | 43.0 | 38.0 | |||||||||
Jun | 30.0 | ||||||||||
Jul | 44.0 | 20.10240 [11] | 39.0 | ||||||||
Aug | 31.0 | 40.0 | 6.10 | ||||||||
Sep | 45.0 | 32.0 | 2.38 [12] | 41.0 | 9.0 [13] | 6.11 | |||||
Oct | 46.0 [14] | 33.0 [15] | 4.4.8 [9] | ||||||||
Nov | 25.10586 [16] | 2.39 [17] | 42.0 | ||||||||
Dec | 47.0 [18] | 34.0 [19] | 43.0 [20] | ||||||||
2016 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 48.0 | 35.0 | 44.0 | 9.0.3 | 6.12 | ||||||
Feb | 4.9 [9] | 3.4 [3] | |||||||||
Mar | 49.0 | 36.0 | 2.40 [21] | 45.0 | 9.1 | ||||||
Apr | 50.0 | 46.0 | 6.13 | 3.5 [3] | |||||||
May | 51.0 | 37.0 | 6.14 | ||||||||
Jun | 38.0 | 47.0 | |||||||||
Jul | 52.0 | ||||||||||
Aug | 53.0 | 39.0 | 38.14393 | 48.0 | |||||||
Sep | 40.0 [22] | 49.0 [23] | 10.0 [24] | ||||||||
Oct | 54.0 [25] | 41.0 [26] | 11.0.36 [27] | 4.9.4 [9] 5.0 [28] | |||||||
Nov | 50.0 | 6.15.0 [29] | 3.6 [3] | ||||||||
Dec | 55.0 | 42.0 | 2.46 | ||||||||
2017 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 56.0 | 51.0 | 10.1 | ||||||||
Feb | 43.0 | ||||||||||
Mar | 57.0 | 44.0 | 11.0.40 | 52.0 | |||||||
Apr | 58.0 | 40.15063 | 53.0 | ||||||||
May | 45.0 | ||||||||||
Jun | 59.0 | 46.0 | 11.0.43 | 54.0 | |||||||
Jul | 60.0 | 2.48 | 5.1 [30] | ||||||||
Aug | 47.0 | 55.0 | |||||||||
Sep | 61.0 | 48.0 | 11.0.46 | 41.16299 | 56.0 | 11.0 | |||||
Oct | 62.0 | 3.7 [3] | |||||||||
Nov | 49.0 | 2.49 | 57.0 | ||||||||
Dec | 63.0 | ||||||||||
2018 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 64.0 | 50.0 | 58.0 | ||||||||
Feb | 51.0 | 6.15.2 [31] | |||||||||
Mar | 65.0 | 52.0 | 11.0.56 | 59.0 | 5.2 [30] | ||||||
Apr | 66.0 | 42.17134 | |||||||||
May | 67.0 | 53.0 | 2.49.3 | 60.0 | |||||||
Jun | 54.0 | 61.0 | |||||||||
Jul | 2.8.9 [32] | 68.0 | 2.49.4 | ||||||||
Aug | 55.0 | 3.8 [3] | |||||||||
Sep | 69.0 | 56.0 | 62.0 | 12.0 [33] | |||||||
Oct | 70.0 | 44.17763 | 63.0 | ||||||||
Nov | 57.0 | ||||||||||
Dec | 71.0 | 64.0 | 12.0.2 [34] | ||||||||
2019 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
Jan | 72.0 | 58.0 | 11.0.105 [35] | 65.0 | |||||||
Feb | |||||||||||
Mar | 73.0 | 66.0 | 5.2.7 [30] | ||||||||
Apr | 74.0 | 60.0 | |||||||||
May | 44.18362 | 67.0 | |||||||||
Jun | 75.0 | 62.0 | |||||||||
Jul | 76.0 | 68.0 | 3.9 [3] | ||||||||
Aug | 63.0 | ||||||||||
Sep | 77.0 | 44.18362.387.0 | 2.49.5 | 69.0 | 13.0 | ||||||
Oct | 78.0 | 64.0 | 11.0.155 [36] | 70.0 | 5.3.8 [30] | ||||||
Nov | 65.0 | ||||||||||
Dec | 79.0 | 71.0 |
The following table chronicles the major release dates during the 2020s for the more popular web browsers.
2020 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | IE | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan | 66.0 | 11.0.170 | 79.0 | 72.0 | |||||||
Feb | 80.0 | 67.0 | 80.0 | 2.53.1 | 73.0 | ||||||
Mar | 74.0 | 13.1 | |||||||||
Apr | 81.0 | 68.0 | 81.0 | 75.0 | |||||||
May | 83.0 | 83.0 | 2.53.2 | 76.0 | 3.10 [3] | ||||||
Jun | 69.0 | 77.0 | |||||||||
Jul | 84.0 | 70.0 | 84.0 | 2.53.3 | 79.0 | ||||||
Aug | 85.0 | 85.0 | 80.0 | ||||||||
Sep | 2.9.0dev.6 [37] | 71.0 | 11.0.210† | 2.53.4 | 81.0 | 14.0 | |||||
Oct | 86.0 | 72.0 | 86.0 | 82.0 | |||||||
Nov | 87.0 | 87.0 | 2.53.5 | 83.0 | 6.1.0 [38] | ||||||
Dec | 73.0 | 84.0 | 14.0.2 [39] | ||||||||
2021 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf | |
Jan | 88.0 | 88.0 | 2.53.6 | 85.0 | |||||||
Feb | 74.0 | 86.0 | |||||||||
Mar | 89.0 | 75.0 | 89.0 | 2.53.7 | 87.0 | ||||||
Apr | 90.0 | 76.0 | 90.0 | 88.0 | |||||||
May | 91.0 | 91.0 | |||||||||
Jun | 77.0 | 2.53.8 | 89.0 | ||||||||
Jul | 92.0 | 92.0 | 2.53.8.1 | 90.0 | |||||||
Aug | 93.0 | 78.0 | 93.0 | 2.53.9 | 91.0 | ||||||
Sep | 94.0 | 79.0 | 94.0 | 2.53.9.1 | 92.0 | 15.0 | |||||
Oct | 95.0 | 80.0 | 95.0 | 93.0 | |||||||
Nov | 96.0 | 81.0 | 96.0 | 2.53.10 | 94.0 | ||||||
Dec | 82.0 | 2.53.10.2 | 95.0 | ||||||||
2022 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf | |
Jan | 97.0 | 83.0 | 97.0 | 96.0 | |||||||
Feb | 98.0 | 84.0 | 98.0 | 97.0 | |||||||
Mar | 99.0 | 85.0 | 99.0 | 2.53.11 | 98.0 | 15.4 | |||||
Apr | 101.0 | 86.0 | 101.0 | 99.0 | |||||||
May | 102.0 | 87.0 | 102.0 | 2.53.12 | 101.0 | ||||||
Jun | 103.0 | 88.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 | |||||||
Jul | 104.0 | 89.0 | 2.53.13 | 103.0 | |||||||
Aug | 105.0 | 90.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 | |||||||
Sep | 106.0 | 91.0 | 105.0 | 2.53.14 | 105.0 | 16.0 | |||||
Oct | 107.0 | 92.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 | |||||||
Nov | 108.0 | 93.0 | 107.0 | ||||||||
Dec | 94.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 | ||||||||
2023 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf | |
Jan | 109.0 | 109.0 | 2.53.15 | 109.0 | |||||||
Feb | 110.0 | 95.0 | 110.0 | 110.0 | |||||||
Mar | 111.0 | 97.0 | 111.0 | 2.53.16 | 111.0 | ||||||
Apr | 112.0 | 98.0 | 112.0 | 112.0 | |||||||
May | 114.0 | 99.0 | 113.0 | 113.0 | |||||||
Jun | 100.0 | 114.0 | 114.0 | ||||||||
Jul | 115.0 | 101.0 | 115.0 | 115.0 | 16.6 | ||||||
Aug | 116.0 | 102.0 | 116.0 | 2.53.17 | 117.0 | ||||||
Sep | 117.0 | 117.0 | 2.53.17.1 | 118.0 | 17.0 | ||||||
Oct | 118.0 | 104.0 | 118.0 | 119.0 | 17.1 | ||||||
Nov | 119.0 | 105.0 | 119.0 | 120.0 | |||||||
Dec | 120.0 | 106.0 | 120.0 | 2.53.18 | 121.0 | ||||||
2024 | Lynx | Chrome | Opera | Edge | SeaMonkey | Firefox | Safari | Maxthon | Lunascape | NetSurf | |
Jan | 121.0 | 121.0 | 122.0 | ||||||||
Feb | 122.0 | 107.0 | 122.0 | 123.0 | |||||||
Mar | 123.0 | 109.0 | 123.0 | 2.53.18.2 | 124.0 | ||||||
Apr | 124.0 | 124.0 | 125.0 | ||||||||
Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and anticipated web standards. Firefox is available for Windows 10 or later versions, macOS, and Linux. Its unofficial ports are available for various Unix and Unix-like operating systems, including FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, illumos, and Solaris Unix. It is also available for Android and iOS. However, as with all other iOS web browsers, the iOS version uses the WebKit layout engine instead of Gecko due to platform requirements. An optimized version is also available on the Amazon Fire TV as one of the two main browsers available with Amazon's Silk Browser.
A favicon, also known as a shortcut icon, website icon, tab icon, URL icon, or bookmark icon, is a file containing one or more small icons associated with a particular website or web page. A web designer can create such an icon and upload it to a website by several means, and graphical web browsers will then make use of it. Browsers that provide favicon support typically display a page's favicon in the browser's address bar and next to the page's name in a list of bookmarks. Browsers that support a tabbed document interface typically show a page's favicon next to the page's title on the tab, and site-specific browsers use the favicon as a desktop icon.
A browser war is a competition for dominance in the usage share of web browsers. The "first browser war" (1995–2001) consisted of Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, and the "second browser war" (2004-2017) between Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome.
This is a comparison of both historical and current web browsers based on developer, engine, platform(s), releases, license, and cost.
Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) is a deprecated application programming interface (API) for web browser plugins, initially developed for Netscape Navigator 2.0 in 1995 and subsequently adopted by other browsers.
A JavaScript engine is a software component that executes JavaScript code. The first JavaScript engines were mere interpreters, but all relevant modern engines use just-in-time compilation for improved performance.
A browser extension is a software module for customizing a web browser. Browsers typically allow users to install a variety of extensions, including user interface modifications, cookie management, ad blocking, and the custom scripting and styling of web pages.
Private browsing, also known as incognito mode or private mode, is a feature available in web browsers that allows users to browse the internet without leaving any traces of their online activity on their device. In this mode, the browser initiates a temporary session separate from its main session and user data. The browsing history is not recorded, and local data related to the session, like Cookies and Web cache, are deleted once the session ends. The primary purpose of these modes is to ensure that data and history from a specific browsing session do not remain on the device or get accessed by another user of the same device.
Lunascape is a web browser developed by Lunascape Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. It is unusual in that it contains three rendering engines: Gecko, WebKit, and Trident. This feature is common only to the Avant web browser. The user can switch between layout engines seamlessly.
The following is a comparison of RSS feed aggregators. Often e-mail programs and web browsers have the ability to display RSS feeds. They are listed here, too.
The Web Open Font Format (WOFF) is a font format for use in web pages. WOFF files are OpenType or TrueType fonts, with format-specific compression applied and additional XML metadata added. The two primary goals are first to distinguish font files intended for use as web fonts from fonts files intended for use in desktop applications via local installation, and second to reduce web font latency when fonts are transferred from a server to a client over a network connection.
SPDY is an obsolete open-specification communication protocol developed for transporting web content. SPDY became the basis for HTTP/2 specification. However, HTTP/2 diverged from SPDY and eventually HTTP/2 subsumed all usecases of SPDY. After HTTP/2 was ratified as a standard, major implementers, including Google, Mozilla, and Apple, deprecated SPDY in favor of HTTP/2. Since 2021, no modern browser supports SPDY.
The HTML5 specification introduced the video element for the purpose of playing videos, partially replacing the object element. HTML5 video is intended by its creators to become the new standard way to show video on the web, instead of the previous de facto standard of using the proprietary Adobe Flash plugin, though early adoption was hampered by lack of agreement as to which video coding formats and audio coding formats should be supported in web browsers. As of 2020, HTML5 video is the only widely supported video playback technology in modern browsers, with the Flash plugin being phased out.
BrowserChoice.eu was a website created by Microsoft in March 2010 following a decision in the European Union Microsoft competition case. The case involved legal proceedings by the European Union against Microsoft and found that, by including Internet Explorer with their market-dominant Windows operating system, Microsoft had used this dominance to create a similar market position in the web browser market. The BrowserChoice.eu website was created to allow users that had not made, or were unaware of, a choice to try other browsers, and thus comply with the European Commission's ruling.
WebM is an audiovisual media file format. It is primarily intended to offer a royalty-free alternative to use in the HTML5 video and the HTML5 audio elements. It has a sister project, WebP, for images. The development of the format is sponsored by Google, and the corresponding software is distributed under a BSD license.
Content Security Policy (CSP) is a computer security standard introduced to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS), clickjacking and other code injection attacks resulting from execution of malicious content in the trusted web page context. It is a Candidate Recommendation of the W3C working group on Web Application Security, widely supported by modern web browsers. CSP provides a standard method for website owners to declare approved origins of content that browsers should be allowed to load on that website—covered types are JavaScript, CSS, HTML frames, web workers, fonts, images, embeddable objects such as Java applets, ActiveX, audio and video files, and other HTML5 features.
HTML5 Audio is a subject of the HTML5 specification, incorporating audio input, playback, and synthesis, as well as in the browser.
uBlock Origin is a free and open-source browser extension for content filtering, including ad blocking. The extension is available for Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Opera, Pale Moon, as well as versions of Safari prior to 13. uBlock Origin has received praise from technology websites and is reported to be much less memory-intensive than other extensions with similar functionality. uBlock Origin's stated purpose is to give users the means to enforce their own (content-filtering) choices.