Key findings
- Floorp is a customizable Firefox-based browser with features like sidebars, workspaces, and vertical tabs for organization and convenience.
- Privacy is at the heart of it, with anti-tracking measures and the recommendation to install uBlock Origin for additional protection.
- Although Floorp is a lesser-known browser in active development, it offers a unique and stable browsing experience with extensive customization options.
There are so many browsers you can install, but one of the best I have been using lately is Floorp. It is a fork of Firefox that is completely open source and combines the best features of Vivaldi and the best features of Firefox, resulting in a fantastic hybrid that is a pleasure to use. Although browsers are personal by nature, I believe that everyone has at least attempt Give Floorp a try. It helps that it's based on Mozilla's Gecko rendering engine, so you won't be affected by the Manifest V3 stuff either. It's also based on Firefox's ESR channel.
Floorp is still in active development and some users have reported that it can be buggy or clunky. I've been using it for a few days and haven't encountered any issues that I wouldn't have noticed elsewhere, but it's worth keeping in mind and paying attention to if you're sensitive to it. However, these are some of the fantastic features of Floorp that I've enjoyed.
Floorp runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, but some of the features like Progressive Web Apps currently only work on Windows. I have used it on both Windows and Mac with no issues.
Bodenp
Floorp is a Firefox-based browser with numerous customization options that combines the best of Firefox and Vivaldi.
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5 Side panels
Open other websites while browsing
Have you ever wanted to quickly access another website in a smaller window while still browsing the site you're currently on? Vivaldi has a feature that does just that, and so does Floorp. Essentially, it can open a window to any website you add to the sidebar and integrate it as part of your screen without distracting from what you're currently looking at.
It's useful for several reasons, the most important being that you can quickly access things like Google Translate or even your calendar. It has a built-in “Floorp Notes” option so you can also quickly take notes while browsing, which makes it even better.
4 Customizable tabs (including vertical tabs)
A great customization feature
Currently, there are very few ways to get vertical tabs in a browser, and one of the few browsers that supports them natively is Edge. There are extensions for Chromium-based browsers that may or may not work, and you can use some hacks to get them working with Firefox as well. Vivaldi at least has vertical tabs, but this is another feature that fits with something Vivaldi also has.
I like having vertical tabs because it makes it easier to see the names of the pages I have open and I can scroll up and down when I have a lot of tabs. You can also create a container tab to hide some of them when you don't need them at the moment, which is great for organization.
All supported tab types are the following:
- Normal tabs
- Hide horizontal tab bar
- Vertical tabs
- Show tabs at the bottom of the window
- Show tabs below the toolbar
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3 Work areas
Separate your work
Floorp has another great option that I haven't really seen in many other browsers, and that is workspaces. Essentially, it's a way to quickly switch from one set of tabs to another, meaning you could have, for example, a “work” workspace and a “social media” workspace. This can help you stay on topic, or can just help you get more organized.
This feature is also available in Vivaldi and works in the same way.
2 Privacy
As with any good browser, data protection is the focus
If you're worried about being tracked online, a good browser these days will take measures to prevent it. Floorp is pretty strong in its anti-tracking stance and one developer (who is very active on Reddit addressing user concerns and questions) has previously said: “All of our developers, including me, are Japanese students. We don't work under the direction of the school, so if we collect your personal information, we won't be able to further use it.” Although the developer has recommended users who care about privacy to use Tor browser and the like instead, that doesn't mean that steps haven't been taken to protect users.
For example, no data is collected from users and the options to enable tracking are disabled in Floorp. Additionally, Floorp recommends installing uBlock Origin in the privacy and security section of the browser if you want extra security. While it's a small thing, seeing something like this in the settings is great, and the developers acknowledging that they're using a relatively unknown browser and telling users not to just trust any browser is a refreshing change.
Additionally, you can launch “container” tabs, which are basically launched in a separate environment where they can only access data on a separate basis. Other tabs have no access to what happens in those containers. It's kind of like browsing in private mode, except you can switch between tabs normally, knowing that only tabs in the same container can see and access that data.
Finally, running a privacy test with a completely bare-bones Floorp browser (with no extensions or changes to default settings) also produced some pretty fantastic results.
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1 Adjustment
So many possibilities
While we have already talked about the customization options for tabs, Floorp offers a lot of customization options generally. Virtually every aspect of the interface can be tweaked and changed, and you can really make it your own. There are also theme options where you can download new themes or use one of the themes that come with the browser.
Once you install the browser, you'll have several options to choose from. From features to design, there's a lot you can change right away. By default, you get a pretty standard browsing experience, but if you look into the details, you can really make this browser your own. It's an incredible amount of customization and I'm surprised at how stable it really is considering how much can be changed.