First off, a huge thank you to everyone who responded to my [last post] with suggestions and insights. The feedback was incredibly helpful.
Now, I’d like to focus on one specific challenge that’s still unresolved: my browser situation.
Currently, I’m using Brave as a temporary solution. It has vertical tabs and pinned sites, which I need, but it’s still Chromium-based. I want to move away from Google’s ecosystem, but I’m not willing to compromise on usability. If a browser can’t handle vertical tabs or DRM for streaming, it’s not a viable option for me.
What I Need
- Vertical tabs (non-negotiable; Arc spoiled me)
- No Chromium (Firefox-based or independent engine preferred)
- Functional DRM (yes, even on Linux—don’t judge me)
- Daily usability (no constant cookie purges, no janky workarounds)
What I’ve Tried
- Vivaldi & Zen Browser: Firefox-based, which I liked in theory. But DRM (Widevine) was a no-go, even with plugins. Linux + DRM is a known nightmare, but if someone has a functional setup, I’d love to hear about it.
- Mullvad Browser: Privacy-wise, it’s great, but the aggressive cookie-clearing makes it impractical for daily use.
What I Haven’t Tried (But Am Watching)
- Ladybird Browser: This could be the answer—if it ever becomes stable. If anyone’s tested recent builds, I’d love to hear how close it is to daily usability.
What I’m Looking For Now
Is there a browser out there that I’m missing?
One that balances privacy, usability, and my specific needs - without forcing me into a Chromium-based corner?
Specifically, I’d love to hear from people who’ve had success with:
- Firefox-based browsers (or others) that handle vertical tabs and DRM smoothly.
- General experiences with non-Chromium browsers - what’s your daily driver, and why?
If you’ve found a setup that works for you, I’d genuinely love to hear about it.
> thanks <
Vivaldi is chromium based tho?
I’m running on Librewolf and am able to watch netflix at least - only modification was to enable it in the settings somewhere iirc. I’ve seen other people recommend waterfox for more drm heavy streams. Otherwise check out the browser section on privacyguides.org
Vivaldi is chromium based tho?
Indeed. I must have mixed that up. Sorry. I’m going to to give Firefox itself a shot now. Still gotta check out Librewolf :)
Why not Firefox itself? It has built-in option for vertical tabs, or you can use the extension TreeStyleTabs which gives you even more options.
DRM works fine on Linux (at least it did last time I used Netflix, though that’s a while ago)There’s also Firefox derivatives like Waterfox and LibreWolf for a slightly different direction.
Yes, Netflix does work, but WOW sadly doesn’t.
Does World of Warcraft actually work on Chromium on Linux? I don’t think that’s even a DRM issue, but about compatibility. Either way, I’d be fine using a different browser for a game, it’s not like I need vertical tabs specifically for that.
Sorry, with WOW I meant the streaming service WOWtv. I think it was formerly known as Sky Ticket.
drm on linux to watch commercial services like prime or netflix sucks. there is no browser or linux distribution that will give the same level of drm that a closed system’s native browser can (edge on windows, chrome on android, safari on mac/ios).
you can still watch most anything, just perhaps not with as high a quality and you may need to fudge a ua string or something.
vertical tabs have been in firefox since ~ v136.
just use firefox. tweak settings as necessary for your ‘needs’, including enabling the drm which is disabled by default by most distributions.
Yeah, thanks :) I’m gonna give Firefox a shot now.
You should check out Waterfox https://www.waterfox.com/#why-waterfox
Librewolf, disable the cookie-clearing feature and enable the vertical tabs. Done
