Qutebrowser misses a point
Table of Contents
curl https://qutebrowser.org/doc/faq.html |
pandoc -fhtml -tasciidoc |
grep 'Why another' -A8
. _Why another browser?_ + It might be hard to believe, but I didn’t find any browser which I was happy with, so I started to write my own. Also, I needed a project to get into writing GUI applications with Python and https://www.qt.io/[Qt]/https://www.riverbankcomputing.com/software/pyqt/intro[PyQt]. + Read the next few questions to find out why I was unhappy with existing software.
I agree with him.
Previously I wrote telling it is better than Firefox, using it for a while and liking its declarative configuration, keyboard driven and clean interface, but after some use, I saw it misses a point, and I can't live with it.
The point
Qutebrowser doesn't supports regular browser extensions.
So blockers and tools for granular control, is not available, Qutebrowser doesn't provides a equivalent feature. Hosts blocking doesn't solves custom fingerprints implemented in the application APIs.
Personally I use below extensions to customize what script and feature of the browser will be enabled.
- uBlock Origin
- Plug-and-play request blocking. Blocks tracing endpoints with precision, without breaking websites.
- NoScript
- Fine-grained script, fetching, iframes and media blocking.
- JShelter
- Misused API warning, fake environment and behavior.
This might bring me a custom fingerprint because of the missing requests and features that are blocked, but I rather focus in block the observability of my usage and the persistent fingerprints generated from misused Web APIs.
Considered alternatives
I am testing Icecat, which is a cleaned version of Firefox. It's development is somewhat slower and community is smaller. It doesn't provides a keyboard-driven interface or a declarative unified configuration, but extensions can be installed via Guix, which is a good point.
If it's releases get too delayed, I have some options:
- Help with maintenance of it
- Consider another browser
- Workaround the unsafe application with a extra layer of isolation
- Realize how to block specific features of JS and XHR requests on Qutebrowser and… return to it
5 days later
I am using Icecat. Not bad after all.
Installing extensions via Guix is nice, and once I realize how to configure the extensions declaratively, I'll be fine with it.
Having no success I'll probably seek alternatives for it.
For sure all this experience tells me the web is a daily poison I didn't figured out how take away from me.