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Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

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Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#81

Post by at-fates-hands »

eviks wrote: post #67
grim_io wrote: post #7

What does it even mean to be all-in on a browser? You can switch any time, multiple times per day even.

No, not if you are "all in" and spend enough time customizing it or getting used to the UI/features uniquely available to a specific browser. You won't be able to switch multiple times a day without noticing a lot of friction as you common workflows break down

In my role I have to do a lot of testing on different browsers so the least amount of friction is little to no customization, the only plugins are the ones I need for testing and nothing else.

When I was a developer, I fell into the trap of trying to customize everything, only to have to keep doing it once a new browser or extension came out. I gave up trying to get something exactly the way I wanted it.

I use as close to stock as possible in order to avoid the kind of friction you're talking about.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#82

Post by quesera »

pxoe wrote: post #69
quesera wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So use profiles for what profiles are good at, and containers for what containers are good at. This works well for me. I have a work profile with several containers inside, so that I can be logged into, e.g. GitHub and AWS, with multiple accounts at the same time. I also have a primary personal profile, with a few containers primarily for cookie pollution separation. I've never struggled with the "Profiles have bad U…

>use profiles for what profiles are good at This is what I'm saying and what people who recommend containers as a "replacement" for profiles sorely miss. >20 minutes to set up Meanwhile on Chrome this just worked out of the box and didn't have UI that's been abandoned for a decade.

Selecting a profile at launch has never been a problem in Firefox. Switching to a different profile in a running browser is prettier in Chrome though, sure.

The bigger problem for me is that (at least when I last tested Chrome profiles -- it's been a while), there was some browser config that was shared between profiles. Maybe extensions? I don't recall.

This was unexpected and undesired, so I went back to Firefox.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#83

Post by runjake »

dira3 wrote: post #79

So what is their monetization model? What can one expect from this product or company in the future? Can't find answers on their About page: https://zen-browser.app/about/

I think you posted the answer to your own question. They don't appear to be a company. They are an open source project. They request donations.

> We are simply a group of developers and designers who care about your experience on the web.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#84

Post by celsoazevedo »

codepoet80 wrote: post #29
cycomanic wrote: post #28

It's weird how people always complain about lack of easy profile switching in Firefox. If one tells them that what they are really looking for is containers, they dismiss containers, but then proceed to complain that profiles don't have the same features. If you want sync across browser instances, manage them with one Firefox account... You really want containers not profiles.

Agreed. Containers are the reason I use Firefox -- they are a much better fit than profiles. But I've not been able to successfully communicate that to Chrome users. Its like their mental model is stuck, and they can't grasp the differences.

Containers are a better fit for... what containers do. They're the wrong tool when you want to separate, let's say, personal and work bookmarks, extensions, etc.

For example, I have a main profile where I have personal bookmarks and different extensions (and more aggressive adblocking). I also have a work profile with a different theme, different bookmarks, extensions, etc. And I use containers in both.

Containers are nice, but they're not profiles. We have to understand that not everyone can or wants to have one profile with everything in it.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#85

Post by osener »

I tried Zen for a few months. I like the UX, even more than Arc in many places. But it is just too slow for me on an M1 Max. I've switched back to Orion. Even though I miss some goodies such as Firefox containers, I just need the browser to get out of the way, not use too much power and not warm up my laptop with runaway processes. Plus, tree-style tabs are great.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#86

Post by wuhhh »

I've been trying All The Browsers lately and Arc is definitely still my favourite; I actually had no idea that development had stopped on it, that's a shame. Zen looks good, but they are off the charts on this graph! https://sizeof.cat/post/web-browser-telemetry-2025-edition/ What is going on there?

Their Privacy Policy says no telemetry, but then they have a section on those connections made at startup which apparently are "necessary for the proper functioning of the browser and are not used for tracking or profiling purposes"... they then go on to say "can be disabled through the browser flags (about:config)"

Does that mean the browser will no longer function correctly?

Among the connections made (according to the report) are x.com, google.com (plus a bunch of other google domains). reddit.com and notion.com, discordapp.com, cloudflareinsights.com

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#87

Post by theshrike79 »

Incipient wrote: post #41
monkey26 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want profiles. For example, work and personal. Different bookmarks, different plugins. Even some different settings.

As a contractor, this is absolutely critical for me, and one reason I still use edge (along with edge syncing with client ad accounts).

This is why I like Safari, it has completely separate profiles.

My work profile is logged into my work Gmail + AWS

Personal profile has my personal Google account.

The two won't mix.

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#88

Post by caseyohara »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #81
eviks wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, not if you are "all in" and spend enough time customizing it or getting used to the UI/features uniquely available to a specific browser. You won't be able to switch multiple times a day without noticing a lot of friction as you common workflows break down

In my role I have to do a lot of testing on different browsers so the least amount of friction is little to no customization, the only plugins are the ones I need for testing and nothing else. When I was a developer, I fell into the trap of trying to customize everything, only to have to keep doing it once a new browser or extension came out. I gave up trying to get something exactly the way I wanted it. I use as clo…

[dead]

Re: Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser

#90

Post by celsoazevedo »

cycomanic wrote: post #28

It's weird how people always complain about lack of easy profile switching in Firefox. If one tells them that what they are really looking for is containers, they dismiss containers, but then proceed to complain that profiles don't have the same features. If you want sync across browser instances, manage them with one Firefox account... You really want containers not profiles.

Personally I want (and use) both. Containers are useful, but they're still containers. If you want different extensions, bookmarks, settings, etc, for work and personal stuff, then you need profiles and obviously you want to be able to switch between both easily.
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