I used Chrome for three years — from 2021 to late 2023. I switched back to Firefox. Here's what actually happened.
Why I Left Firefox in 2021
In 2021, several things pushed me toward Chrome:
- Google Meet was noticeably better on Chrome (this was real at the time)
- VS Code's browser-based features (like GitHub Codespaces, which was new) worked more reliably on Chrome
- Chrome's DevTools felt faster for debugging complex JavaScript
The privacy trade-off seemed abstract. Google tracking my browsing felt theoretical. Chrome worked better for my actual workflow.
What Changed in 2023
Google Meet parity: The Firefox/Chrome performance gap for Google Meet closed. Firefox works fine for Meet now.
Manifest V3: Google announced Manifest V3, which would limit the APIs that extensions like uBlock Origin could use. On Chrome, uBlock Origin's ability to block ads would be significantly reduced. Firefox is implementing a version of MV3 but with the webRequest blocking API still functional, meaning uBlock Origin works at full capability on Firefox.
This was the thing that actually moved me. I use uBlock Origin on every machine. The idea of it being permanently weakened on Chrome — not because of a bug, but by design — was a meaningful change to my everyday browsing experience.
Firefox's ETP improvements: Total Cookie Protection arrived. Enhanced Tracking Protection got better. Firefox's default privacy profile became substantially better than Chrome's.
The Actual Switch Experience
The switch took about a day of friction:
- Imported bookmarks from Chrome: clean, 5 minutes
- Imported passwords from Chrome: worked, then switched to Bitwarden anyway
- Extensions: found Firefox equivalents for everything I needed
- DevTools: adjusted in a week. The Firefox CSS Grid Inspector is better than Chrome's.
The one ongoing friction: occasional sites that work better on Chrome (usually enterprise tools, sometimes Google properties). I keep Chrome installed and open it for those specific sites. Maybe 2-3 times per week.
What I Actually Use Now
Firefox as primary browser with:
- uBlock Origin (full capability, not MV3-limited)
- Multi-Account Containers (work/personal separation)
- Bitwarden (cross-browser, not tied to Firefox)
- Weather & Clock Dashboard (new tab)
The new tab extension is a small thing but worth mentioning: Chrome's new tab defaults to Google Search, which is reasonable but also a Google property. Firefox's defaults are better, and an extension that shows weather + world clocks is genuinely more useful for my day than a search box I could get to via Ctrl+L anyway.
The MV3 Situation, Plainly
This is worth understanding clearly for anyone considering the switch:
Chrome is moving to Manifest V3. The changes limit what ad blockers can do — specifically, the ability to block network requests dynamically is being restricted. Google's official position is that MV3 is about security and performance. The effect is that ad blocking is weakened on Chrome.
Firefox's implementation of MV3 preserves the blocking API. uBlock Origin on Firefox will continue to work the way it works today.
If you use an ad blocker and plan to keep using one, Firefox is the browser where it will continue to work at full capability.
The Honest Tradeoff
Chrome is not bad. For people deep in Google's ecosystem (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Meet, Workspace), Chrome integrates more seamlessly. For developers targeting Chromium (the vast majority of browsers are Chromium-based), Chrome's DevTools represent the canonical experience.
Firefox is better for privacy, better for ad blocking, and fine for nearly every daily use case. The cost is occasional friction with Chrome-only tools.
That tradeoff changed for me in 2023. It might change for you at a different time or not at all. The point is knowing what the actual tradeoffs are.
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