Mozilla has criticized Google, Apple and Microsoft for aggressively pushing the default browser in their operating systems. It has released a report highlighting the anti-competitive practices of the tech giants forcing users to abandon other browsers.
The report, titled Five Walled Gardens, analyzes the problems caused by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta (Facebook). Mozilla conducted a survey to find out how users around the world use browsers and was not impressed with the results. More than 6000 participants from Australia, USA, UK, France, India and Kenya took part in the survey, they were asked about their experience of using web browsers, changing the default browser, etc.
Image Credit: Mozilla
Operating systems aggressively push their default browsers
The report highlights the fact that only 3 browser engines are used on different platforms, Apple Safari (WebKit engine), Google Chromium (Blink) and Mozilla Firefox (Gecko). This results in a lack of diversity of browser engines, which in turn gives users limited choices to select their favorite app. The research paper claims that there is practically no option on mobile devices.
Mozilla says modern operating systems are designed against interoperability and bundle different apps for messaging, email, maps, voice assistants, etc. (Chrome, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, etc.), and that such apps pose a privacy risk of the user . The report further underlines that it is not easy to remove a browser as the default option, or to remove the app completely.
It also took a quest for Apple because it didn’t allow other browser engines on iOS and iPadOS, limiting app developers to the WebKit engine, stating that Apple’s browser is limited to iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, and without the engine of Firefox, Google’s Chromium project would be the only browser engine available across platforms.
Search engines in operating systems
Mozilla criticized how Windows 11’s Search bypasses the default browser preference to open links and search results in Microsoft Edge, its aggressive attempts to promote its browser through Bing Search, and overrides the browser’s default setting to force users to use Edge. iOS uses Safari to search the web when you use the lookup feature. Android is no different, thanks to the Google home screen widget, which directs the search through the Chrome app.
Less than half of respondents in some regions knew how to change the default browser on their desktop computer or mobile phone. The number of people who actually switched browsers was even lower, at around 10% to 20%. Mozilla says this could be due to the many steps involved in the process i.e. using the App Store or Play Store, searching for a browser, downloading it and setting it as the default browser via the Settings.
Image Credit: StatCounter
All these numbers add up, Mozilla says, adding that Apple Safari has a 27% share of the iOS browser market, while 65% of people with Android phones use Chrome. The latest chart from StatCounter (August 2022) shows that Firefox has a meager 3.16% user base across platforms (desktop and mobile), only higher than Opera which was 2.2% while Edge was slightly higher with a user base of 4.3%. The charts were Chrome and Safari with 65.52% and 18.78% respectively. I suspect these numbers will change drastically after Google drops support for Manifest V2 extensions, effectively disabling adblockers, creating a knock-on effect and driving users to Firefox, Brave, and Vivaldi.
Would this be different if operating systems like Android and iOS didn’t have Chrome and Safari as default browsers? That is what Mozilla is trying to say with its report, that it is an unfair practice that harms other browser makers and the users. You can download the report from Mozilla’s website, it’s a bit long to read, but it provides valuable insights into the issues discussed in this article.
Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Google and Apple in an antitrust case involving their browser duopoly. Likewise, the upcoming EU law on digital markets will prevent big tech companies from unfair gatekeeper practices.
As much as I’d like to see it happen, I don’t think Apple, Microsoft, and Google will ever ask the user which browser they want to use. What do you think?
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Mozilla has accused Google, Apple and Microsoft of using unfair practices to kill the competition
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Mozilla has criticized Google, Apple and Microsoft for using their operating systems to force users out of other browsers.
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Ashwin
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News about Ghacks Technology
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