Here’s why I’ll never go back to using Google Chrome

There are some Google products that I can’t imagine my life without. I would be completely lost in a world without Gmail. Can I opt out of Google Photos? I tried and failed. However, there are some that I hardly think about when I use mine Android phoneand one such application, surprisingly, is Google Chrome. Many users probably have a completely different approach to the browser. Although I use Chrome almost as often as other browsers on my desktop, I can’t get around its shortcomings on mobile devices.

I won’t claim that Google Chrome is easy to use. It’s built right into Android, making it the first port of call for many users. Google also guarantees that this is still the case best Android browser to access your web apps and services and view content when you sign in to your Google account. Can I find fault with his viewing prowess? No. But if you take a closer look, you’ll find that it’s not as polished as its name suggests.

Ironically, Chrome on Android still doesn’t support multiple Google accounts. I’ve heard of a pretty crazy workaround, including using multiple versions of Chrome at different stages of development to get around this, but why would we need that? The desktop version supports multiple profiles; why not an android version? This is also a notable oddity, given that other Google apps make it easy to switch between accounts.

Of course, I could probably fill this gap with a browser extension, but Chrome on Android doesn’t support any additional enhancements either. Mobile people cannot access any wide list great chrome extensions present in the desktop version. This shortcoming is common to several Chromium-based browsers, but several smaller alternatives offer this functionality − Qiwi and Yandex these are two great examples. They demonstrate that the platform can mechanically support add-ons, but Google seems reluctant to add such functionality.

Aside from this particularly big problem, Chrome also falls short for me in search rates. Want to use a custom search engine? You’re completely out of luck. Google’s Android browser limits you to the five search engines it identifies. You can’t add more or remove existing options, and you can’t change engines on the fly from the address bar. Instead, you need to change the default engine in advance. Again, there is support for custom search engines in other Chromium browsers such as Cromite, as well as the desktop version of Chrome.

Chrome’s desire to act as a content portal rather than a web browser also shows in its new tabs. Tap the search bar on the page and you’ll see search history and “Search Trends” which are almost always irrelevant to my browsing requirements. The page also has a Discovery section that cannot be completely hidden.

Google is working on the bottom address bar, a feature we first showed off in late August. Two months later, the stable version is still not available. This late development makes Chrome just plain unpleasant for me.

Despite its ease of use, Google Chrome hinders my browsing experience, unlike so many alternatives.

Because of all these shortcomings, I switched to another Android browser a long time ago. I’ve tried a few over the years, including short stints with Opera and Kiwi, but none of them offered the features I wanted. I chose Firefox a few years ago and haven’t looked back.

I’m a longtime Firefox user, at least on Windows. This has been my default desktop browser for almost 15 years. It took me a while to get the hang of the Android version as earlier versions weren’t finalized, but it now offers the most robust surfing experience on mobile.

So what are some of the pros of Firefox? Out of the box, it offers much more customization options than Google Chrome, including extension support with many of the add-ons you’ll find in the desktop version. Extensions are very important to me. I use them to block ads or prevent certain items from loading, color bleached white web pages an eye-pleasing gray, redirect to the old Reddit layout, connect to online services to manage my bookmarks, and for other more unusual needs.

The browser is also great for one-handed use thanks to the bottom address bar. This is especially useful because you can easily switch between different search engines using a button on the panel. Tap it once, select your preferred search engine and start searching. It’s great to use ChatGPT or Perplexity directly from the browser. And yes you can add these and other search engines in Firefox on Android using search bar URLs. It’s incredibly easy.

Although Mozilla Firefox is my daily driver, it is not ideal for every situation. Yes, I will use Google Chrome if I need to access a Google service through a browser. I’m not against it. It is better to use specific solutions to solve specific problems. As a result, I have several browsers that I access quite regularly:

• Hermit: I use Chrome to create single-site Google apps like NotebookLM, but otherwise I prefer Hermit. It neatly packages web pages so you can open them like an app. Its premium version also includes a sandbox feature that stores cookies and login credentials for each web application separately.
• Mull: Based on Firefox, Mull is much more privacy-focused than its brother. It lacks the telemetry and ad support features built into Firefox and forces sites to load over HTTPS. uBlock Origin is also built into the browser from the start, keeping ads away. I use Mull in emergency situations, such as if I can’t access my banking app.
• Cromit: If you want a Chrome-type browser with customizable search engine features, Cromite is a good option. It also offers built-in ad blocking, which is a great addition right off the bat.
• Firefox Focus: Focus has once again become an integral part of my viewing habits. I’ve used it for snapshots and one-off searches. Arc Search has pretty much usurped its function on my phone, but I still keep it around just in case.
• Confusion And Arc Search Browser: I gradually moved away from Google and turned to answering systems like Perplexity. Arc Search, especially with the Find Me feature, is also great for quickly breaking down topics and explaining things.

Should you ditch Google Chrome on Android?

There’s nothing wrong with Chrome. For many people, it remains a reliable browser. It works without any fuss and loads pages without glitches most of the time. But it’s not for me.

I might consider using it if Google can solve my (and many other users’) problems with Chrome, but somehow I doubt that will happen. Google doesn’t seem to want to tinker with Chrome in its current form, even if the additional features would increase its value rather than diminish its strengths. As a result, Chrome will continue to be my tertiary choice in my browser lineup. Will it ever replace Firefox in this hierarchy? I doubt it, but I’d be happy to revisit it in the future.