/priv/ - Privacy & Anonymity

• How: routes traffic through three volunteer-run relays (onion routing), no single point knows both who you are and what you're visiting
• Standardization: every Tor Browser install looks identical to a website, so you blend into the crowd instead of standing out as a unique fingerprint
• Trade-off: noticeably slower, some sites block Tor exit nodes outright, and DRM/streaming content mostly won't work
• Best for: journalists, sources, activists, anyone whose threat model includes "a government or well-resourced adversary might specifically look for me"

The actual gold standard for "can this specific browsing session be traced back to me." Not a daily driver for most people, and that's fine, it's not trying to be one.

• Built by: a joint project between Mullvad and the Tor Project
• Base: Firefox ESR, hardened against fingerprinting the same way Tor Browser is, but without routing through the Tor network itself
• Catch: you supply your own network layer - it's fingerprint-resistant, it doesn't hide your IP by itself, pair it with a VPN (any VPN, doesn't have to be Mullvad's)
• Bonus: includes uBlock Origin pre-installed, ships DAITA traffic-shaping to resist AI-based traffic analysis when used with Mullvad VPN

"Tor Browser without the network slowdown." If Tor feels like too much friction for daily use but you still want serious fingerprint resistance, this is the middle path.

• What it is: a hardened fork of Firefox, essentially "30 minutes of manually hardening Firefox" already done for you
• Out of the box: zero telemetry, non-tracking default search engine, uBlock Origin pre-installed, strict tracking protection and fingerprint resistance already enabled
• Trade-off: maintained by a smaller community team, security updates can lag official Firefox releases by a day or two

The pick if you're a Firefox person who doesn't want to spend an afternoon in about:config. Everything Firefox does, minus the parts that phone home.

• Base: Chromium, so Chrome extensions and site compatibility just work
• Default blocking: Shields blocks ads/trackers and resists fingerprinting out of the box, no setup needed
• Extra: built-in private-tab-over-Tor mode for one-off anonymous browsing without a separate app
• Caveat: comes from a company with a crypto/rewards angle (BAT) - ignorable if you don't opt in, but know it's there

If someone's coming from Chrome and wants the least painful upgrade, this is it. Five minutes to switch, immediately less trackable, everything still renders correctly.

• Out of the box: Enhanced Tracking Protection, Total Cookie Protection, DNS-over-HTTPS - decent, not exceptional, defaults
• Real strength: independent, non-Chromium engine, deeply configurable via about:config if you're willing to tune it
• Reality check: to actually reach LibreWolf-level privacy takes manual setup most people never do

Not private by default, but the only mainstream browser that isn't built on Chromium, which matters if you care about the web not being a Google monoculture. Worth it if you're willing to spend twenty minutes in the settings.