Google Chrome has captured more than 67% of the global search browser market, making it the dominant leader worldwide. Safari is No. 2 with nearly 18%, Microsoft Edge has 5.2%, and then there is Firefox with 2.54%.
Firefox, a free, open-source web browser, doesn’t sell user data to advertisers. It’s praised for its tracker-blocking but can be slower than Chrome. And its numbers are dropping — according to Firefox data, the browser has lost around 50 million monthly active users since March 2020.
However, on Thursday, the social media team let everyone know it’s still here and is tuned into the zeitgeist. The company posted on billionaire Mark Zuckerberg‘s Threads app to remind everyone that it has something other browsers don’t — it isn’t backed by a billionaire.
“‘You’re so funny’ thanks, we’re the only major browser not backed by a billionaire,” the post reads. It has garnered more than 2,800 comments so far.
“This is all I need to know to make [it] my default,” one user wrote.
“Marketing team deserves a raise,” another added.
Still, other users were quick to note that the company has a large deal with Google that is pretty much their entire balance sheet, which makes their now-viral post a little convoluted.
Firefox’s longstanding, $500 million-plus deal with Google (queries on Firefox are routed to Google’s search engine), appears to be keeping the company afloat. The Firefox web browser is made by Mozilla, a non-profit tech company that began in the 1990s to challenge Microsoft’s then-market-ruling Internet Explorer web browser. According to the Mozilla Foundation’s 2021-2022 financial statement (the most recent one published), $510 million out of its $593 million in revenue is from Google, per Fortune.
Reddit users and tech bloggers are worried that it could be the end for the beloved, albeit not-so-widely-used browser. Several recent posts mention the decline in market share (Firefox was over 3% in January 2024) and its low use on smartphones.
“For so, so many years now I’ve been warning everyone about just how fragile the future of Firefox was, and every one of my worries and predictions have become reality,” one blogger writes on OSNews.
Further adding to the issue, in August, a judge ruled that “Google is a monopolist,” which may put Mozilla’s agreement with Google in jeopardy.
“We strongly urge the Court to consider remedies that improve search competition without harming independent browsers and browser engines,” a Mozilla spokesperson told PCMag in November.
Here’s a chart of market share per web browser:
