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![]() Screenshot of Waterfox G4.0.4 running on Windows 11, showing the English Wikipedia | |
Original author(s) | Alexandros Kontos |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Alexandros Kontos |
Initial release | 27 March 2011 |
Stable release | G5.1.10
/ 1 August 2023 |
Preview release | G6.0 Beta 1
/ July 26, 2023 |
Repository | |
Written in | C, C++, CSS, JavaScript, XUL |
Engine | Gecko, SpiderMonkey |
Operating system | Windows 7 or later, Mac, Linux |
Platform | x64, ARM64, PPC64LE |
Type | Web browser, mobile web browser, feed reader |
License | MPL-2.0 |
Website | www![]() |
Waterfox is an open-source web browser that is forked from Firefox. There are official Waterfox releases for Windows, macOS, and Linux.[1]
Waterfox shares core features and technologies like the Gecko browser engine[2] and support for Firefox Add-ons[3] with Firefox.
Waterfox Classic is a version of the browser based on an older version of the Gecko engine that supports legacy XUL and XPCOM add-on capabilities that Firefox removed in version 57.[4][5][6]
Waterfox Classic has multiple unpatched security advisories. The developer states that "changes between versions so numerous between ESRs making merging difficult if not impossible".[7][8]
Waterfox was first released by Alex Kontos[9] on March 27, 2011 for 64-bit Windows. The Mac build was introduced on May 14, 2015 with the release of version 38.0,[10] the Linux build was introduced on December 20, 2016 with the release of version 50.0,[11] and an Android build was first introduced on October 10, 2017 in version 55.2.2.[12]
From July 22, 2015 to November 12, 2015, Waterfox had its own search-engine called "Storm" that would raise funds for charity and Waterfox. Storm was developed with over £2 million of investor funding and powered by Yahoo! Search.[13][14][15][16][17]
In December 2019, System1, an advertising company which portrays itself as privacy-focused,[18] acquired Waterfox.[19][20] In July 2023, Alex Kontos announced that Waterfox had been turned into an independent project again.[21]