Vivaldi Web Browser Is Worth A Look

Yesterday I tweeted that I’m digging the Vivaldi web browser.

I got a bunch of questions about the browser, why I like it, and whatnot. First, let me explain my setup and what problems I’m trying to solve. I do web development, so I need to see web sites in the major rendering engines. I also do devops, which means that I’ve got dozens of administrative web interfaces to stuff open most of the time. I use a combination of browsers on macOS for specific purposes and I’ve inserted Choosy as the default system web URL handler to manage opening my things in the right browser.

My Desktop Web Browsers

Firefox

This is my development companion. The way that the console/debug tools are organized fits my way of thinking (probably because I’m an old-school Firebug fan). I also depend on Firefox keeping its own settings for proxy configuration, independent of the OS, because I always have Charles Proxy running for request/response inspection.

Vivaldi

I use a Chromium-based browser for my web administration browser. This tends to be most compatible with complicated web interfaces like Atlassian Jira, Bitbucket, Microsoft® GitHub®, AWS Console, and so forth. I need the browser in this administration role to work well with LastPass because that’s where my company’s secrets are stored.

Sometimes I need to see how sites render in Chromium; not often, but I need an easy way to reproduce a problem. I’m increasingly bad at front-end development, so I won’t be working on visual web frameworks with Vivaldi or any other browser.

Safari

This is my content browser. I like the extreme position that Apple takes on tracking and privacy. I run Safari with 1Blocker and pay for a premium subscription. I need this browser to work well with the 1Password extension because that’s where my personal secrets live. I use the Reading List feature to share pages between Safari on macOS and iOS.

Your Questions

With my setup and requirements in mind, let me address your questions.

What’s your problem with Google Chrome?

I have become unwilling to be Google’s product. There is no question that their technology is outstanding. However, their business objectives do not align with mine, so I won’t have Google Chrome installed.

What’s your problem with Brave?

Brave seems to be the default for people switching away from Google Chrome. It is a well-polished product and has some interesting ad revenue sharing ideas. I have two problems with it though:

  • The cryptocurrency delusion is strong in Brave. It taints everything and I won’t participate.

  • The founder does not share my values regarding human relationships.

What features does Vivaldi have?

Well, it’s a Chromium-based browser, and it will feel familiar. They’ve added tons of features on top of the open source project. Notably, their UI customization and download management is good. I haven’t spent a lot of time configuring it, but I like what I’ve seen — especially given the role it plays in my setup as the administrative interface to the web. I would characterize Vivaldi as a browser for technical users who care about details and want the ability to tweak things like keystroke mappings.

Does Vivaldi have a built-in Ad-Blocker?

It does, and you might find that it suits your needs. It’s part of their Block Trackers and Ads feature. However, if ad blocking is your primary concern, you probably want to install an extension for that purpose.

Is it a good Mac citizen?

It’s pretty good. My complaint with running Chromium Project developer snapshots is that their distributions aren’t signed and upgrading is a pain. Vivaldi is properly packaged and doesn’t make me nervous when dragging it to /Applications.

It’s UI isn’t going to be confused with Safari’s, that’s for sure. There are extreme options for configuring the look and feel, and I believe i’ve made my installation look like it belongs amongst my other application windows.

Is Vivaldi a good company?

This is our concern, Dude. They say all the right things on their company info pages. Their priorities on privacy and security align with mine. I don’t yet have reason to mistrust them, but you know me — any new evidence will be considered appropriately. ;)

Wrap-Up

I would suggest giving Vivaldi a try. It has a place in my setup and I’m going to continuing recommending it as the right replacement for Google Chrome and Brave. I’ll post a follow-up if I have more to say or receive feedback.