I’ve been using FireFox religiously on my iPhone for a long time. The primary reason is that FireFox is the only reputable browser that disables Google AMP.
Google AMP … (read more)
I’ve been using FireFox religiously on my iPhone for a long time. The primary reason is that FireFox is the only reputable browser that disables Google AMP.
Google AMP is terrible for both publishers and users. It usurps content from publishers and forces users to visit a wonky cached version of a site rather than the real webpage. Legitimate publishers lose money, and malicious site gain legitimacy by getting promoted in Google’s news carousel and appearing as if they’re vetted by Google. Publishers and content creators surrender their ability to choose what advertisers they partner with, and Google decides for them while taking a significant cut. If a publisher doesn’t comply, they won’t show up on Googles news carousel. It’s terribly unethical, but it makes Google money so it’s here.
Users have to deal with poor formatting and scaling. If you open a Reddit link from Google, you get an overlay that asks you to “Open Reddit” or “Continue.” Google AMP blocks the Continue button so you can’t see anything. News sites like BBC have text that goes beyond the screen, and when you try to scroll right to see it, AMP takes you to an entirely different article.
I haven’t had to deal with any of that crap since I use FireFox on my iPhone. But the new update (version 34) suddenly supports AMP and there is no way to disable it. I’m forced to go through Google’s caches whenever I just want to visit a webpage.
This is a dealbreaker for me. I won’t use FireFox anymore. I always thought Mozilla FireFox was a browser I could trust, and that the company prioritized ethics. Support for Google AMP has broken that trust, and I have no reason to use FireFox anymore.
If you want to give users the option of using AMP, fine. But make it an OPTION. Don’t force everyone to use it. Or let us change the user agent to an older FireFox that blocks AMP.