It was a pretty good idea for Google and, judging by the adoption, it serves users very well too.

I think it's up to other browsers to offer better solutions.

Most users still don't care about their browser.

The main reason Chrome became so dominant is because:

* Google search results nagged all users to install it for a better experience

* bundled Chrome with countless free software downloads

* it is the default browser on Android

Not only is it the default on Android, it is required by some apps, like gmail that all its links open in Chrome despite Firefox being default on my phone. It stinks of the monopolistic behavior MS was engaged in with IE back in the day.

If you go into Gmail's General Settings screen, you can uncheck "Open web links in Gmail". All the links I open in Gmail open directly in Firefox for me after doing that.

If I leave that box checked, it does use a web view that is "Powered by Firefox", but I always prefer to have it just open a new tab in my regular Firefox app.

Hey thanks, I presumed it was chrome because it ran differently compared to my normal FF install and had no plugins! Sorry for the newb moment!

Yeah, being able to run uBlock Origin is one of the main reasons I don't want apps opening links in anything but my main Firefox install.

Gmail link in Android open in a web view, but that view is powered by your chosen browser. If you tap on the menu icon on the top right, it says "Powered by Firefox" if Firefox is your default browser.

All my Gmail links open with a "Powered by Firefox" view on my Android phone. I need to click through a menu to transfer it to a tab in Firefox app proper, but it's Firefox straight from Gmail.

The internet wasn't made for Google. And if you think it serves users very well too then I suggest you read TFA, it is clear that what is good for Google and what is good for users are not aligned.

I'm not talking from an idealist/paternalist point of view about what I think is good for users. I'm talking about letting users decide. And they seem to have decided, according to market share, that they like Chrome.

Yes, users could be clueless and be trading personal privacy unwittingly but that's not what I mean about "serves users very well". I meant users look at Chrome, Firefox and others and stick to Chrome. If they didn't like Chrome, they would switch.

Users have not 'decided', they've had something rammed down their throats that they might not have picked if not for some pretty obvious anti-competitive behavior by Google.

By your book might makes right, because Google was able to push users to convert in various ways - some of which should be or even are illegal - and it worked for them they must be delivering something that people need. But it wasn't a free choice.

What is TFA? Brief web search didn't help

'The Fine Article'

It doesn't serve users in any sense that Firefox or another alternative can't. It's just been pushed so well by Google on all its devices and properties that users have been conditioned to think browser == Chrome.

I can't count the number of times that Google disingenuously suggested my internet experience would be better if I only switched to Chrome. A normal user confronted with an entity the size of Google with associated authority profile would have long ago switched.

When you develop a browser, one of the main concern of the users is to be able to import their passwords, bookmarks or tabs. Guess what, Chrome for Android doesn't allow anyone to extract this data and bans apps who connects to their servers to fetch this information. It's violating GDPR, but fuck the law when you have billions. Too big to jail.

Nice down vote, I see someone likes to get his data locked in the browsers and not be able to export.