Five Walled Gardens: Operating systems are holding browsers back [pdf]

Re:Five Walled Gardens: Operating systems are holding browse... by magicalist on Monday September 26, 2022 @02:31PM (#32986515)

> What's the problem?

If you're not asking rhetorically, that's one of the primary subjects of this report.

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Re:Five Walled Gardens: Operating systems are holding browse... by tgv on Tuesday September 27, 2022 @02:31AM (#32992102)

I've read the first 25 pages or so, and the question is not answered there.

One takeaway that is important, IMO, is this one:

> Without browser diversity, a single company’s influence can shape the internet.

That would be a problem if iOS accounts for a large majority of all http traffic. That, however, is not the case. If there's one platform that accounts for the large majority of http traffic, it is Chrome. It's estimated market share is 65%. Its derivates take 10% more.

Allowing Chrome on iOS will slowly but surely obliterate Safari. Firefox' market share is a joke to begin with (and I say this as a lifelong Firefox user; I even use Firefox on iOS). Browser diversity ends when Chrome arrives on iOS, and it would end the limited privacy we have on iOS, unless Apple would really tighten the rules.

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