QQ Browser vs Waterfox
QQ Browser
browser.qq.com
Waterfox
waterfox.comSide by side
| Figure | QQ Browser | Waterfox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $5/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 2 |
| Spec score · Web browsers | 7.8 (#91) | 9.3 (#3) |
| Browser engine | other | gecko |
| Founded | The homepage copyright notice says Tencent copyright dates from 1998. | 2011 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, China | Suite 140, 372 Old Street, London, EC1V 9AU, United Kingdom |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Supported platforms | both | Downloads are listed for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android; Windows requires Windows 10 or later, macOS 10.15 or later, and Linux glibc 2.17 or later. |
| Privacy | The license agreement says Tencent uses professional encryption for storage and transmission of personal information and does not disclose it without user permission except where laws require. | The privacy policy says Waterfox telemetry, health reports and crash reports are disabled and locked off at build time. |
| Product | QQ Browser is Tencent’s browser software for viewing webpages, text, and media, with bookmarks, browsing history, search, and downloads. | Waterfox is a free, open source web browser focused on privacy and customisation. |
| Support | The official homepage lists Tencent’s main switchboard as 0755-86013388. | Waterfox provides help articles for browsing, privacy and security, customization, troubleshooting and Android. |
| Tab management | The homepage describes AI tab grouping by topic and split-screen browsing across two or three pages. | Tree tabs nest pages under the page that opened them and let users collapse or move a branch together. |
Plans
In their own words
QQ Browser
QQ Browser has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Waterfox
Waterfox is a free, open-source web browser built around privacy and customisation. It uses the Gecko engine and is listed for Android, browser extensions, Linux, macOS and Windows. On desktop, it blocks ads, trackers, pop-ups and overlays by default; filter lists and site exceptions can be adjusted. Private tabs use their own container, and Waterfox removes that container’s site data when the final private tab closes. DNS requests are encrypted and passed through an Oblivious HTTP relay; users can change or disable the default Fastly-operated relay and Cloudflare-operated resolver. Tree tabs nest pages under the page that opened them, with branches that can be collapsed or moved together. Firefox WebExtensions work, but Chrome-only extensions do not transfer automatically. Regular updates incorporate Mozilla security fixes using the Firefox ESR model. Waterfox says telemetry, health reports and crash reports are disabled at build time. Sync is off until Mozilla-account sign-in, and synced data is end-to-end encrypted. The browser plan is free, with no premium tier or required payment.