My name is Kyle and I switch browsers too often

Despite all my issues (1) with The Browser Company’s lack of a business strategy, I find myself using Arc again because of one blog post.

I’ve been using Vivaldi 60% of the time for the last two months, and there’s a lot I like about that browser, but one thing I like even more than Vivaldi is switching browsers for no reason. I even use an app that asks which browser to use every time I click a link in another app.

Safari, Brave, Vivaldi, Orion, qutebrowser, Firefox. An endless revolving door of glorified document viewers, each with their own unique flaws.

Can we start a support group? Browser Switchers Anonymous? I would like to attend this group, anonymously, but not through the clunky Tor Browser.

No, I’d show up with a crooked name tag that says Kyle, written in cold handwriting that starkly opposes the casual, weary scribble one uses for their own name.

My name is Kyle and I switch browsers too often.

I’m not sure how or why this started, but at one point, the benefits of switching browsers diminished to where there’s no one defining feature of any of them that I can’t live without or replicate in each one.

Vivaldi comes close with stacked tabs and the command palette, but all the Chromium clones can do tab grouping now (finally gaining functionality old Opera had) and command palettes are not far behind.

One thing I like about Arc: Spaces can have their own profiles, which makes switching between personal and work profiles a two-finger swipe in the sidebar, instead of switching browser windows.

And auto-closing tabs after a set interval (default 12 hours) is neat, and fits my new controversial philosophy about notifications, which I should write about soon.

I’ve given up on finding “the one” as far as browsers go. I’m sure I’ll find an issue in Arc that spins the revolving door yet again. But I’m liking the break from convention I’m seeing, and I’m starting to hope they don’t 69¹ their user-focused strategy when it’s time to make money as a VC-funded startup.