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a closed-source browser is a non-starter for me.
Good thing then, that you can download sources from: https://vivaldi.com/source/
That's not the full source code of the browser, that only includes the core engine. The UI is still closed source.
Furthermore I don't see a clear business model there that isn't about injecting ads.
They have affiliate bookmarks and as well as links that are injected when you type things in the address bar.

They don't append their affiliate code when you type the full url (like brave did that one time) at least but I feel like adding undisclosed sponsored suggestions to the autocomplete counts as "injecting".

Vivaldi has been doing exactly this for years now
Can I ask why?
For me, it's a privacy concern. Closed source means only one company is fixing vulnerabilities, whereas open source invites security researchers to find and fix issues quicker. Fewer security gaps == less privacy risk.
I've heard that argument before, but has that actually been demonstrated? Ability to look at the code (especially in the age of AI) means that security researchers aren't the only ones who can look for bugs. For example, look at the bugs like copyfail that AI has recently uncovered in the Linux kernel.
Okay guys, I'm being downvoted for asking questions? Let's be real, OSS has not been proven to be more secure. If you think otherwise then please back it up, I'm okay with being proven wrong.
You are grasping for straws. No one said open source is perfect. But it's just an obvious fact that open source is going to be easier to audit than closed source.
No, I'm asking questions...... not pretending I have answers.
But isn't that their point? In the age of AI, maybe being "easier to audit" is as much a risk than an assurance? I'm not sure I agree, but it is interesting to mull over. Further, either way, your tone and response is not very charitable, to say the least. From the outside, you are the only one blustering and grasping here. Not everything needs to be so antagonistic maybe?
like dude. do u have to?
Great answer ..
https://vivaldi.com/blog/technology/why-isnt-vivaldi-browser...

It's open in all of the ways that matter, basically they just want to protect their look and feel.

Some of their arguments are ridiculous.

> A new project based on our code might implement features that are fundamentally in opposition to our ethics (e.g., damaging to privacy, human rights or to the environment). Even though we would not be associated with the project in any way, it can deeply affect how people see Vivaldi (and how we see ourselves), damaging a reputation we have taken pains to earn.

> You can’t test drive open-source and then close everything back off if it turns out that open-source isn’t working out.

At the same time they express regret that the Presto engine from their Opera roots didn't get open-sourced. Which was much more novel than just a Chromium re-skin.

The entire article can be summarized as "we worry that others might make a better product off our code" and "can't be arsed to meet the quality standards of the free software community".

No thank you.

Are you reading the same article?

> "can't be arsed to meet the quality standards of the free software community".

Lol literally all the code is visible. Also all the Firefox forks I've seen are low-effort forks that even piggyback off Mozilla's servers for stuff like user authentication.

> It's open in all of the ways that matter

I disagree greatly here. I'd argue that the engine is the part that matters the least to users, it's the added UI/UX they want to be able to analyze and modify.

Blink won't send my bookmarks and passwords unencrypted to god knows where. The vivaldi UI might. I'd want to see the source for their system. Blink also doesn't have a built-in VPN or remotely togglable experiment system that I'd like to analyze, that's in the closed source part of Vivaldi.

If I want to add features that aren't possible through webextensions, chances are that I need to modify the UI, not the engine, to make it happen.

If I'm a purist, of course I want it all open.

> want to be able to analyze and modify

You literally can if you want, it's just JavaScript and CSS, you just can't redistribute it as your own.