Zen Browser

Zen Browser is a community-built browser described as beautifully designed, privacy-focused and packed with features, with Zen Mods for customisation, published release notes, a Discord community, GitHub development and funding through donations.

Being built on Firefox rather than Chromium is the choice that gives Zen its reason to exist, since a project aiming at privacy and a calmer experience would undercut itself by building on the engine of the company whose business is advertising. It also means Zen inherits Gecko's independence and its compatibility trade-offs.

Zen Mods as a first-class concept is the most interesting design decision, because it makes customisation something the community produces and shares rather than something the maintainers must anticipate, which is how a small project can offer more configurability than a funded one.

The funding model deserves a clear reading before adopting it for anything important. Zen states plainly that it cares about the user's experience rather than their data, which is credible precisely because there is no advertising relationship, and it also means the project depends on donations and volunteer time. Zen Browser is free and open source, and is currently in beta.