Firefox (default), configured with AI, ads, and telemetry disabled and search options adjusted. uBlock Origin (default blocklists, allowed in private tabs) and a password manager (personally I would recommend Bitwarden) installed and pinned to the taskbar for easy access.
OS Browser (especially of note for Edge) - settings configured to remove as much AI/Telemetry/ads as humanly possible. Stripped to a blank start page and search engine reconfigured. Removed as the default and shortcuts hidden/deleted. Password manager installed if possible. uBlock optional but recommended. If they find their way back here, make it as usable as possible…
iOS only: Orion browser instead of Firefox. Its built on WebKit and supports extensions (so obviously, install uBlock Origin from FF).
Search:
If your budget allows, I would set them up as family members in Kagi and make it their default search engine in all browsers they could come in contact with. If you have family members susceptible to going down disinformation rabbit holes, when you set them up you may want to consider downranking sites for them that spread that kind of content. They publish their most blocked/down ranked sites for easy reference - if logged in you can adjust your settings right from the stats page.
If you’d prefer a free option: DDG, with AI/Ads/feature suggestions disabled. DDG results have been getting better (no longer just a Bing clone) but still suffers from pretty heavy AI slop when searching niche subjects.
A note on the password manager: install and get them in the habit of using it on all of their devices (and potentially even generating random passwords for sites). Burn the notebook they have everything written down on. Delete the note from their phone’s built-in notes app. Disable password saving in their browser and help them import those passwords before removing them. If they NEED to write down the master password, sobeit, but keep it somewhere safe and without context (e.g., don’t write “BITWARDEN” next to it in big red letters). If its a family member, talk to them about the possibility of adding you as an emergency contact or similar for their system. This could save you significant headache in the future.
A note on FF Forks:
I know there are forks that do come stripped of AI/telemetry automatically, but from a maintainability perspective FF is a lot more stable, more likely to be running long-term, more recognizable, and available for all devices to encourage familiarity.
Browser:
Search:
If your budget allows, I would set them up as family members in Kagi and make it their default search engine in all browsers they could come in contact with. If you have family members susceptible to going down disinformation rabbit holes, when you set them up you may want to consider downranking sites for them that spread that kind of content. They publish their most blocked/down ranked sites for easy reference - if logged in you can adjust your settings right from the stats page.
If you’d prefer a free option: DDG, with AI/Ads/feature suggestions disabled. DDG results have been getting better (no longer just a Bing clone) but still suffers from pretty heavy AI slop when searching niche subjects.
A note on the password manager: install and get them in the habit of using it on all of their devices (and potentially even generating random passwords for sites). Burn the notebook they have everything written down on. Delete the note from their phone’s built-in notes app. Disable password saving in their browser and help them import those passwords before removing them. If they NEED to write down the master password, sobeit, but keep it somewhere safe and without context (e.g., don’t write “BITWARDEN” next to it in big red letters). If its a family member, talk to them about the possibility of adding you as an emergency contact or similar for their system. This could save you significant headache in the future.
A note on FF Forks: I know there are forks that do come stripped of AI/telemetry automatically, but from a maintainability perspective FF is a lot more stable, more likely to be running long-term, more recognizable, and available for all devices to encourage familiarity.