January 16, 2026
Bloat Begone, Drama On
Just the Browser
Strip your browser bare—fans cheer, AI crowd fumes
TLDR: An open-source tool removes AI features, tracking, and sponsored stuff from Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. The crowd split: some celebrate a cleaner web, others call it anti‑AI and warn about third‑party scripts, while one user claims Chrome secretly downloaded a huge AI file—privacy panic ensues.
Just the Browser promises a clean slate: strip your browser of AI (artificial intelligence) tricks, tracking, shopping promos, and “suggested” fluff, using hidden enterprise settings. It’s open-source on GitHub with easy scripts for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. But the comments turned it into a vibe check. One nostalgic veteran cheered the idea, recalling DOS days and the moment tabs felt revolutionary—“give me just the web, not a sales pitch.” Others fired back: is this an anti‑AI crusade or a sensible decluttering?
Skeptics dug in. One user peered into the Firefox configuration and claimed it mostly flips a single AI flag and changes search—then asked why anyone should run a third‑party script. Another Mac user said updates wipe the file, sparking how‑to wars over keeping settings.
Then came the bombshell: a commenter swears Chrome silently pulled down a multi‑gigabyte “generative AI” file, with zero heads‑up. Paranoia levels: unlocked. Memes arrived fast—“RAM = Really AI Memory,” and “AI features are the pop‑ups of 2024.” Fans say the project gives back control; critics say it’s knee‑jerk anti‑AI. The only thing everyone agrees on? Browsers shouldn’t feel like billboards with a chatbot attached.
Key Points
- •Just the Browser is an open-source project to strip AI features, telemetry, sponsored content, and product integrations from desktop browsers.
- •It provides configuration files, documentation, and easy installation scripts hosted on GitHub.
- •Installation is available via PowerShell (Windows) and bash/curl (macOS, Linux), with manual guides for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
- •The project disables features like Copilot in Edge, tab group suggestions in Firefox, shopping tools, default prompts, and startup boost, while keeping Firefox page translation and crash reporting (where separable).
- •Supported browsers are Chrome, Edge, and Firefox; Chrome on Linux and Edge on Linux are not currently supported, and mobile support is planned via GitHub issues for Android and iOS/iPadOS.