Since I updated PureOS last night, Pure Browser disappeared from my Activities doc. If I hit the Super key and type 'Pure" nothing comes up. Bug? Please advise.
PureBrowser was deprecated and removed in the latest update and replaced with Firefox. There are a couple of threads on this in the forum. There is an article on how to migrate your preferences over to Firefox.
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We have deprecated Purebrowser in favor of GNOME Web (epiphany), that will be the default in future versions of PureOS. But Firefox-esr will be made available in the repositories.
As for the current version of pureOS, we have replaced purebrowser by Firefox-ESR. If you type firefox in your activity window you should be able to find it.
Like @nonesuchnick said, we have a small guide to help people migrate their purebrowser profiles to firefox:
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PureOS and Purism devices main selling point when the campaing was active was as I remember
“PureOS helps you surf the web safely, without being tracked by advertisers or marketers” https://archive.org/details/pureos-8.0-gnome-live_20190210-amd64 their was no ad blocker no extra plugins or services installed to insure security like https everywhere, even had the duckduckgo search engine when in fact google was default, also no pre installed or pre configure firewall was present (like SELinux in CentOS).
So now you quit Pure Browser and return to Firefox, ok it might be a good choice or better choice, but what makes PureOS unique and better safer then any other Linux, I feel like I invested in a story of Purism and same can be applied to any other Linux operating system and hardware vendor (like sysem76 and PopOS).
system76 has a custom installer by default he me partition is separate and the installer has reinstall option (if you used recommend partitioning) and you can with one click in the installer pre install the OS and keep all your data and home partition. Unique feature not present in Ubuntu.
Why PureOS as a privacy OS doesn’t offer preinstalled and preconfigured firewall,CentOS offers SELinux Security Enchained Linux (can be added to any RedHat OS like Fedora Workstation or Fedora Labs for example) with add on’s for security, pre configured firewalls etc.
I respect what Purism is doing like I said above and I hope more FOSS products exits, but for now I see no real advantage of using PureOS over any other Linux, why should I recommend PureOS and Purism to anyone who wants to join Linux over system76 + PopOS or any other similar company vendor.
EDIT: Yesterday I had a 20 or 24h time limited before I can reply to the post as a new user, just an FYI in case it takes me about 1 day to reply again, it might not be by choice and if next day is full of work might be 2 days.
Regards, Alex
Thank you for the update. I figured that was what happened. I came here and looked for a message pinned to the top of the forums about the removal and saw nothing, so I searched for “Pure Browser” and didn’t see anything “above the fold” with regards to the aforementioned discussion. Please make items like this more readily discoverable.
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Was there a deprecation warning that it that Pure Browser would disappear soon that I missed? The update’s are usually so innocuous that I seldom check to see what they fixed. and even then, the descriptions are usually as useful as Apple’s security update messages. I didn’t expect such a drastic update. Please consider improving communications with your users.
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Except that they are not returning to Firefox. They are instead going to “GNOME Web (epiphany)”.
Installing Firefox in place of PureBrowser is reasonable-ish in terms of ensuring no major change to the user interface etc. After all, users would rightly get upset if the browser that they are familiar with just completely disappeared on them.
So users can choose to keep the Firefox experience (but miss out on the improvements that were made in PureBrowser) or users can migrate to Epiphany. (Possibly a keen user could revert to PureBrowser but that isn’t a good long term option once Purism ceases to maintain it.)
It does seem like communication of this change might have been a little poor i.e. it wasn’t?
I already removed PureOS and put Fedora aarch64 (Fedora version will improve over time and I can have solbverblue) on my Librem, at least with Security Enhanced Linux SELinux I get best privacy option AS privacy was the main reason for getting Librem in the first place, after this PureOS is just another Good Distro Linux in my opinion, with nothing unique special.
And the company maybe forgot the claim of privacy or I hope that improves in the future.
Regards, Alex
Perhaps you forget that it is entirely open source. Can the same be said for Fedora or Pop_OS?
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I am sorry but you are very wrong about Fedora not being FOSS, you are welcome to try and see
Yeah I am 99,99% sure it can be said about Fedora (PopOS probably not) I use Fedora for years,
even the Nvidia drivers you cannot install by default or STEAM or VLC, all of the non free software needs to be enabled in additional extra repository for you to install.
I am sorry but Fedora and CentOS is one of the most pure FOSS OSs (you can add non FOSS software but if you choose to same as you can add steam OS redhat even co-sposored the open source com forum.
Fedora with centOS repo offers Security Enhanced Linux and with silverblue you get immutable OS.
Yeah sure the mobile OS version is far from a done product but I get my privacy.
Main reason for me using Librem\PureOS was privacy, everyone forgot that I did not.
Regards, Alex
Not only this however PureOS has numerous other Privacy and Secuirty enhancement. Their focus on Privacy and Secuirty is why they have moved to Epiphany.
By moving to Epiphany they can help sustain a browser with the sole focus of secure, privacy respecting FLOSS Software. Mozzilla simply didn’t share the goal as Purism and if you read the blog post they explained how it was becoming very difficult to main.
While I am a long term FireFox user and love Firefox, the move makes sense and does not make PureOS.
It is definitely about more than that, in my opinion.
It all comes down to Binary blobs I believe @anon70040690 .
Fedora is likely 99% FLOSS however it will more than likely not the entirely FLOSS. Purism when through great lengths to become FSF recommended and RYF certified, Fedora doesn’t have this for a reason.
Librem had this with BIG letters check the internet archive
“PureOS helps you surf the web safely, without being tracked by advertisers or marketers” https://archive.org/details/pureos-8.0-gnome-live_20190210-amd64 their was no ad blocker no extra plugins or services installed to insure security like https everywhere, even had the duckduckgo search engine when in fact google was default, also no pre installed or pre configure firewall was present (like SELinux in CentOS).
Yeah I don’t have that on PureOS and I can install Epiphany on any browser.
FSF recommended and RYF certified, mean nothing when the promise of “web safely, without being tracked by advertisers or marketers” cannot be done.
Fedora will always be 99,99% open source you cannot even install non FOSS driver, if you don’t add extra repo same for CentOS. you might talk about Red Hat Enterprise with Oracle DB etc, that is completely another issue.
PureOS should never have promised surf the web safely, without being tracked by advertisers or marketers, when it was impossible tasks to do. I feel better using Fedora and very disappointed by PureOS in general.
I respect what Purism is doing like I said above and I hope more FOSS products exits, but for now I see no real advantage of using PureOS over any other Linux, why should I recommend PureOS+Purism to anyone who wants to join Linux. Sadly I will not be getting any new products because promises are not kept by librem
Regards, Alex
“including the Duck Duck Go search engine and HTTPS: Everywhere bundled into our official web browser”
When I briefly used the live version of PureOS it had all the features you’re saying it didn’t so I am really not sure what you’re talking about and they clearly claim that to be the case on the link you shared.
I am a little lost 
.
I did not have them 6 months ago, when I tested it in 2019 I can find videos of people testing it online and saying that is a problem, I explained that in another post on the forum probably did not say it here again.
if you see the internet site back in 2019 it has with big letters
“PureOS helps you surf the web safely, without being tracked by advertisers or marketers” https://archive.org/details/pureos-8.0-gnome-live_20190210-amd64
that is not true since their is no ad blocker pre-installed, where is the firewall is it installed or enabled?
FSF recommended and RYF certified, Fedora has a SELinux, security enhanced Linux that is way better, has predefined firewall ports to be blocked (Something that as far as I know no other linux offers).
Look I use same name in other linux communities check my research gate via github or gitlab profile I have publsihed R&D papers on Intrusion detection system I work with software engineering I know what I talk about.
Short Answer I will get to is Purism Promised for the PureOS, something they cannot do now.
PureOS helps you surf the web safely, without being tracked by advertisers or marketers” https://archive.org/details/pureos-8.0-gnome-live_20190210-amd64 they removed it from the site and want people to forget it, main reason I got into purism was that
I will install PureOS with current version on a VM and show you example how you are being tracked by add companies and later on I will add extra tools from Fedora and Firefox to block that tracking,
so then tell me PureOS is private oriented and has some certificates that tell that it is private.
Simple example and test will not hurt right, if I am wrong I am wrong?
Regards, Alex
Let me just clarify I am not claiming that any distro or any software for that matter stops you being tracked, 100%.
All I was saying is when I used PureOS it did come with all the those things.
I personally go through my about:config on Firefox and customise it as well as using a host of different extensions to make it harder to track my browser (although finger printing becomes an issue with this but it will always be an issue).
I never did think PureBrowser have enough of the addons I like.
I made two points throughout this, Fedora is not entirely FLOSS and PureBrowser had benefits over stock Firefox. I stand by that.
Fedora is 99.99% pure FOSS you can argue here in purism forum and claim it to be true,
Fedora has its own linux kernel version to avoid adding non FOSS in the kernel and you cannot even add drivers that are not foss.
I said the same it cannot be done but PureOS claimed it can, that is not true, Hence me being disappointed.
“PureOS helps you surf the web safely, without being tracked by advertisers or marketers” https://archive.org/details/pureos-8.0-gnome-live_20190210-amd64
I will give you a short example where Current todays version of default PureOS with browser fails in add blocking, VM installed screenshot coming soon.
Regarding the claim, help was the verb used. This is different from say ensures, or saying something like PureOS makes browsing… This is important because words matter, and I believe you may be misinterpreting this.
With help there is legal wiggle room on the definition of what is being “promised”.
From my perspective, they never said, buy a Purism product and have security and privacy done for you. Instead it is saying, buy a Purism product and have the best base to begin being secure and private.
In the day and age we live in, a hapless user is just not ever going to be able to guarantee security or privacy. Any OS or product promising these things without anything from the user is selling lies.
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