Ask HN: Who browses the web without JavaScript and why?

3 pointsuptownhr4 comments

Really curious to how many people out there actually uses the web without JS and why they turn it off. Hard for me to believe that it is even possible :) Thought everything would be broken.

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I personally browse with JS on (with a lot of filters), but I know a lot of people who have it off and whitelist sites that are broken without it. Sometimes on a per-script basis.

Main reasons are for extra privacy (scripts aren't there making arbitrary requests), better responsiveness, and better battery life etc. Of course there is a cost.

Whitelisting and turning on scripts a feature browsers come with by default?

I usually browse with JS only turned on for top level domains that I visit, then manually turn on the media domains that feed pictures or video, if I want to consume that media. If I frequent the site, I white list it.

I enjoy the faster load times for most sites, less battery drain, no auto-playing videos, etc. It took awhile to get used to, but now its just the way to surf (for me) nowadays.

Nice. Sounds reasonable.

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