Limiting JavaScript?
I disable JavaScript in browsers and have done so for many years, if it&#x27;s hard or awkward to disable it in a specific browser then it instantly gets the flick and I substitute one that&#x27;s more amenable to having its JS operation switched to &#x27;off&#x27; mode.<p>Why do I bother going to this trouble when, these days, most of the web considers JavaScript &#x27;on-mode&#x27; as the &#x27;essential&#x27; default?  Well, I&#x27;ve multiple reasons the first of which is useability.  Whenever I have to use a browser where I am unable to disable JavaScript (i.e. on machines that I don&#x27;t own or control)—I feel both frustrated and no longer in control of my browsing experience, here&#x27;s a few of my reasons:<p>1.  Speed.  Fundamentally, I find that with JavaScript &#x27;on&#x27; the browser&#x27;s usability suffers enormously, its response speed drops to the point where it&#x27;s damn difficult or painful to use (essentially, the browser&#x27;s ergonomics have taken an unacceptable nosedive).  If you&#x27;ve ever browsed the web without JavaScript for any length of time then you&#x27;ll greatly appreciate the truly enormous increase in rendering (display) speed of web pages when JS is turned &#x27;off&#x27;.  Moreover, the browser not only renders pages much more quickly but also the rendering is much smoother—gone are the pauses and jerky page-loading operation that so often plagues JavaScript&#x27;s operation.<p>1.1  Why users actually put up with such unacceptable response times I can only attribute to the fact that most have never used a browser with JavaScript disabled.  This alone is an indictment of the web&#x2F;development industry:  for when websites downgrade users&#x27; browsing [useability] experiences for their own explicit benefit (and or pecuniary interest) then they are effectively exploiting users.  Essentially, users do not really benefit from the use of JavaScript, but websites do, and they do so mightily!<p>2.  Security and Privacy are so much easier to enforce when a browser&#x27;s JavaScript is disabled.  Right, that&#x27;s a sweeping statement but it&#x27;s easy to test.  Using your browser&#x27;s default settings and without additional add-ons or plugins (with the exception of say a JavaScript on&#x2F;off toggle add-on), go to security&#x2F;vulnerability-testing sites such as by Steve Gibson&#x27;s, (GRC&#x27;s) ShieldsUP!! or the EFF&#x27;s Panopticlick, site and check your browser&#x27;s privacy and security with and without JS.  You&#x27;ll be surprised.  Moreover, many of the privacy-invading techniques used by websites to steal your personal info are killed stone-dead if JavaScript is disabled.<p>3.  Neutering JavaScript works wonderfully as a first line of defence against ads and ad&#x2F;user-tracking.  Even without AdBlock or similar ad-blocking software, ads are essentially yesterday when JavaScript is disabled!  Adding ad-blockers, etc. later only improves one&#x27;s blocking experience.  Make no mistake, JavaScript&#x27;s main web function is to make it dead easy for websites, advertisers and Tech Giants to track you wherever you go across the web as well as to supply you with targeted advertising, etc.—everything else—all of JavaScript&#x27;s other features are only of ancillary benefit (and prior to JS&#x27;s introduction, the web had other alternatives).<p>Nowadays, I&#x27;m essentially out of touch with the latest ads as I never see any.  …And what a truly wonderful condition that is.<p>4.  Websites that Require JavaScript.  When I encounter a website that absolutely requires JavaScript to function so conditioned are my reflexes that I find I&#x27;ve backed out and off it without me even having realizing it.  I can wiz through dozens and dozens of news items on Hacker News and easily bypass any sites that will not function without JS.  I&#x27;ve never needed to worry, as on the Web there&#x27;s always thousands of equivalent or alternative websites that are more &#x27;cooperative&#x27; from which to choose.<p>5.  In very rare instances when I must visit a site that requires JavaScript to function, I&#x27;ve a browser add-on that has an icon on the navigation toolbar which allows me to simply toggle JS on and off whenever required.  Accidentally leaving JS on is almost impossible as the icon changes from green to red when off.  Similar methodologies apply on my rooted smartphone:  along with the absolute prerequisite of completely removing (deleting) Google&#x27;s GApps, the 3rd-party browser I use has a feature to turn JavaScript quickly off.<p>I&#x27;m a heavy web user and have been so for decades, I often literally peruse thousands of web pages per day without any need for JavaScript whatsoever.  I only add that I feel sorry for the many thousands of you who are welded on to addictive sites where JavaScript is necessary.<p>Tragically, JavaScript&#x27;s unfortunate arrival on the web several decades ago was the beginning of the end of the old fast web as we once knew it, and if we are to ever reclaim the web for users—claw power back from the Tech Giants like Google, Facebook et al—then we will have to begin by severely curtailing JavaScript&#x27;s power.<p>Limiting JavaScript as outlined in the article isn&#x27;t anywhere near a satisfactory solution.  For starters, can you imagine the fights and disagreements over how these various, essentially arbitrary limits will be set.<p>Keep in mind that it is JavaScript that fuels the Tech Giants&#x27; presence on the web and thus they&#x27;re the ones who are its &#x27;true&#x27; pushers.  Like drug peddlers, they&#x27;ve forced this horrible, unnecessary, pernicious JavaScript scripting &#x27;kludge&#x27; onto us users so as to maximize their business models—that of maximizing their profits, and they&#x27;ve done so at the expense of us users.  In a much more user-centric web environment, none of us users would ever need this JavaScript &#x27;junk&#x27;.