Firefox's Free VPN and Split View Finally Give You a Reason to Leave Chrome Behind

Mozilla's Firefox browser has been quietly adding features that make it a genuinely compelling alternative to Google Chrome — and two in particular deserve your attention. A built-in free VPN and a split view mode are giving users real reasons to reconsider their browser choice.

Let's start with the VPN. Firefox now includes a free VPN service, a feature that most browsers either don't offer or reserve for paid tiers. For anyone concerned about online privacy — and in 2026, that should be everyone — having a VPN built directly into your browser removes a significant barrier. No separate subscription, no extension to manage, no third-party service to trust with your data. It just works.

The split view feature is equally practical. Being able to view two web pages side by side without juggling separate windows or tabs addresses one of the most common productivity pain points. Whether you're comparing products, referencing documents while writing, or monitoring a dashboard while working on something else, split view eliminates the constant tab-switching that kills focus.

Firefox's market share has been declining for years as Chrome dominated the browser landscape. But feature-for-feature, the current version of Firefox makes a strong case. It's built by a nonprofit organization focused on user privacy rather than ad revenue, which means its incentives are fundamentally aligned with yours.

The browser wars seemed settled, but features like these suggest the fight isn't over. Chrome may have the install base, but Firefox has the privacy-first positioning and the innovative features that Chrome has been slow to adopt.

What This Means For You: If you haven't tried Firefox recently, it's worth a fresh look — especially if you care about privacy. The built-in VPN alone could save you the cost of a separate VPN subscription, and split view is a productivity upgrade that Chrome still doesn't natively offer. Switching browsers is low-risk and takes about five minutes. The question is whether the convenience of sticking with Chrome is really worth giving up features that could improve your daily browsing experience.