JavaScript Navigator vendor Property

What You’ll Learn

navigator.vendor is a Baseline Navigator string. Per MDN it is always "Google Inc.", "Apple Computer, Inc.", or (in Firefox) "". Learn the three values, why sniffing is weak, five examples, and better alternatives.

Introduction

The name vendor sounds like a marketing brand label for the browser maker. In practice, MDN documents only three possible values — not a free-form company name for every browser on Earth.

• "Google Inc." — typical for Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, …)
• "Apple Computer, Inc." — typical for Safari
• "" (empty string) — Firefox

Learn vendor for Navigator trivia and legacy code — then prefer feature detection for real application logic.

Understanding the vendor Property

vendor is a read-only string on Navigator. It is coarser than a full User-Agent parse and weaker than capability checks.

• Always one of the three MDN-documented values in mainstream browsers.
• Chromium family shares "Google Inc." — poor brand ID.
• Firefox intentionally returns an empty string.
• Related legacy labels: product, appName, appCodeName.
• Related modern path for structured hints: userAgentData (experimental / limited).

📝 Syntax

General form of the property:

navigator.vendor

Value

• "Google Inc.", "Apple Computer, Inc.", or "" (Firefox).

Common patterns

console.log(navigator.vendor);
// Chrome / Edge (example): "Google Inc."
// Safari (example): "Apple Computer, Inc."
// Firefox (example): ""

function describeVendor(v) {
  if (v === "Google Inc.") return "Chromium-family vendor string";
  if (v === "Apple Computer, Inc.") return "Apple vendor string";
  if (v === "") return "Empty (Firefox-style)";
  return "Unexpected value: " + JSON.stringify(v);
}

console.log(describeVendor(navigator.vendor));

// Prefer feature detection for real features:
if ("serviceWorker" in navigator) {
  // safe to use service workers
}

Examples Gallery

Examples follow MDN navigator.vendor behavior. Prefer Try It Yourself — your value depends on the browser family.

console.log(navigator.vendor);

Google Inc.
(or "Apple Computer, Inc." / "" depending on browser)

const v = navigator.vendor;
let label;
if (v === "Google Inc.") {
  label = "Chromium-family vendor string (not Chrome-only)";
} else if (v === "Apple Computer, Inc.") {
  label = "Apple vendor string";
} else if (v === "") {
  label = "Empty string (Firefox-style)";
} else {
  label = "Unexpected: " + JSON.stringify(v);
}
console.log("vendor: " + JSON.stringify(v));
console.log(label);

vendor: "Google Inc."
Chromium-family vendor string (not Chrome-only)

const v = navigator.vendor;
const lines = [
  "value: " + JSON.stringify(v),
  "typeof: " + typeof v,
  "length: " + v.length
];
console.log(lines.join("\n"));

value: "Google Inc."
typeof: string
length: 11
(Firefox: value "" and length 0)

const lines = [
  "vendor: " + JSON.stringify(navigator.vendor),
  "product: " + navigator.product,
  "appCodeName: " + navigator.appCodeName,
  "appName: " + navigator.appName
];
console.log(lines.join("\n"));
console.log("Prefer feature detection for real app logic.");

vendor: "Google Inc."
product: Gecko
appCodeName: Mozilla
appName: Netscape
Prefer feature detection for real app logic.

const lines = [];
lines.push(
  "vendor: " + JSON.stringify(navigator.vendor) + " — weak brand signal"
);
lines.push(
  "serviceWorker: " +
    ("serviceWorker" in navigator ? "available" : "missing") +
    " — use this for features"
);
console.log(lines.join("\n"));

vendor: "Google Inc." — weak brand signal
serviceWorker: available — use this for features

🚀 Common Use Cases

• Learning Navigator history — understand the three MDN values.
• Legacy code review — spot scripts that branch on vendor === "Google Inc.".
• Debugging notes — include vendor in support logs as a coarse hint.
• Not for Chrome-vs-Edge detection — both often share the same string.
• Not for feature gates — detect APIs instead.

📝 Notes

• Baseline Widely available (MDN, since July 2015).
• Not Deprecated, Experimental, or Non-standard — no status banner required.
• Always "Google Inc.", "Apple Computer, Inc.", or "" (Firefox) per MDN.
• Read-only string on Navigator.
• Related: vendorSub, product, userAgent, userAgentData.

💡 Best Practices