Best Safari Alternatives for Mac & iOS

Google Chrome is the undisputed king of compatibility. Because it dominates the market, developers optimize their sites for Chrome first, meaning pages almost always render perfectly. Its V8 JavaScript engine sets the standard for speed, ensuring complex web apps feel snappy and responsive.

The ecosystem is its biggest superpower. With the largest library of extensions in the world, you can customize the browser to do almost anything. Deep integration with Google services—like instant syncing of history, passwords, and tabs across devices—makes it seamless for anyone living in the Google ecosystem.

The downsides are well-known: it can be resource-hungry, often demanding significant RAM, and its business model relies on data collection. While you can tweak privacy settings, Chrome is ultimately built by an ad company. If absolute privacy is your goal, you might look elsewhere, but for pure utility and convenience, Chrome is hard to beat.

Mozilla Firefox stands as the last major independent browser, powered by its own Gecko engine rather than Chromium. This independence allows it to prioritize user agency over corporate interests, offering a browsing experience that is open-source, transparent, and highly customizable.

Privacy is woven into the core. Features like Enhanced Tracking Protection block invasive trackers by default, while Multi-Account Containers let you isolate your digital lives—keeping Facebook data away from your banking, for example. Its customization engine is unmatched, allowing you to completely overhaul the UI with CSS if you choose.

While it may occasionally trail Chrome in raw JavaScript benchmarks, the difference is rarely noticeable in daily use. The extension library is mature and robust. For users who value the health of the open web and want a browser that serves them rather than advertisers, Firefox is the definitive choice.

Brave is built on the premise that you shouldn't have to configure your browser to be private—it should just work. Out of the box, Brave Shields aggressively block third-party trackers, ads, and fingerprinting scripts. This not only protects your data but often makes pages load faster by preventing heavy ad networks from downloading.

Beyond blocking, Brave includes a suite of privacy tools: a built-in firewall + VPN (paid), a privacy-focused search engine, and even a Tor mode for private windows to route traffic anonymously. It allows you to opt-in to privacy-respecting ads in exchange for cryptocurrency rewards, flipping the traditional ad model on its head.

The "crypto" features can feel cluttered to some, though they are easily disabled. Underneath, it runs on Chromium, so all your favorite Chrome extensions work perfectly. If you want the speed and compatibility of Chrome without the Google tracking, Brave is an excellent drop-in replacement.

Arc isn't just a browser; it's an operating system for the web. It discards the traditional top-bar tab strip in favor of a vertical sidebar and "Spaces," allowing you to organize your browsing contextually—separating "Work" from "Personal" completely. It treats tabs more like apps, keeping your most-used sites persistent and organized.

Its unique features include "Boosts" (which let you customize the look of any website), a "Little Arc" window for quick lookups, and built-in AI that renames downloaded files and summarizes search results. The command bar acts as a universal launcher, making mouse-free navigation incredibly fluid.

The important caveat is that Arc is finished. The Browser Company put it into maintenance mode in May 2025 and moved its entire team to Dia; Atlassian then acquired the company in September 2025. Arc still launches, still renders, still runs Chrome extensions and still receives Chromium security patches, but it has not gained a feature since, and no sunset date has been announced. There is also a learning curve, and unlearning years of muscle memory takes time. For power users who juggle dozens of contexts, Arc still offers a sense of calm that few browsers match — just understand you are adopting a frozen product.

Opera believes in the "batteries included" philosophy. Instead of asking you to hunt for extensions, it bakes popular tools directly into the interface. A free (proxy) VPN, an ad blocker, and a snapshot tool are available immediately upon installation.

The Sidebar is its defining feature, giving you persistent access to WhatsApp, Messenger, music players like Spotify, and "Aria," Opera's native AI assistant. This setup is perfect for users who want to keep chat and media visible without juggling separate windows or tabs.

The interface can feel busy compared to minimalist alternatives, and some users may prefer open-source privacy standards over Opera's proprietary stack. However, for users who want a feature-rich, "Swiss Army knife" browser that is ready to go from the first launch, Opera is a top contender.

Opera GX is the world's first browser designed specifically for gamers. Its standout feature is "GX Control," a set of limiters that let you cap the RAM, CPU, and network bandwidth the browser can use. This ensures your browser doesn't lag your game or stream, solving a common pain point for PC gamers.

Visually, it screams "gamer" with neon accents, Razer Chroma integration, and custom sound effects designed by sound engineers. It also features a "GX Corner" dashboard that aggregates free game deals and release calendars, keeping you plugged into the gaming world.

While the aesthetic is polarizing—you either love the cyberpunk look or you don't—the utility of the resource limiters is undeniable. For gamers who keep a browser open on a second monitor while playing, Opera GX offers control that no other browser provides.

DuckDuckGo Browser is the antithesis of configuration-heavy privacy tools. It is designed to be "private by default," requiring zero setup to protect you. It automatically upgrades connections to HTTPS, blocks third-party trackers, and manages cookie pop-ups for you.

Its signature feature is the "Fire Button," which instantly clears all your tabs and browsing data with a satisfying animation—perfect for quick, leave-no-trace sessions. It also includes "Email Protection" to hide your real email address and "App Tracking Protection" on Android to block trackers in other apps.

It is a simpler browser, lacking support for most browser extensions, which may be a dealbreaker for power users. However, for the average person who wants to browse without being watched and doesn't want to fiddle with settings, DuckDuckGo is the friendliest option available.

Microsoft Edge has successfully reinvented itself as a top-tier browser. Built on the same Chromium engine as Chrome, it matches Google's speed and compatibility but adds Microsoft's own productivity flavor. Features like Vertical Tabs, Collections (for research), and Split Screen make it surprisingly powerful for work.

It is heavily integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem, featuring built-in access to Copilot (Microsoft's AI), Outlook, and Office apps via a sidebar. "Sleeping Tabs" is a standout feature that aggressively freezes unused tabs to save RAM, often making Edge feel lighter than Chrome on aging hardware.

Some users find the aggressive promotion of Microsoft services intrusive. However, as a default Windows browser, it is no longer just a tool to download Chrome—it is a genuinely capable, feature-packed competitor that works brilliantly in enterprise and office environments.

Vivaldi is built for the user who wants to control every pixel of their browser. It offers an unparalleled level of customization: you can move the tab bar to any side of the screen, stack tabs into groups, tile multiple pages side-by-side, and create complex "Command Chains" to automate workflows.

Beyond the UI, Vivaldi integrates a full email client, calendar, and feed reader directly into the browser, aiming to be a complete productivity dashboard. It protects privacy by blocking trackers and ads without needing extensions, though it runs on the Chromium engine for full web compatibility.

The sheer number of options can be overwhelming for a casual user, and the interface can feel dense. But for power users who want a browser that adapts to them—rather than the other way around—Vivaldi is the ultimate playground.

Opera Air launched in February 2025 as the first browser built around mindfulness rather than features. The premise is that most of us browse in a mild state of tension, and the browser is where that tension accumulates, so Opera built the countermeasures directly into it. The interface is deliberately quiet — a minimalist Scandinavian design with a frosted-glass surface that picks up the colours of the page behind it.

Three things set it apart. "Take a Break" runs guided exercises without leaving the browser: breathing techniques, neck stretches, meditation and full-body scans with voice guidance, triggered by a shortcut or a reminder you schedule. "Boosts" layer binaural beats under music and ambient sound to push you toward focus or calm, with each layer's volume adjustable. "Quote of the Day" puts a rotating mindfulness quote on the start page. Underneath it is still Opera, so the free VPN, ad blocker and Aria assistant come along.

The limits matter. Opera Air runs on Windows and macOS only — no Linux, no mobile — so it cannot be your browser everywhere. The wellbeing features are pleasant but optional, and ignoring them leaves you running Opera with a calmer theme. It suits people who work in the browser all day and want the nudge to step away built into the tool rather than left to willpower.

Dia is a breath of fresh air for those tired of cluttered, toolbar-heavy browsers. It adopts a "less is more" philosophy, stripping away non-essential UI elements to let the web content take center stage. The aesthetic is incredibly clean, modern, and designed to minimize cognitive load.

Despite its minimalism, it packs a punch with integrated AI features. You can summon smart summaries or get explanations for complex topics without navigating away from your page. It aims to be a "calm" technology—present when you need it, invisible when you don't.

It is a newer entrant to the market, so it lacks the extensive third-party extension support of Chrome or Firefox. However, for writers, readers, and minimalists who value focus above all else, Dia offers a uniquely serene browsing experience.

Comet is an experimental browser concept from Perplexity that attempts to fundamentally change how we consume information. Instead of a list of blue links, Comet uses AI to synthesize answers, presenting a "knowledge-first" interface where the browser actively helps you understand topics rather than just displaying pages.

It enables a conversational research flow. You can ask follow-up questions, compare sources side-by-side, and see citations clearly marked. The goal is to reduce the "tab sprawl" that comes with researching complex topics by bringing the answer to the surface.

As a specialized tool, it may not replace your daily driver for general tasks like banking or shopping. But for students, researchers, and anyone who uses the web primarily to learn, Comet represents a fascinating glimpse into the future of AI-mediated browsing.

Helium is a Chromium-based browser focused on privacy and minimalism. It blocks ads, trackers, phishing sites, and third-party cookies by default using built-in community filters and uBlock Origin, with no setup required. On first launch it makes no background network requests unless you act, and its compact, distraction-free interface is designed to stay fast and lightweight over long sessions.

Despite its simplicity, Helium adds useful power features. It supports split-view browsing, fast link copying via shortcuts, and standalone web apps without duplicating Chromium internals. All Chromium extensions are supported, including Manifest V2, and installs from the Chrome Web Store are anonymized. With over 13,000 “!bangs” shortcuts, you can jump directly to sites and services from the address bar.

Privacy is baked into every decision, including what is left out: there is no AI assistant and no crypto wallet, and the project says plainly it does not want either. Helium is fully open source, enforces HTTPS, and supports Passkeys. There’s no built-in password manager or cloud sync by design, keeping sensitive data local. For users who want Chromium compatibility and extensions without Big Tech tracking, Helium is a clean, no-nonsense alternative.

Floorp is a passion project from Japan that answers the question: "What if Firefox was as customizable as Vivaldi?" Built on the Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) base, it retains the privacy and engine of Mozilla but unlocks the interface, allowing for vertical tabs, multi-row tab bars, and flexible sidebar panels.

It is community-driven and open-source, ensuring transparency. Users love it for features like "Workspaces" (grouping tabs) and its ability to completely restyle the browser chrome. It fully supports the Firefox extension ecosystem, so you don't lose your favorite add-ons.

Because it is a smaller project, it may not receive day-one security patches as instantly as mainline Firefox, though the team is very active. For users who love the Gecko engine but feel constrained by Firefox's default interface, Floorp is the perfect middle ground.

Strawberry isn’t trying to be a faster Chrome or a more private Firefox. It frames itself as a self-driving browser: one that can actively navigate the web for you. Built around AI agents, Strawberry can scroll pages, click buttons, fill forms, and extract information across sites, turning the browser from a passive tool into an active assistant.

The core idea is automation. Instead of juggling tabs and copy-pasting between tools, you give Strawberry a goal—research a topic, find leads, summarize content, or complete a repetitive workflow—and its agents execute the steps under your supervision. Actions require explicit approval, which keeps you in control while still removing much of the manual effort that defines everyday browsing.

This ambition comes with trade-offs. Strawberry is early-stage, with a smaller ecosystem and a learning curve that traditional browsers don’t have. But it’s not competing on extensions or polish—it’s competing on leverage. If most browsers help you consume the web, Strawberry is built to help you operate on it.

Shift is less of a standard web browser and more of a "workstation" for your web apps. Its primary goal is to solve the problem of managing multiple accounts. If you have five Gmail accounts, three Slack teams, and multiple Trello boards, Shift lets you stay logged into all of them simultaneously in a single window.

It organizes your apps into a sidebar, allowing for rapid switching without the "Cmd+Tab" chaos. Unified search lets you find a file or email across all your connected drives and mailboxes instantly, which is a massive productivity booster for professionals.

The trade-off is resource usage; Shift can be heavy on memory because it runs many web apps at once. It is also a subscription-based product for its advanced features. But for freelancers and managers drowning in logins, it restores sanity to the digital workspace.

SigmaOS treats the browser like a to-do list. Every tab is a "task" that you can mark as done, clearing it from your workspace. This subtle psychological shift encourages you to close tabs and finish tasks rather than letting them pile up indefinitely.

Navigation is designed to be almost entirely keyboard-driven. You use single-key shortcuts to open pages, split the screen, or send links to different workspaces. It includes "Airis," an AI assistant that can rewrite text or summarize pages in context, further speeding up workflows.

It requires a significant shift in mindset; if you prefer clicking tabs with a mouse, SigmaOS will feel alien. But for keyboard-centric users who view browsing as a series of tasks to be completed, it offers a uniquely productive and focused environment.

Tor Browser is the gold standard for anonymity. It doesn't just hide your traffic; it routes it through three random volunteer relays around the world (the "Onion" network), wrapping it in layers of encryption. This makes it virtually impossible for a website to know who you are or for your ISP to know what you are looking at.

It is designed to resist "fingerprinting"—techniques companies use to identify you based on your screen size or fonts. By making every Tor user look the same, it protects your identity in a way no standard browser can. It is an essential tool for activists, journalists, and privacy purists.

The cost of this anonymity is speed. Bouncing traffic around the world makes pages load noticeably slower. Many sites also block Tor users or require endless CAPTCHAs. It is not a daily driver for streaming or shopping, but for sensitive searching, it is unmatched.

LibreWolf is for people who love Firefox but don't trust the "default" settings. It is a custom build of Firefox that strips out all telemetry, data collection, and non-essential features like Pocket or sponsored shortcuts. It pre-installs uBlock Origin, widely considered the best ad blocker available.

It applies a set of "hardened" settings out of the box—disabling WebGL to prevent fingerprinting, enforcing strict cookie policies, and clearing history on exit. This saves you the hours it would normally take to configure Firefox to this level of privacy.

Because it is so strict, it can sometimes break websites (like video streaming or complex web apps). It also doesn't include Firefox Sync by default (for privacy reasons). It’s a tool for users who are willing to sacrifice a little convenience for maximum privacy integrity.

Opera Mini is a legend in the mobile world, famous for its ability to run on almost any connection. Its secret sauce is server-side compression: Opera’s servers shrink webpages by up to 90% before sending them to your phone. This makes it incredibly fast on 2G/3G networks or spotty Wi-Fi.

It includes smart features for data-conscious users, like a built-in ad blocker, offline file sharing, and a dashboard showing exactly how much data you’ve saved. It’s small, installs quickly, and runs well even on older, budget smartphones.

The compression technology can sometimes break complex modern websites that rely on heavy JavaScript or interactivity. It isn't the best choice for rich web apps, but as a backup browser for travel, bad reception, or limited data plans, it is a lifesaver.

Firefox Focus is the digital equivalent of a shredder. It is a single-purpose mobile browser designed for quick, private searches. It doesn't save your history, passwords, or cookies. When you are done, you tap the "Trash" icon, and your session is instantly wiped clean.

By blocking a wide range of web trackers by default, it often loads pages faster than standard mobile browsers, which are bogged down by ads and analytics scripts. Its purple-themed interface is simple and distraction-free, letting you get in and out quickly.

It is not meant to be your "main" browser—it has no tabs (you can only view one page at a time) and no sync features. But for checking a medical symptom, shopping for a gift, or any search you want to keep off the record, it is the perfect companion app.

Zen Browser takes the reliable, privacy-friendly engine of Firefox and wraps it in a beautiful, modern interface inspired by Arc. It brings features like vertical tabs, split views, and workspaces to the Gecko ecosystem, proving that you don't need Chromium to have a cutting-edge UI.

It focuses on "calmness" and ergonomics. The interface is designed to reduce visual noise and help you stay in the flow. It includes thoughtful touches like a sidebar for easy navigation and keyboard shortcuts that power users will appreciate.

As a relatively new project, it is still evolving, and you might find the occasional rough edge compared to a decade-old browser. However, for users who want the modern features of Arc but refuse to leave the privacy and independence of Firefox, Zen is the browser they have been waiting for.

Waterfox began as a 64-bit optimized fork of Firefox and has evolved into a privacy-first alternative that strips out telemetry, data collection, sponsored content, and Pocket integration. Based on Firefox ESR, it ships with Oblivious DNS over HTTPS (OHTTP) by default, routing DNS queries through a Fastly relay to hide both the content and origin of your requests—a feature no other mainstream browser offers out of the box.

Privacy goes beyond DNS. Container tabs are enabled by default (Firefox requires an extension), Private Tabs let you browse anonymously within the same window, and there are no remote experiments or personalization feeds. When Mozilla announced plans to make Firefox an "AI browser," Waterfox's creator Alex Kontos responded with a firm "Waterfox will not include LLMs. Full stop."—making it a deliberate haven for users who want their browser to stay out of the AI race.

Waterfox supports extensions from three ecosystems: Firefox Add-ons (full compatibility), Chrome Web Store, and Opera Web Store (partial compatibility for simpler extensions). Recent versions added native vertical tree-style tabs, tab groups, manual tab unloading, and WebGPU support. The source code is open under the Mozilla Public License and available on GitHub.

Mullvad Browser is the result of a collaboration between Mullvad VPN and the Tor Project. The idea is powerful: take Tor Browser's industry-leading anti-fingerprinting protections and package them for VPN use rather than onion routing. With resistFingerprinting enabled, spoofed fonts and timezones, letterboxing to normalize window dimensions, and canvas/WebGL blocking, every Mullvad Browser user looks identical to websites.

Unlike Tor Browser, traffic is not routed through the Tor network, so you get much better speed. Instead, it's designed to be paired with Mullvad VPN (or any VPN) for IP privacy. DNS queries go through Mullvad DNS-over-HTTPS by default with no fallback. Telemetry is removed at compile time, and the browser runs in permanent private mode—no history, no cookies between sessions.

The trade-off is deliberate inconvenience. Mullvad Browser ships with uBlock Origin and NoScript pre-installed and actively discourages adding more extensions, since any change makes your fingerprint unique. There's no sync, no password manager, no bookmarks persistence. It's not a daily driver for most people, but for privacy-critical sessions it's one of the strongest options available. It is desktop-only — Linux, macOS and Windows — with no mobile build.

Orion is built by Kagi, the company behind the paid search engine, and takes a unique approach: a fully native WebKit browser for macOS and iOS that can run extensions from the Safari, Chrome, and Firefox extension stores. Written in Swift and Objective-C with native Apple APIs, it delivers Safari-class speed and energy efficiency while opening up over 150,000 extensions from competing ecosystems.

Privacy is a core principle. Orion collects zero telemetry—no usage data, no analytics, no identifiers. Built-in ad and tracker blocking is enabled by default, and the browser markets itself as "AI-proof," deliberately avoiding embedded AI agents to prevent AI-driven data collection. It includes vertical tree-style tabs, a built-in password manager, iCloud sync for tabs and bookmarks, reader mode, and AppleScript automation support.

Extension compatibility covers roughly 70% of the WebExtensions API, meaning most popular Chrome and Firefox extensions work but some complex ones may have issues. Linux reached public beta in March 2026, and Windows support is planned before the end of the year. For Mac and iPhone users who want Safari's performance without its limited extension ecosystem, Orion fills a niche no other browser occupies.

Opera Neon has been completely reimagined from its 2017 concept browser origins. Relaunched in 2025 as a premium agentic AI browser at $19.90/month, it's built around three specialized AI agents: Neon Chat for conversational assistance, Neon Do for autonomous browser actions like filling forms and comparing options, and Neon Make for creating entire websites, tools, and reports from prompts—even while the browser is closed.

The browser provides access to top-tier AI models including GPT 5.1 and Gemini 3 Pro, with Sora 2 integration for video generation. Its "Tasks" system creates self-contained AI workspaces where the AI understands context across multiple tabs and documents. An Intelligent Mode automatically detects which AI agent is best suited for your request. "Cards" let you customize AI behavior with persistent instructions.

The trade-offs are significant. Opera Neon has no extension support whatsoever—not even Chrome Web Store access available in regular Opera. Customization is minimal, and privacy-conscious users should note that Opera is owned by a Chinese consortium (Kunlun Tech), data is retained on servers for 30 days to 6 months, and the browser is closed source. Speed benchmarks trail Chrome and Firefox. It's a purpose-built AI power tool, not a general-purpose browser.

Norton Neo is Gen Digital's free AI-native browser, marketed as "the world's first safe AI-native browser." Built on Chromium, it layers Norton's WebShield threat intelligence on top for real-time phishing and malware protection using AI-driven behavioral analysis. The browser is completely free with no subscription required for core features.

The AI integration runs deep. The Magic Box unifies search, AI chat, and browser commands in a single bar that intelligently routes queries to the right tool. Peek and Summary generates AI previews of pages before you click, and smart tab management automatically groups tabs by topic or project. A configurable memory system lets you control what the AI remembers about you, and simple tasks like page summaries run locally on-device for privacy.

Norton Neo supports Chrome extensions via the Chrome Web Store and offers vertical tabs, built-in ad/tracker blocking, and a password manager. Data is stored locally rather than in the cloud. The trade-off is limited customization compared to browsers like Vivaldi or Firefox, and the closed-source nature means you're trusting Gen Digital (NASDAQ: GEN, parent of Norton, Avast, and AVG) with the implementation. Mobile apps for iOS and Android shipped alongside the desktop builds, and a built-in VPN encrypts traffic without a separate install.

Pale Moon forked from Firefox in 2009 and kept going in a direction Mozilla abandoned. In 2015 it stopped tracking Gecko and moved to Goanna, its own hard fork of the engine, making it one of the very few browsers that is not Blink, not WebKit, and no longer Gecko either. Development is small and deliberate, and the project openly avoids Big Tech services—the default search engine is DuckDuckGo.

What you get for that independence is customization nothing else matches. Pale Moon still supports the full XUL and XPCOM add-on model Firefox removed in 2017, so extensions can redefine core browser behaviour rather than work inside a sandboxed API. With full theming and a deep about:config on top, the interface is genuinely yours to rebuild. There is no telemetry, no sponsored content and no AI.

The cost is real. Goanna lags well behind on modern web platform features, so complex web apps, some streaming services and Chromium-only sites will break. Performance on heavy pages trails current browsers because the architecture predates the multiprocess designs everyone else adopted. Ad blocking, tracking protection and Reader View all come from add-ons rather than the browser. Pale Moon suits people who want total control and will keep a second browser around for the sites it cannot handle.

Thorium is the same Chromium that Chrome is built on, put together differently. Google ships one version that has to run on every machine, including very old ones, so it cannot assume your computer has anything modern in it. Thorium builds several versions instead, each assuming a newer processor and taking the shortcuts that allows. Named after element 90, the project measures the result at 8-38% faster than standard Chromium.

Speed aside, it puts back things Google removed or never turned on. Video and image formats Chrome refuses to play work here, and even old FTP links still open. Privacy settings Chrome leaves off are switched on from the start, and the ad-targeting features Google has been building into Chrome are switched off. The full Chrome Web Store works, so your extensions come across unchanged.

The trade-offs are about upkeep, not capability. Thorium follows a long-term-support version of Chromium that changes only twice a year, which spares the project constant catch-up work but means security fixes can reach you later than on Chrome. You download and update it by hand. It is a small independent project rather than a company product, and not a privacy browser—no ad blocker, no tracker blocking. Choose it if you want the fastest Chromium and do not mind managing updates yourself.

Samsung Internet is the browser most people use without choosing it. It ships as the default on every Galaxy phone, which makes it the third most popular mobile browser in the world at roughly 2.3% of all browsing — ahead of Brave, Vivaldi and DuckDuckGo combined, despite far less attention. It is Chromium underneath, so pages render as they do in Chrome.

For years it was Android-only. That changed in 2026, when the Windows build left beta and shipped worldwide, bringing an assistant built with Perplexity that answers questions about your open tabs from a sidebar. Samsung Pass handles passwords and passkeys, ad blocking is built in, and bookmarks, history and open tabs sync between phone and desktop so you can push a page from one to the other. Smart Anti-Tracking blocks cross-site trackers without you configuring anything.

The catch is the ecosystem. There is no macOS, Linux or iOS build, so the desktop half only helps Windows users, and the browser is at its best when you already own Samsung hardware and a Samsung account. It is also closed source, and Samsung's privacy defaults are reasonable rather than strict — this is a mainstream browser with sensible protections, not a privacy tool. If you use a Galaxy phone and a Windows PC, it is the most seamless option available to you.

Ungoogled Chromium describes itself as "Google Chromium, sans integration with Google", and it means it literally. Safe Browsing, the Google Host Detector, Cloud Messaging and the rest are disabled; Google binaries are stripped from the source; and requests that would reach Google are neutered by rewriting those domains to an address that cannot resolve. The goal is not to add privacy features but to remove a company, leaving the browser otherwise as close to stock Chromium as possible.

That makes it the reference point other privacy forks are measured against, and the base several are built on — Helium is ungoogled-chromium with conveniences layered on top. It is fully open source under a BSD licence, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux plus the BSDs, and because it is unmodified Chromium underneath, pages render exactly as they do in Chrome.

What it removes, it does not replace. There is no auto-updater, so keeping current is your job or your package manager's. The Chrome Web Store is not wired in, so extensions install manually or through a community helper that restores the store and semi-automatic updates. Widevine is absent, so Netflix and other DRM video need files extracted from a matching Chrome build — a genuinely fiddly process that breaks on version changes. Sync is gone with everything else Google. This is a browser for people who want Google removed and will accept real inconvenience to get it; anyone wanting that outcome with less work should look at Helium or Brave.

UC Browser is one of the most used browsers you may never have opened. Owned by Alibaba since 2014, it holds around 1% of global browsing and roughly 600 million monthly users, over half of them in India and Indonesia. Its appeal is concrete: a small app, aggressive data compression through cloud acceleration, and a download manager that splits files into parts to pull them down faster — features that matter enormously on slow or metered connections and barely register on fast ones.

The privacy record is the reason it sits at the bottom of our ratings. Citizen Lab documented security and privacy failures across multiple investigations, and reporting by Forbes in 2021 found the browser sending every visited page to UCWeb servers regardless of whether the user was in incognito mode, along with IP addresses going to Alibaba-controlled infrastructure. India banned it outright over data and national security concerns. These are documented findings about behaviour, not speculation about ownership.

It is also narrower than it once was. The Android app is actively updated, but the Windows build has not moved since 2023, which is why we list this as an Android browser — a three-year-old Chromium is not a platform we would point anyone at. If you are on a slow connection and need the compression and download handling, nothing here works better. For anyone else, Opera Mini offers similar data saving with a far less troubled history.

Yandex Browser is the most feature-dense Chromium build most Western users have never tried. Built by the Russian search company, it holds around 0.9% of global browsing with far higher concentration in Russia and the CIS, and it runs on all five major platforms. The full Chrome Web Store works, so extensions carry over unchanged.

What it adds is substantial. Alice, Yandex's voice assistant, is built into the browser rather than bolted on. Ad blocking is aggressive and on by default, and on Android it cooperates with separate blocker apps instead of fighting them. Protect, its security layer, warns about fraudulent pages and hardens behaviour on public Wi-Fi. Neural machine translation handles whole pages, and it is genuinely strong on languages Western browsers treat as an afterthought. Passwords and settings sync across devices.

The consideration that dominates everything else is who operates it. Yandex is a Russian company subject to Russian law, and a browser sees every page you open. The engineering is good and the feature set is real, but where your browsing data is processed and which legal regime governs it are not details you can configure away — which is why it scores 2 for privacy despite shipping protections that would otherwise earn more. Whether that matters depends entirely on your threat model, and for many readers it will be decisive.