Cromite

Cromite is what Bromite became. When Bromite, the privacy-hardened Chromium for Android, stopped updating at the end of 2022, one of its longtime contributors carried its patches forward under a new name, and Cromite is now the usual answer to the question of what replaced it. The idea is simple: take Chromium, remove Google, and build privacy in. It runs on Android, Windows and Linux, and it is open source.

The protections are on from the first launch. A built-in blocker filters ads and trackers, third-party cookies are kept separate for each site, and fingerprinting is resisted by switching off WebGL and WebRTC and randomising what sites can read about your device. On desktop, Chrome Web Store extensions install, Manifest V2 ones included; on Android there are none. There is no AI.

That hardening has a cost, which is why Cromite scores 2 for ease. JavaScript's JIT compiler is off by default, so script-heavy sites run slower, and translation, sync, push notifications and DRM video are gone along with Google's services. Cromite is not on Google Play — you install it from GitHub or the project's own F-Droid repository — and it is largely one developer's work, with releases slowing in 2026. For Android users who want Bromite's approach kept alive, it is the natural choice; anyone who wants a Play Store install, sync and prompt security updates should look at Brave.