BrowserTech

Google Chrome Browser Alternatives

This is a list of Chromium based browsers which are mainly open source projects. If you are interested in getting rid of your Google Chrome proprietary browser and seek a higher level of privacy, one of these browsers might be the answer for you.

Chromium

Chromium is an open source project. Some of the code Google used to create Chrome originally came from the KDE project. Because that technology (KHTML, later WebKit) was released under a free software license which requires that improvements or modifications be released under the same license, Google had to make Chromium open source. Now you can use different builds of Chromium, some not having the Google proprietary shell and with options such as installing without Sync, WebRTC and Widevine. The Google API key is undefined in some available builds. A stripped down version on Chromium means services like Sync, Hotword, Translate, Now and Hangout will not work. You will not be able to log in with your Google account and synchronize your data to Google’s cloud. Without Widevine Chromium will not be able to play DRM content (on Netflix, for example). Without WebRTC some browser apps or communication plugins might not work if they rely on it. You can view the available builds and see which is right for you with the download button below.

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Iridium

Iridium is an opensource Chromium fork which has made many security and privacy enhancements and the disabling most of Google services in the browser. It has various enhancements where it forces strict security to provide the maximum level of security without compromising compatibility. Iridium does not sync with Google, this requires a Google API key, client ID and client secret. Iridium does not ship with one — therefore it does not work. If you insist to use Google sign-in, check Chromium API keys and follow the instructions for Providing Keys at Runtime.
Some changes include:

  • Increasing the RSA keysize to 2048 bits for self-signed certificates (used by WebRTC)
  • Generating a new WebRTC identity for each connection instead of reusing identities for 30 days
  • Fetches plugins list from iridiumbrowser.de where it will be updated regularly.

A full list of changes can be found here.

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Brave

Brave is a Free and open-source Web browser based on the Chromium web browser and its Blink engine. It was announced by the co-founder of the Mozilla project and creator of JavaScript, Brendan Eich. It claims to block website trackers and remove intrusive Internet advertisements. The browser also claims to improve Online privacy by sharing less data with advertising customers. It is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux. You can also opt into advertising and earning BAT for viewing ads which respect your privacy.

 

 

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Bromite

Bromite is Chromium plus ad blocking, privacy and security enhancements. The main goal is to provide a no-clutter browsing experience without privacy-invasive features and with the addition of a fast ad-blocking engine. Minimal UI changes are applied to help curbing the idea of “browser as an advertisement platform”. All patches are published under GNU/GPL v3 to enable other open source projects’ usage.

Bromite is available for Android v4.4 and above only.

  • native adblock engine with filters from EasyList, EasyPrivacy, uBlock origin and others
  • remove click-tracking and AMP from search results
  • DNS-over-HTTPS support
  • Proxy configuration with PAC and custom proxy lists support
  • → StartPage, → DuckDuckGo and → Qwant search engines
  • chrome flags to disable custom intents and clear session on exit
  • always-incognito mode
  • removed privacy-unfriendly features
  • privacy enhancement patches from → Iridium, → Inox patchset, → Brave and → ungoogled-chromium projects
  • security enhancement patches from GrapheneOS project
  • canvas, audio and other anti-fingerprinting mitigations
  • import/export bookmarks
  • allow playing videos in background
  • all codecs included (proprietary, open H.264 etc.)
  • AV1 codec support
  • built with official speed optimizations

Download


SR Ware Iron


Another Chromium variant is the SR Ware Iron browser. Iron boasts about having removed most if not all of Google proprietary services.The User-Agent in Iron can be flexible and permanently changed by UA.ini. Iron has an easy to use and built-in adblocker which can be configured by a single file. This browser seems to be proprietary and there doesn’t seem to be a detailed change log of its versions. The source code is here: part 1 & part 2This browser is available on Windows, Linux, MacOS and Android.

 

Download  Iron vs. Chrome


 

MIcrosoft Edge is now built on Chromium. Edge removes Google’s services and, in many cases replaces them with Microsoft’s. For example, Edge syncs your browser data with your Microsoft account rather than a Google account. You can also use all the apps in the Google Chrome store in addition to Microsoft’s extensions.

Edge offers some features Chrome doesn’t. For example, Edge has a built-in tracking prevention feature and a potentially unwanted program (PUP) blocker. Edge keeps some of its old features like the favorites button on the right of the address bar, it keeps its “collections” option top capture snippets of web pages,  “Pin to Taskbar” feature lets you pin your favorite sites to your PC’s taskbar and much more. The best part about Microsoft edge is that you can access its hidden options and really fine tune its settings by typing in its url bar: edge://flags/

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Other Chromium Based Browsers

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