Privacy - like eating and breathing - is one of life's basic requirements.
Katherine Neville
Have you ever saved your passwords and your account data on Google Chrome Browser or any other browsers?
A secure browser that protects your privacy is a critical tool for staying safe online and keeping your data secure from third parties.
Unless properly configured, most browsers contain vast amounts of private information that can potentially be exploited - or simply collected - by various third parties:
- Browsing History: all the websites you visit.
- Login Credentials: usernames and passwords.
- Cookies and Trackers: these are placed on your browser by the sites you visit.
- Auto fill Information: names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.
And even with a locked down and hardened browser, there may still be exploits that reveal your data and potential identity.
Warning: When using "private" or "incognito" mode in your browser, your real IP address and location are still being revealed to every website , ad, and tracker that loads in your browser. The best way to achieve true privacy while hiding your real IP address and location is to also use a VPN Service in conjunction with a good browser. Here are the top recommendations from us:
- ExpressVPN: Huge global network of fast VPN servers.
- NordVPN: A secure, audited VPN with advanced privacy features and a strict no-logs policy.
Problems with Popular Browsers
While following browsers claim to be secure against vulnerabilities, they might not be the best choice from a privacy perspective.
1. Google Chrome
Google Chrome is by far the most popular browser. Unfortunately, it’s a data collection tool as well and not a good choice for anyone looking for privacy.
You can safely assume that everything you do through Google Chrome is collected, saved to your data profile, and used for targeted advertising.
2. Microsoft Internet Explorer/Edge
Edge is a Microsoft product.
Just like with Windows, it’s a good idea to avoid Microsoft products, including Internet Explorer, and their newer browser called Edge. Internet Explorer and Edge are also closed-source, so there’s no telling what’s going on behind the scenes, and they’re also not the best for privacy reasons.
3. Opera Browser
Opera started off as a decent browser, developed in Norway. However, in 2016 it was SOLD to a Chinese consortium for $600 million – and a lot has changed. Opera’s privacy policy explains how your data is being collected and shared when you use Opera products. Here’s what I found:
Opera also offers a “free VPN”. Opera VPN offers a free service that collects your data for “promotional campaigns and advertising” – as they openly disclose in their Terms. What’s more, Opera is not even offering a true VPN (virtual private network), but instead a browser proxy. This browser proxy does not offer full encryption of traffic on your operating system or the privacy and security of a real VPN. It’s not really a VPN, it doesn’t offer full-system encryption, and your data is being collected when you use it. Do not use free VPNs, and consider an alternative browser. Not recommended.
4. Epic Browser
Epic is a browser based on Chromium, created by “Hidden Reflex” which is based in India. Since 2014, Epic has been claiming they would open source the code, but it remains closed source today. What’s going on behind the scenes? How do they manage Chromium and remove invasive code? Who knows.
Just like with Opera VPN, Epic falsely claims to offer a “free VPN” through the browser, but this is not really true. The browser is merely routing traffic through a US proxy server. As we learned with Opera, proxies are often used for data collection and they are often not secure. When reading the Epic privacy policy, we find that data from “video download and proxy services” is being collected.
One person who analyzed Epic found it to be connecting to Google(click to read full article) on startup. This suggests that Epic is not, in fact, de-googled as it claims.
5. Safari Browser
Safari is the default browser for Mac OS and iOS devices. Overall, Safari is not a horrible choice in terms of privacy and tracking protection – but it also cannot be recommended for a few reasons:
- Apple is a partner in the PRISM surveillance program
- Apple was caught “hoarding” Safari browsing history – even after it was deleted
- Apple was found to be collecting Safari history even when used in private mode
On a positive note, however, Apple does somewhat better with privacy than other large companies. The Safari browser blocks third-party cookies by default and also implements cross-site tracking protection.
Here are the Most Secure and Private Browsers:
1. Firefox (Modified and tweaked for privacy)
Firefox is a great all-around browser for privacy and security. It offers strong privacy protection features, many customization options, excellent security, and regular updates with an active development team. The newest version of Firefox is fast and light-weight with many privacy customization options.
Out of the box, Firefox is not the best for privacy, but it can be customized and hardened. Be sure to disable telemetry in Firefox, which is a feature that will collect “technical and interaction data” and also “install and run studies” within your browser.
Within the Privacy & Security settings area, there are many useful customization options for different levels of privacy: Standard, Strict, or Custom.
Another great benefit with Firefox is the ability to use numerous browser extensions that will enhance your privacy and security.
Firefox highlights:
- Open source code that has been audited by a third party
- Active development with frequent updates
- Excellent privacy features and customization options
- Many browser extensions supported
- Telemetry and tracking needs to be manually disabled
- Other modifications necessary for more privacy and security
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/
2. Iridium Browser
Iridium is a secure browser that is based on Chromium, configured for more privacy. This might be a good option for anyone wanting a browser that supports Chrome extensions, while also having much more privacy than you’d get from Chrome.
Note: While Iridium supports Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, there is no option for mobile users on iOS and Android.
The following excerpt from Iridium’s official site provides a good overview of this secure browser:
Iridium Browser is based on the Chromium code base. All modifications enhance the privacy of the user and make sure that the latest and best secure technologies are used. Automatic transmission of partial queries, keywords and metrics to central services is prevented and only occurs with the approval of the user. In addition, all our builds are reproducible and modifications are auditable, setting the project ahead of other secure browser providers.
Iridium offers numerous security and privacy enhancements over Chrome, along with regular updates and releases. You can see how Iridium differs from Chromium here. All source code is available on GitHub.
https://iridiumbrowser.de
3. Tor Browser
Next up we have the Tor browser. The Tor browser is a hardened version of Firefox that is configured to run on the Tor network. By default, the Tor Browser is a secure browser that protects you against browser fingerprinting, but it also has some disadvantages.
Because it uses the Tor network, which routes traffic over three different hops, download speeds with the Tor browser can be quite slow. The default version may also break some sites due to script blocking. Finally, there are also drawbacks with the Tor network itself, including malicious exit nodes, high latency, dependence on US government financing, and some consider it to be fundamentally compromised.
Another option is to use the Tor browser with the Tor network disabled. In this sense, the Tor browser will work like the other browsers we’ve covered above. Additionally, you can simply run a VPN in the background. Like the Tor network, a VPN will also encrypt your traffic and hide your IP, but it will be much faster.
https://www.torproject.org/
4. Ungoogled Chromium Browser
Ungoogled Chromium is an open source project to provide a Chromium browser, without the Google privacy issues:
ungoogled-chromium is Google Chromium, sans dependency on Google web services. It also features some tweaks to enhance privacy, control, and transparency (almost all of which require manual activation or enabling).
ungoogled-chromium retains the default Chromium experience as closely as possible. Unlike other Chromium forks that have their own visions of a web browser, ungoogled-chromium is essentially a drop-in replacement for Chromium.
Ungoogled Chromium receives regular Chromium security updates.
https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium
5. Brave Browser
Brave is a Chromium-based browser that is fast, secure, and privacy-focused by default. It has a built-in ad blocker and browser fingerprinting protection. The main developer behind Brave is Brandon Eich, who formerly worked for Mozilla. For out-of-the-box privacy and security, Brave is a decent option.
Like Iridium, Brave is based on open source Chromium, but configured for privacy. It does well with its default privacy settings and extra features. Here is a brief overview:
- Blocks ads and trackers by default
- Protects against browser fingerprinting
- Built-in script blocker
- Automatically upgrades to HTTPS (HTTPS Everywhere)
Brave now has ads – Despite offering “ad blocking” in the browser, Brave officially launched its own ad program in April 2019. The ads will be vetted by Brave and there’s a revenue-sharing model for users or certain websites to get a percentage of the revenue. Some have called this move hypocritical for a “privacy” browser to roll out an advertising program – but it’s also not too surprising.
Brave has also attracted some criticism because it layers over websites with its own ads, while also blocking the site’s ads from showing. This allows Brave to profit from other peoples’ work, while robbing the original creator of profits.
While Brave may have mixed reviews in the privacy community, it does offer basic, out-of-the-box privacy. This is especially useful to people who don’t want to tinker around with about:config settings. Just download it and you’re good to go.
You can read more about Brave’s privacy and security features here.
https://brave.com
Ok, now you know what to do if you are reading this blog on an unsafe browser. Let us know about your browsing experience in the comments box below.
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