A secure browser that protects your privacy is an important tool for keeping your information and data safe online and keeping your data safe from third parties. We have been reviewing, testing, and rating browsers over the past six years, and this guide contains the latest recommendations for 2022 – 2023.
Want a secure browser that truly keeps your data private? Well, you might be surprised by the amount of data that is kept about you.
What is the most secure web browser?
Warning: Many browsers today are actually data collection tools for advertising companies. This is the case for Google Chrome, the largest and most popular browser. By collecting data through your browser, these companies can make money through their advertising partners with targeted ads.
We see the same business model that abuses privacy with search engines, email services, and even free mobile apps. Most browsers, unless configured properly, contain a lot of private information that can be exploited – or simply collected – by various third parties such as :
- Browsing history: All the websites you visit
- Login credentials: usernames and passwords
- Cookies and trackers: These are placed on your browser by websites you visit
- Autofill information: names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.
As we will explain in more detail below, using “private” or “incognito” browsing will not protect you. Your IP address will remain exposed and various third parties will still be able to track all your activities. But you don’t even need to take our word for it.
Even with a locked and secure browser, there may still be vulnerabilities that expose your data and possible identity. For example, Google Chrome announced a serious flaw that could allow hackers to remotely execute code on affected systems, but don’t let this stress you out. There are effective solutions and tools that we’ll cover in detail below. In this browser security and privacy guide, we’ll explain the following topics:
- The best secure browsers that respect your privacy
- Problems with other browsers
- Browser privacy hashing
- Secure browser add-ons
- ‘Private Browsing’ Mode Isn’t Very Private (And Why You Need a VPN)
Incognito browsing is not as secure as you might expect
When you use your browser’s “private” or “incognito” browsing mode, there are still ways to reveal your true IP address and location for every website, ad, and tracker that loads in your browser. In addition, all your activities remain visible to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). As we recently learned, ISPs record everything you do online and share the data with many other parties. This is why it’s essential to use a good VPN for basic digital privacy.
The best way to achieve true privacy while hiding your real IP address and online activities is to use a secure browser with a good VPN. This will hide your real IP address and location, while encrypting and anonymizing your traffic so your ISP can’t see your online activities.
Here are our top three recommendations from the best VPN list we’ve tested and reviewed:
- NordVPN: Fast, secure, audited VPN with advanced privacy features and a strict no-logs policy, based in Panama.
- Surfshark VPN: A no-logs VPN service with a wealth of privacy and security features, based in the Netherlands.
- ExpressVPN – This is a secure and reliable VPN that has some great privacy features and also works well for streaming. It is based in the British Virgin Islands.
Now let’s examine the most secure browsers that you can combine with a VPN to get maximum privacy.
Secure browsers that protect your privacy
In this section we will examine the best browsers based on two main factors:
- Security: How well does your browser protect you from hackers, vulnerabilities and online exploits?
- Privacy: How much data does the browser itself collect about you and who is this data shared with? How does the browser protect your privacy?
Conflicting opinions! However, opinions about browser privacy and security can be varied and controversial, and this page is not intended to favor one browser over another. It is a summary of information about different web browsers that work well with both privacy and security. Choose the best browser for you based on your unique needs and threat model.
Here are the most secure and private browsers:
1. Brave: The most secure and private browser (by default)
Brava Browser is arguably the most secure browser with simple and unconventional privacy. It is a Chromium-based browser that is fast, secure, and privacy-focused by default. It has a built-in ad blocker and in-browser fingerprint protection, while also giving you access to numerous add-ons and extensions. The lead developer behind Brave is Brandon Eich, who previously worked at Mozilla.
To summarize this browser, Brave is based on open source Chromium, but configured for more privacy. Works well with default privacy settings and additional features. Here is a brief overview:
- Blocks ads and trackers by default
- It protects against browser fingerprinting and even provides random fingerprint distribution
- Built-in script blocker
- All third party storage is prohibited
- Automatically upgrades to HTTPS (HTTPS Everywhere)
- Easy access to the Tor network
Brave is available for desktop operating systems, including Windows and Linux and Mac OS and android.
2. Firefox (edited and edited 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 latest version of Firefox is fast and lightweight with many privacy customization options.
Firefox isn’t the best for privacy, but it can be customized and strengthened, and we show you exactly how in our guide to Firefox privacy tweaks. Make sure to disable remote tracking in Firefox, a feature that will collect “technical and interactive data” and also “install and run studies” within your browser.
Under the Privacy and Security settings area, there are several useful customization options for different levels of privacy: Standard, Strict, or Custom.
Another great benefit with Firefox is the ability to use various browser extensions that can enhance your privacy and security. We’ll go over some of these additions below.
Firefox highlights:
- Open source code that has been independently audited
- Active development with frequent updates
- Excellent privacy features and customization options
- Support for many browser extensions
- Remote tracking and tracing must be disabled manually
- Other modifications are necessary for greater privacy and security
Firefox is available for desktop operating systems, including Windows and Mac OS and android.
3. Tor Browser
Tor Browser is a solid version of Firefox configured to run on the Tor network. By default, Tor Browser is a secure browser that protects you from browser fingerprinting, but it also has some drawbacks.
Because it uses the Tor network, which routes traffic over three different hops, download speeds with Tor Browser can be very slow. The default version may also crash some sites due to script blocking. Finally, there are also drawbacks to the Tor network itself, its high latency, reliance on US government funding, and some consider it fundamentally vulnerable. There are also many websites that block IP addresses originating from the Tor network.
Another option is to use Tor Browser with the Tor network disabled. In this sense, Tor Browser will work like the other browsers we’ve covered above. Additionally, you can simply run the VPN in the background. Like the Tor network, a VPN will also encrypt your traffic and hide your IP address, but it will be much faster.
Be careful when adjusting your Tor Browser settings, as this may compromise the browser’s built-in privacy and security features.
Tor is available for desktop operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and android. You can find installation instructions here .
4. Chromium Ungoogled browser
It is an open source project to provide the Chromium browser, without Google’s privacy issues and this browser does not depend on Google’s web services. It also features some tweaks to improve privacy, control, and transparency (almost all of which require manual activation or enablement).
This browser keeps the default Chromium experience as much as possible. Unlike others that have their own web browser insights, ungoogled-chromium is basically a drop-in replacement for Chromium. Chromium Ungoogled receives regular security updates for Chromium.
Chromium Ungoogled browser runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows operating systems, and you can download it from Official website .
5. Promate Browser (Android)
It is a Chromium based browser for Android only (does not support desktop). It comes with some great features by default, including ad blocking and several privacy improvements. Here are some of the notable features of this browser from the official Bromite website:
- The main goal is to provide a clutter-free browsing experience without privacy features while adding a fast ad blocking engine.
- Minimal UI changes are implemented to help curb the “browser as advertising platform” idea.
- All patches are published under GNU/GPL v3 to enable use by other open source projects.
- Promate is only available for Android Lollipop (version 5.0, API level 21) and above.
Another great feature that I love with Bromite is that you can use custom filters to block ads. Bromite is under development and is still a great browser for Android phone users.
Bromite browser runs on the Android operating system and you can download it from Official website .
6. LibreWolf – Private and secure fork for Firefox
It is a fork of Firefox that continues to grow in popularity. The project’s stated goals are to deliver a browser focused on privacy, security, and freedom. LibreWolf is designed to increase protection against tracking and fingerprinting technologies, while also including some security improvements. This is achieved through privacy and security-oriented settings and patches.
LibreWolf also aims to remove all telemetry, data collection and harassment, for now, on the subject of updates, the LibreWolf team seems to be staying on top of things. However, there is one issue to keep in mind, which is the lack of automatic updates. This means you’ll need to update the browser manually, which is definitely a drawback to consider. Fortunately, LibreWolf frequently pushes new updates for this browser.
LibreWolf is always based on the latest version of Firefox. Updates usually come within three days of each stable release, sometimes even on the same day. Unless problems arise.
LibreWolf is available for desktop operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and Open BSD. You can find installation instructions here .
7. DuckDuckGo Browser (iOS and Android)
DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser is a new addition to our collection. This browser is available for mobile devices on iOS and Android and comes with a lot of privacy-focused features by default. According to DuckDuckGo, their browser offers:
- Built-in tracking protection
- Encryption upgrades via smarter encryption technology
- Easy data management and clearing options
- High speeds
DuckDuckGo browser works on iOS operating systems, Android and you can download it from Apple Store and Google Play Store . .
