Switcher 2026: Thinking About Web Browsers ⭐️

While this series has focused on alternatives to Windows, there are smaller steps one might take to loosen Microsoft’s hold on your life. Key among those steps are alternatives to Microsoft’s applications and services. And there is no application more important than a web browser.

🌈 A few high level thoughts to kick this off

It’s possible to make any web browser, even the worst enshittified offenders like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, safer and more private. The first step is to need to install the right extensions. I use Privacy Badger and AdBlock Plus on every desktop browser, and I often use uBlock Origin as well.

Everyone’s needs and wants are different, obviously. But there are browsers to match just about any preference, from the truly minimal to the infinitely configurable. It pays to experiment.

As a general rule, you should consider maintaining at least two web browsers on computers, phones, and whatever other devices you use. Many use several different browsers.

You don’t have to use the same browser on your PC, your phone, and your other devices. There are reasons why you might want to do so, of course, but I find myself not needing much in the way of cross-device sync, and you may not either.

You should use a third-party password manager–which includes portable passkey support–because these solutions are functionally better and work everywhere, which helps make my point above about using different browsers on different devices more seamless.

🔐 Browser security and privacy

On a computer, you should make sure that whatever web browser you’re using is properly configured for the best security and privacy.

Some web browsers, like Brave and Helium, are secure and private by default, but they are outliers. Don’t take my word for it: Use the website Cover Your Tracks to determine whether your browser is protecting you against tracking and fingerprinting. (And then visit Taken to understand how effective browser fingerprinting is for bad actors.) If it isn’t, you should immediately install extensions, as noted above, that will better protect you. And then check it against that website again until it’s as safe as possible.

While you can’t necessarily trust some web browser makers, like Google and Microsoft, you should also take a few moments to ensure that the app is configured securely and privately (as is possible) using its settings interface. In Chrome, for example, there are Google-specific features like Ad topics, Site-suggested ads, and Ad measurement (in settings > Privacy and security > Ad privacy) that you should disable. But there are also explicit security settings–Safe Browsing, Secure connections, Use Secure DNS, and more–that you should enable (in settings > Privacy and security > Security). Other browsers have similar controls.

🧑‍💻 Choosing a web browser

Choosing a web browser is a personal choice, but it’s possible to make some high-level generalizations that may help you pick the right one for your needs.

The most popular web browser by far is Google Chrome, of course, with Apple Safari and Microsoft Edge rounding out the top three and Mozilla Firefox in fourth place. But that’s across both desktop and mobile. On desktop, things shift a bit thanks to the popularity of Windows, with Microsoft Edge and Apple Safari swaping spots in the top three. And on mobile, Safari has a far stronger share thanks to the popularity of the iPhone, with Edge falling off the list and Samsung Internet moving into a distant third place.

That all tells me two contrary things: Bundling works. But Chrome is a uniquely popular product due to its high usage on platforms made by Microsoft and Apple that also make their own browsers. And Chrome’s popularity makes it an obvious choice if you care about compatibility above all else.

But most third-party web browsers, with the major exceptions being Safari and Firefox, are built on Chromium, the open source project that forms the basis of Chrome. These browsers–which include Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, Arc and Dia, Helium, and countless others–are about as compatible/consistent with rendering the web as is Chrome. But each also offers its own advantages.

What about DuckDuckGo? I want to use this browser badly, but its lack of support for extensions–a truly basic and necessary browser feature–makes it a non-starter in my opinion. I hope to see that change, but browsers like Brave and Helium–and, with the right extensions, Firefox–fill that need nicely for now.

🤔 What I do

Thanks to the nature of my job, I move between web browsers all the time. I’ve been in Mexico since early January, and while I have no way to know for sure, I suspect I’ve used Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome more than other web browsers on my PCs and Mac. And that is not what I would recommend to others.

But I have also used Firefox, Helium, and Brave quite a bit, and other browsers like Opera and Vivaldi to test new features as they occur. Those are all better choices, but if I had to pick just one on desktop, I would go with Helium or Brave. I’ve long used and recommended Brave, but Helium is a lightweight, minimalist take on the web browser that I love, and it doesn’t come with any of the (easily removable) baggage in Brave, like its Rewards, Wallet, and Firewall + VPN features. That said, I’m still sorting through Helium’s lack of sync and the best ways to configure it.

On mobile, I’ve moved between the Pixel 10a, Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and iPhone 17 Pro Max on this trip, with the latter getting the most usage overall. And I have an iPad I use each day. Here, I’ve mostly used Safari on Apple’s devices and Chrome on the Pixels, which feels like me just giving up, honestly. But I’ve also used Brave and Firefox on mobile quite a bit. And there is a very interesting new mobile web browser called Orion that I like quite a bit with one major caveat: It’s only available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. There’s no Helium on mobile, but this is about as close as I’ve found.

✅ Conclusions

Even more than other apps, web browsers are highly personal and so a browser that I prefer may not click with you. As long as you’re protecting yourself as much as possible, it’s not super-important which you use. And depending on how you do things, using different browsers across desktop and mobile will either matter quite a bit or not at all. But if the goal is to lessen your exposure to Big Tech, your best bet is to not use the browser bundled with the platform, install and use a third-party password manager, choose a Little Tech alternative like Brave, Firefox, or Helium, and install the correct extensions.

Sites like Taken point to a certain futility when it comes to the web and the ability of bad actors to track our activities online, but there are also additional steps one might take, like using a VPN, to help with that problem if you’re doing something you would like to keep private. But that’s beside the point here: You use the web all day, you want it to work properly and consistently and with minimal friction, and you want to do so while keeping your PC and yourself as safe and private as possible.

Web browsers mentioned here:

🔴 Arc and Dia

🟠 Apple Safari – Not available on Windows

🟢 Brave

🟠 DuckDuckGo – No support for extensions

🔴 Google Chrome

🟢 Helium

🔴 Microsoft Edge

🟢 Mozilla Firefox

🟠 Opera

🟠 Orion – Not available on Windows (or Android)

🟠 Vivaldi