this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2025
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Privacy

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What is the best Android browser for privacy? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 6 days ago by darkguyman@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
34 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Right now, my default is Cromite, and I occasionally use Brave as well. I have tried Firefox with uBO, but unfortunately it is slower than the aforementioned browsers and also lacks some features. I've also heard that Gecko-based browsers in general have a security issue on Android, but I don't know the details. Which browser(s) do you use/recommend and why?

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[–] infjarchninja@lemmy.ml 14 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

Ironfox again.

Ironfox with uBlock Origin is far superior to Brave.

I also use monocles browser. a simple browser, I like that java and cookies are turned off and you can activate them with a button on individual sites.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.monocles.browser/

I would never ever use Brave or any chrome fork.

I’m not a fan of the Brave web browser and do not recommend it. Chromium codebase is always unsafe.

Brave talks up how privacy and security focused they totally are, and it’s mostly hot air for their user base of infosec mall ninjas.

Brave blocked ads, then they replaced the ads with their own ads. Brave set up a weird cryptocurrency scam, the BAT token. Brave hijacked affiliate links. I do not consider Brave a trustworthy organisation.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

my browser is faster than your browser, fantasy penis envy,

and not cubensis penis envy.

why are people so fixated on browser speeds,

A millisecond is imperceptable to the human eye.

can you type faster on an android keyboard than the page loads. NO!

Its all BS, how do you deternmine that one browser is faster than another.

https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/work-life/i-speed-tested-11-browsers-and-the-fastest-might-surprise-you/

From slowest to fastest, the results were as follows:

Zen Browser: 2.20 seconds

LibreWolf: 2.16 seconds

Chromium: 1.95 seconds

Firefox: 1.93 seconds

Arc: 1.81 seconds

Microsoft Edge: 1.31 seconds

Safari: 1.29 seconds

Thorium: 1.23 seconds

Brave: 1.17 seconds

Opera: .81 seconds

Chrome: .70 seconds

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

One question: ironfox doesn't let me install any addons other than ublock origin, but on fennec I can install all the normal Firefox for android ones. Is that normal?

[–] infjarchninja@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

sem

That does seem normal to me

I aways install Ghostery and Privacy Badger alongside U-block origin

I have Lineage on my current phone and use Droid-ify as my app store.

My family have different phones and use F-droid-basic and neostore, and they have had no issues installing extra addons in their ironfox installs.

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

How do you install Ghostery and privacy badger? For me it just fails silently

[–] infjarchninja@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Hi sem

I open Ironfox

press the top right burger menu

press the extensions.

you will be redirected to the Mozilla add-ons site.

you can search for add-ons from there.

check to see if another browser is able to access mozilla add-ons

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/

If it still fails, I would check your settings.

here are mine:

HTTPS_Only mode on in all tabs

DNS over HTTPS off

this is off because my VPN manages my DNS

enhanced tracking protection strict

If you have a VPN installed

Maybe that might be locked down, blocking the internet, preventing you from accessing the internet

I would also disable U-block just to see if it works disabled

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Thanks. For me what happens is I can browse the add ons site, but when I press the add to firefox button, it fails silently: it looks like it starts to load a page and then does nothing.

I thought this might be normal behavior, but if it's not I'll try to figure it out.

Thanks.

Edit: https://gitlab.com/ironfox-oss/IronFox/-/blob/dev/docs/FAQ.md#why-cant-i-install-add-onsextensions

[–] Taser@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Oh, man, I forgot I tried this and it failed so it was on the "to-do" list.

Thanks for the update w/ the super simple answer.

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 days ago

They should really add a description to the addons screen

[–] infjarchninja@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 days ago

hey Sem

I had not seen that.

Oddly my "Allow installation of add-ons" is unselected and set to blank.

Why can't I install add-ons/extensions?

By default, due to privacy and security concerns, IronFox disables the installation of add-ons. This has no impact on already installed extensions, and updates to those extensions.

To allow the installation of add-ons, at the cost of security, you can navigate to Settings -> IronFox -> IronFox settings -> Security, and select the option to Allow installation of add-ons. It is recommended to disable this option when you are done installing your desired extension(s).

I wonder if it is to do with the repo:

I know it took ages to be released to f-droid and droid-ify and was only available from the git repo.

I installed the repo from here

to add the repo to f-droid or f-droid basic

https://fdroid.ironfoxoss.org/fdroid/repo/index.html

click on the QR code to enlarge

I hope you sort it out

[–] FriendBesto@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago

Under Ironfox settings, enable the install extensions option. It blocks installing them by default in order to decrease attack surface. You will be able after that.

[–] Hexarei@beehaw.org 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Not to be overly pedantic but Java != JavaScript

[–] infjarchninja@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago

hey Hexarei

I know, a fatal error on my part

pedantic is OK

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

It's like people driving fast, risking lives for what, 5min at the end of the day? Pointless metrics from r brainless users. Render fast, think slow.

[–] infjarchninja@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Hey utopiah

It does seem pointless to me that people get hung up on browser loading speeds.

Its like that old Bruce lee quote from Enter the Dragon:

Don't Concentrate On The Finger Or You Will Miss All That Heavenly Glory.

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago

Indeed, bet it's a trick from Google to promote its browser but pushing whatever rsukts it wanted to better SEO, i.e classical monopoly trick of leveraging one domination to force another onto captive users/consumers.

[–] SteakSneak@retrolemmy.com 2 points 3 days ago

Ironfox, Firefox and tor browser

[–] quaff@lemmy.ca 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Check out IronFox https://gitlab.com/ironfox-oss/IronFox

It's the revived Mull browser.

[–] dragovaar@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 5 days ago

Can you help me understand what the feature difference is between ironFox and Firefox focus with an ad blocker enabled?

[–] Sarothazrom@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Been using Fennec for a while with no problems at all.

[–] murky0106@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Gecko based browsers have worse sandboxing than chromium based browsers on android. But for privacy I think the best would be Ironfox or vanadium however vanadium only runs on Graphene os. Chromite is probably a good next best option.

[–] TwiddleTwaddle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

How is Ironfox better than Chromite if it has worse sandboxing?

[–] murky0106@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Just as an example chromite uses adblock plus where as Ironfox uses unlock. And sandboxing whilst has it's benefits for privacy is more of a security feature.

[–] Eirikr70@jlai.lu 7 points 5 days ago

Vanadium

[–] libre_warrior@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

PrivacyBrowser is a really good browser in my opinion. But I cant do an analysis on its privacy.

I will add that I love how they handle bookmarks.

[–] 68silver@beehaw.org 1 points 4 days ago

I use Brave and also Iceraven with UB origin.

[–] eruchitanda@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

IronFox or Fennec.

As another commenter said, you also have Tor, but it's not day-to-day browser, IMO.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 3 points 6 days ago

The best browser for privacy will always be Tor. But obviously that comes with many compromises, and is more than just a browser.

Other than that, there is no best. Many of them have various degrees of blocking and hiding, which will cause problems on some sites and not on others, many of them have various privacy tools that others don't.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I use Vivaldi, synced with Desktop. It's pretty private, but more important for privacy is the search engine you use. It don't make sense if you use an privacy respecting browser using Google for searches. Anyway it's important to look the permissions which every app has in the settings of your phone and blockig those which have nothing to do with its function. Also a good idea is to install InviZible Pro in your Phone

[–] aprehendedmerlin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 days ago

It's either IronFox or Brave. Both are valid choices. Try them both

[–] cookie019@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I usefirefox and didnt notice a difference in speed with chrome..

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago

The differences of speed between current browsers are minimal, it's more the question how fast you can work with it for your daily tasks, the handling and features it has. Start and page loading time depends more on other than on the browser (bandwidth, memory of the device, weight of the page you visit,....)

[–] LemmyThinkAboutThat@lemmy.myserv.one -1 points 5 days ago

Brave and DuckDuckGo because they’re cross-platform and give you the option to sync your bookmarks.

DuckDuckGo has Duck Player which I use if I need to watch something on YouTube, I have it set to open in a new window and no ads.

I like Brave because it’s fast and the search is fairly accurate. You can add a video to it’s Playlist for later viewing. Brave gives you the share option to Copy Clean Link.

I used (and loved Firefox) until they revoked their promise of not selling user data and seems sluggish for the past several months, but I still use Firefox Focus.

I use both android and iOS which is why I prefer cross-platform software.