Best Web Browsers for Privacy and Security

Posted on by

The Ultimate Lifehacker Guide to Data Privacy ): title The Ultimate Lifehacker Guide to Data Privacy We tell you everything you need to do to lead the safest and most private life in the digital age.

Your web browser knows a lot about you and also reports you to frequently visited sites – if you will. We talked about which browsers are better at blocking ads , but in this guide, we’re going to focus on the browsers you want to use to better hide everything you are up to all advertisers who want to track your digital life.

Whether you prefer Chrome or Firefox, you have several options to help you browse the web more securely – provided you’re willing to ditch the version everyone else is using and try something new. … Here are some browsers to try.

Brave

This standalone browser for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android is based on Chromium, which means you will already be familiar with it if you are a fan of Chrome. Moving to Brave takes you out of the Google ecosystem in the first place, so you can breathe a little easier knowing that you are not sending large amounts of data to Google through your signed-in account.

More importantly, Brave’s default settings are great for people who want more privacy but don’t really want to know how to get it, or figure out all the extensions they need to install to reduce tracking on their favorite browsers. Brave blocks all ads and third-party tracking by default, and its built-in HTTPS Everywhere feature ensures that you always connect to the most secure version of the website you’re viewing ( if applicable ).

You can also opt for ads (which don’t track you or collect your information) if you want to reward the creators of your favorite websites for their work. While it might seem odd for a privacy-focused browser to have its own ad setup, the move seems like a sensible compromise that balances privacy and convenience with the financial realities faced by content creators.

Tor Browser

Tor is a great option if you want to maintain your anonymity and privacy on the sites you visit, as well as fight against harmful tracking cookies and ads. For those unfamiliar, Tor routes your traffic through a series of relays designed to keep your real identity and computer as anonymous as possible. It’s not perfect and certainly has its drawbacks , but if anonymity is your ultimate goal, the Tor browser is a great way to go.

The Tor browser is based on Firefox Quantum , is open source and preconfigured to access the Tor network. The vast majority of built-in plugins and services have been disabled or removed, and it is important that you leave them that way, otherwise data you want to keep private may leak to the sites you visit. Otherwise, Tor blocks all third-party trackers, clears cookies and history when you close your browser, and tries to make all browser users look the same to prevent any kind of ad-related fingerprints .

Tor is available for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and you can even get portable versions to use when you need safe and secure Internet access on an untrusted system. However, Tor is about physical and digital anonymity, not security and encryption. What you do while using it can give away this anonymity (sending emails, logging into web services, etc. is clear (unless encrypted in any other way.)

Firefox Quantum

Good old Firefox. If you’ve been surfing the Internet for a reasonable amount of time, you’ve probably heard of the big competitor Mozilla Chrome – although, oddly enough, it is Google that currently provides a significant chunk of the nonprofit’s funding.

In addition to a history lesson, Firefox Quantum also has a number of privacy-enhancing features built right into the browser. By default, Enhanced Browser Tracking Protection blocks third-party tracking cookies based on Disconnect Lists , and the browser is now equipped with an anti-fingerprint feature to make it more difficult for advertisers to create a profile based on your habit. There is also an anti-cryptomining feature if you are worried that the sites you visit are harvesting your system’s resources for a meager profit.

By default, the browser does not block ads, but Mozilla has no problem recommending Firefox extensions that can help you with this. You should also feel inspired by reading Mozilla’s Data Collection Policy – and using the very methods it recommends to disable any and all data collection in your Firefox browser, innocent as it may be. And if you’re a big Facebook fan, Mozilla is more than happy to help you reduce your social media activity with a handy Firefox extension .

For mobile viewing, we recommend trying Firefox Focus , a more stripped-down and privacy-focused version of Firefox.

DuckDuckGo (mobile)

Designed for Android and iOS only, this browser includes privacy features : blocking ads, disabling third-party trackers, establishing more secure HTTPS connections where possible, and evaluating the privacy characteristics of each website you visit with a dedicated letter rating. If you see a big, bold F, it might be time to move to a site that cares more about data collection.

We especially like the little flame icon at the bottom center of the browser. Tap it and it will ask you if you want to clear all your tabs and data. Confirm by clicking this option again and everything you did in the mobile browser will be deleted. It’s an incredibly fast and easy way to clean up your tracks and make sure the browser isn’t storing any data you don’t need inside. If you’re lazy, you can also set your browser to automatically clear all of your data every time you restart the app.

While you can add similar tracking protection to your Chrome or Firefox browser via an extension, it’s not the same as having a full browser.

Alternatively, set up Chrome or Firefox for privacy.

If you don’t really like downloading a new browser, bringing all your bookmarks, extensions and other data into it and starting from scratch, don’t worry – you can always just customize Firefox or Chrome. be the browser you want it to be. For instance:

This article was originally published on 02/19/14. It was updated on 8/7/19 with new guidelines and more up-to-date information.

More…

0
Apps

Leave a Reply