Created by the team behind cobalt.tools: imput.net
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I saw news about this recently. They have a website now…
And an alpha build for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Well I’m on Windows right now and it says the build for Windows is alpha. Not sure if the Mac and Linux are also in alpha stage or are in beta.
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Has uBo by default, proxies request to the CWS, https by default, bangs to use different searches engines, promise fast and auto updates.
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It says beta for macOS 12 and above. Will have to try this out.
Sry but when your browser still supports MV2 extensions than you can not claim to develop with security practices!
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It’s user choice. You will be safer using uBo to block all third-party frames than using UBo where you don’t have the option.
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Since Helium is based on ungoogled-chromium, does that mean it shares most of the same security concerns?
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I would assume the worst unless proven otherwise. I would opt for Trivalent if security is your focus.
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If you’re making a chromium based browser, you’ll soon have to follow Brave’s lead and roll your own ad blocker. Continuing to rely on Manifest V2 is a security nightmare, and it’s only going to get worse.
Beyond that, the browser still faces a very long road ahead before it can earn its stripes.
I see chromium as… well as not good solution.
But this one seems better than others because of support of V2. Because V3 is nonsense and crap.
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Please open a Site Development > Tool Suggestions thread and fill out the form in the future (regardless of whether you’d personally suggest it). I’ve recategorized this one for you. Thank you 
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I was looking for this thread since I saw someone else ask about it in another group chat I’m in. The marketing sure looks promising at least, I’ve gotta add this one to my list to look at 
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I’ve used it. And I do like it. Promises many good things and people can use it if they want a Chromium based browser that’s not Brave with all the “bloat” some people label it as given the crypto and other many little features built in.
This one is a barebones Chrome without the privacy nightmare. Hope it reaches to a point where it can be recommended here.
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Just noticed something curious. Mullvad Browser has 4 contributors. This new Helium Browser has 18 contributors. Of course that Mullvad probably keeps the contributions controlled but seems a rapidly engagement from the community on this Helium browser.
Is it maybe because of Python?
I don’t think it means anything in terms of final product quality. I just noticed more contributors.
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You’ve also got to remember that Mullvad is backed by two well respected heavyweight companies. What you’re seeing in their repo is basically the surface level stuff. With newer browsers, there’s usually a flood of pull request contributors early on simply because the codebase is still wide open and the architecture hasn’t fully settled yet, which gives more people room to jump in.
And you’re absolutely right on that point. If there’s anything I’ve learned watching projects develop over the years, it’s that contributor count doesn’t automatically equal quality, sometimes it only reflects where the work is happening. I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve seen something that looks great go down in flames.
It looks promising to certain users, I still wouldn’t recommend it yet. And I know people don’t like to hear that when they have a new flavor of the month, but I’m just trying to be realistic.
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@anon57862721 or anyone else who has tried Helium Browser. Question for you: I was looking further into the Helium Browser that you recommended from this reply, and I really quite like the premise and features behind it. However, a recent review from Switched to Linux (Tom Murosky) pointed out a couple of potential concerns regarding the two anonymous authors behind the project. So, I mainly wanted to ask you what your personal thoughts were as far as the trustworthiness and longevity of the project is concerned. Taking these things into account, is it something seriously worth trying out and looking at, or could it be potentially just a small spare-time project that may be abandoned after a year or two?
Whoa there pardner.. I merely mentioned the options. Don’t consider that a full fledged recommendation. Though I do like it because of its simplicity.
Well, it’s a browser to keep an eye out. It’s Chrome without all the crappy-ness of Google. No AI. Simple as hell. It’s just Chromium patches all the way through that comes installed with uBO preinstalled.
As for longevity, no way to be conclusive about it one way or the other. But I’m inclined to believe they’ll keep it alive as I’m sure they made this because there is a need for it. Surely the devs feel that way.
Also hard to say about the seriousness with which this is going to be maintained. But I have only started using it for select use cases for a couple months and I can’t say what the devs feel about it.
I understand the concerns you’re having and you’re asking all the right questions. But it’s still hard to say anything about its future.
As for myself, I am simply using the tools I like for the purpose I am okay with. We’ll see how the browser tech space improves and changes. There will always be enough people who want a non AI browser among whom will be those who can make one. And I’m seeing Helium devs as one of those groups of people.
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Alright, thanks so much! Besides those couple of minor concerns, this is one of the only few options (with the other two being Vivaldi and Ungoogled Chromium) that I am seriously considering making the switch to from Chrome. So, I guess I’ll give Helium a shot.
Anything is better than Chrome. Firefox is way better than Chrome. You should have switched a long time ago.
I don’t recommend making it your primary browser. But it can surely be your secondary browser for non primary browser needs, if any.
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The main reason why I have been using Chrome for so long is because it is the only browser that fulfilled my preference and value of a simple, clean web browser that did only its job of browsing the web with no extra unrelated features bolted on, although I acknowledge that it’s one of the worst for privacy. I did try a few alternatives with Brave, Firefox, and Edge but I always found myself coming back to Chrome because it just worked and remained being a clean browser while the others suffered from feature-creep with extra bloat gradually being bolted on top over time. However, now with AI in the mix and Google gradually adding Gemini into Chrome, I feel that its main advantage for me is coming to an end. So now I am on the hunt for an alternative that gives me a similar clean experience that Chrome has given me for the longest time, one of which that does not have tons of gimmicks and AI features that I don’t find useful. For this, I’m looking at a Firefox-Chromium pairing to replace Chrome for me.
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