Are you sure that the web browser which you are using is really secure? If you are not sure, then this article can really make a difference for you. In this article, I have provided a list of some of the most secure web browsers with amazing privacy and security features.
There are many web browsers available. But only some of them are flexible, secure and provide faster performance. Might be the browser you are using is not the best, Mostly people use the pre-installed installed internet browser or the one which is well known. In today’s time, There are several options around you to choose from. You should select the one which suits you.
Tip: If you are a Mac user like me, then I would suggest you also go through this article: Best Browser For Mac.
Table of Contents
Importance of a Secure Web Browser:
There is no need to always select the most secure web browser. But a browser which safeguards your personal information from getting collected or exploited. It’s possible for third parties to use your login credentials, browsing history, autofill information or cookies for their benefits if you are using insecure software. So, if you are having a variety of choice, then why not to go with a secure browser?
Some Basic Features of a Secure Internet Browser:
A Secure Browser contains some basic features like – Download Protection, URL Filtering and Do Not Track Feature. Nowadays, each browser has a privacy mode. But no one knows the reality behind it. Therefore it’s really a difficult task to achieve true privacy. Even some browser provides a variety of extensions which can make your browsing safe. There are many browsers which are well known, but there browsing speed is really poor.
Note: It’s not necessary that if you are using the most secure web browser, you are totally safe. Your safety is still in your hands. You need to take some security measures like staying away from the websites which can steal your information. There should be an antivirus installed in your device every time. You can even make use of the VPN (Virtual Private Network) for further security.
Here is the list of some of the best secure browsers. You might be familiar with them.
The Best Web Browsers for Privacy and Security:
1. Google Chrome (World’s Favorite Browser)
Chrome is one of the most used web browsers of 2020. It is the most efficient one. Chrome is a cross-platform browser and is available in Windows, Android, Mac OS, Linux and iOS Platforms. It is quite expandable and convenient as it stores all your bookmarks, passwords and other data in your Google account where you can set up two-factor authentication. Chrome comes up with regular updates and even, it is known as the leader of browser security. Also, The browser supports a huge number of extensions which make your work easier.
Now it’s the turn of your privacy and security. Chrome’s new Web Authentication API allows users to use security keys and the Trusted Platform Modules as a verification method. It even provides scanning protection while downloading to protect from the malware. Also, Google is nowadays focusing on SSL (HTTPS) connection aiming to make it standard throughout the web.
The browser comes with features like Do Not Track and Popup Blocker. It also provides parental control and incognito mode. Remember Chrome’s Incognito mode is just like an encrypted connection provided by a virtual private network. Therefore it doesn’t prevent any third party websites. Also, there are some places where Google Chrome lacks, first is targeted advertising. It uses your information to come up with advertisements. Another one is that your device needs to be resourceful enough to handle it.
Official website: https://www.google.com/chrome/
2. Mozilla Firefox (Fast For Good)
Firefox is developed by a non-profit organization, Mozilla therefore, it claims to not sell off our data. Firefox is an open-source browser and is available in Windows, Android, Mac OS, Linux and iOS Platforms. After a long time, it received its biggest update which is quite impressive. It has become incredibly flexible and is loaded with privacy and security features. The browser is cross-platform and has many customisation options which make it best for privacy. Moreover, It also supports a large number of extensions.
Mozilla Browser comes with regular updates, the company tries to give a better and secure experience to its users. It also used the HTTPS protocol to secure web server connections. Firefox Quantum enhances the user experience by providing a number of speed and security enhancements. Firefox doesn’t make use of search history to serve up ads and also protect against hidden ad tracking. It also offers a privacy mode like that in Chrome and doesn’t keep a note of browsing history. Further, Firefox has some amazing features like anti-crypto mining, anti-fingerprinting and Enhanced Tracking Protection enhances your privacy and security.
However, there is a limitation with Firefox when it comes to speed. It is a bit slower than its rival Chrome. Still, If you are an Android user, you can try Firefox Light.
Official website: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/exp/firefox/
3. Tor Browser
If you are looking for the most secure web browser of 2020, then Tor browser is for you. Tor comes with a bundle of security tools and is one of the more secure ways of web browsing. The browser is said to be associated with the dark web. Tor makes use of The Onion Router, for anonymizing user’s connection and makes it quite difficult to track you. It never reveals the real IP address and keeps on encrypting the data several times. It is one of the popular and is the best choice of people who want to maintain privacy and keep their connection secure. The spoofing feature of the browser prevents the website from getting your original IP address. It also provides access to some sites which might be blocked in your region.
Tor also protects you from browser fingerprinting. Moreover, you don’t even need to think about browsing history or cache memory while using this browser. None of your data is stored in it. But you still require to alter your browsing habit to secure your information.
However, You can’t use Tor as your daily browser as it has many limitations. Its anonymizing feature slows down the browsing speed. As the browser routes traffic over three different hops, the downloading speed also becomes very slow. Also, Its default settings may lead to breaking of some sites due to its script blocking feature. In fact, Tor network also includes many limitations like high latency, malicious exit nodes, etc.
But still, you don’t need to worry. You can turn off the Tor network and can use it like other browsers. And for hiding IP address and encryption of traffic, you can use a VPN in the background which would definitely provide higher speed than the default settings.
Official website: https://www.torproject.org/download/
4. Brave
Brave is relatively a new contender in the market and is slowly gaining much popularity, creating a separate fanbase of it. It is a Chromium-based browser and is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux and Android. Brave is filled with security and privacy features by default. Also, the company promises, it to be fastest than its rivals.
It also has many amazing features like built-in script blocker, protection against browser fingerprinting, advertisement and tracker blocking. Also, the browser uses HTTPS Everywhere (redirection of webpages from HTTP to HTTPS if applicable).
However in early 2019, Brave launched its own advertising program which also leads to much criticism. It was a bit surprising for a privacy browser to have its own ad program. Moving ahead, The browser makes use of Anonymous accounting technology. Moreover, Basic Attention Token (BAT) is an experiment of the company which allows users to make micro-donations to their favourite publishers anonymously and get some percentage of it back. Overall, this browser is quite flexible and functional to use.
Official website: https://brave.com/
5. Chromium
Chromium is an open-source project launched by Google in 2008. The project allowed developers to create a variety of browsers. The Chromium browser is simply an open-source version of the Chrome browser which has an upper hand in terms of privacy. Being like an unfinished version of Chrome, Chromium needs to be manually updated. In fact, every stable update comes in every 2-3 weeks. Being an open-source browser, In Chromium, users can even check if vulnerabilities are tackled. Moreover, it requires less code to integrate different third-party applications.
Chromium browser doesn’t come with a preinstalled Adobe flash and it only supports standard audio and video formats in it. Moreover, it doesn’t send error reports and like Chrome it doesn’t allow you to disable WebRTC. Still, to protect against WebRTC leaks, you can try using a VPN or a WebRTC Leak Prevent add on.
Official website: https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium
6. DuckDuckGo (Mobile)
If you are looking for a secure browser for Android or iOS then DuckDuckGo is a great option available to you. The browser comes up with privacy features: like killing third party trackers, blocking ads, forcing securing HTTPS connections. But the most amazing feature of it is its privacy grading. The browser grades each website you visit from “A to F”. This tells you how well is your privacy protected on a certain site. You can even use this feature in browsers like Chrome or Firefox by installing the DuckDuckGo extension.
Using this browser, you don’t even need to worry about erasing search history. You can set the browser in such a way that it clears all your data each time you restart the application. And for manual deletion of search history or tabs, you can tap on the small frame like icon present in the centre of the browser.
Official website: https://duckduckgo.com/app
7. Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is the Redmond Firm’s built-in web browser which offers a more secure sleeky browsing experience. In order to improve its compatibility with the modern standards, the browser has been rebuilt using the Chromium project in late 2018. Now it has become much faster than its older version. Even it is quite better than the Microsoft Internet Explorer in terms of secure browsing.
The browser works quite well in Windows’s 10 Tablet Mode and with the Cortana. It basically comes as a default browser with Windows 10. And is tightly integrated with Microsoft’s online services. In addition to it, Edge is also available in Android, Mac OS and iOS platforms. The browser comes with a good technology which keeps you safe against some malicious applications. It is super-quick and gives you pleasant browsing experience. It is packed with some amazing features like Read Aloud (ability to cast media) and has a good selection of addons such as adblockers and password manager. But still, the approach is limited as it has lesser number of extensions as compared to the browsers like Chrome.
Moreover, In Edge, you can download webpages as an application which will further don’t require the use of web browser to open them. Also, it has a lot of customization option which makes it a great option to choose.
Official website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge
8. Opera
Opera browser is one of the most popular browsers. It is again, based on the open-source Chromium project and at present, it is available in Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS and Android platforms. Being powered by Chromium, the browser is quite fast and it also supports extensions from Chrome library.
There are several security-minded features provided in the Opera browser for secure browsing. The plus point of Opera is that it comes with a free built-in VPN. It encrypts the user connection and protects the data. The feature provided in it is not much comprehensive like other paid VPN connections but is still good. The browser also provides fraud and malware protection against some suspicious web pages. A warning message is shown if the requested webpage is suspicious. Moreover, It also comes with a built-in ad blocker and energy-saving mode.
Opera’s mobile version still has its old Turbo mode (no longer in the desktop version) which compresses media to make the loading speed faster than usual. And for gamers, the company has also launched a separate browser with the name Opera GX, which includes some special features like Razer Chroma support and Twitch integration.
Official website: https://www.opera.com/
9. Pale Moon (Your Browser, Your Way)
Another open fork source of Firefox, Pale Moon is a highly customisable, lightweight and an efficient browser. However, it is compatible with many classic Firefox addons and it also has its own list of extensions. The browser is quite fast and is currently available on platforms like Windows and Linux. Pale Moon uses its own browser engine Goanna which is a fork of Mozilla’s Gecko.
Pale Moon browser may struggle while rendering some web pages. For that, the company is working on full support for CSS3 and HTML5. Moreover, the browser isn’t packed with any special privacy features. And Its security updates depend upon the allowance of Mozilla to access its latest security patches.
Official website: https://www.palemoon.org/
10. GNU IceCat
GNU IceCat is based on the GNU free software project. Basically it is a fork of Firefox. The browser is compatible with Linux, Android, Mac OS and Windows devices. Moreover, GNU IceCat has various privacy addons in it by default.
The browser is packed with some useful features like HTTPS Everywhere (redirection of webpages from HTTP to HTTPS if applicable), SpyBlock, LibreJS, etc. Also, it has set up countermeasures for defeating browser fingerprinting.
Official website: https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuzilla/
Tip: Best Secure VPN Services In 2020
If you are looking for a good VPN then here I am mentioning some of the best VPN services in 2020. You can try any of them. In fact, there are many offers going on. So must check them out!
Conclusion
Each browser comes with its benefits and limitations. It’s not like you have to go with the most secure web browser only. It depends on your needs. It’s possible that the most secure internet browser is slower and not that much efficient. If you are a general user, I would recommend you to use any browser which has good privacy and security features. Moreover, don’t forget to use adblocker to safeguard your information from different third party advertisement companies. For further security and privacy, you can use a good VPN.
I hope this article would have helped you. And now you would be able to figure out and choose which browser is best for you depending upon your privacy and security needs. So don’t waste time and just switch to your desired browser now!
