Helium Browser icon
Helium Browser icon

Helium Browser

Chromium browser with open-source ad, tracker, and cryptominer blocking by default, zero tracking, customizable privacy controls, proxy-anonymized extension downloads, split view, and efficient, unobtrusive interface for full extension compatibility.

Helium Browser screenshot 1

Cost / License

Application type

Platforms

  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux
139likes
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Features

Properties

  1.  Privacy focused
  2.  Lightweight
  3.  Support for Themes

Features

  1.  Ad-free
  2.  Built-in Ad-blocker
  3.  Chromium-based Browsers
  4.  Ungoogled
  5.  Bangs
  6.  No Logs
  7.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
  8.  Block Trackers
  9.  No Tracking
  10.  Side-by-Side View
  11.  No registration required
  12.  Dark Mode
  13.  Split-screen view
  14.  Support for Chrome extensions
  15.  Fingerprinting protection
  16.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts

Helium Browser News & Activities

Highlights All activities

Recent News

Recent activities

Comments and Reviews

   
Top Positive Comment
thesuckcooker
7

A ungoogled-chromium fork browser that absolute clean. This is one of the best desktop web browsers I've ever experience

banarno
0

Awesome browser. Still supports uBlock Origin (my beloved)

Review from a new or low-activity account — shown here, but not counted in the app rating.
xielian
1

Perfection! This is just what I was looking for, finally a browser without all that annoying bloat. I didn't have to tweak much before it was ready to go. This is the only chromium browser I've used happily, I hope it will continue to be maintained for a long time, its wild that 2 people can do so much. If you like Helium consider supporting the devs, they truly deserve it

HealthAndWealth
1

Excellent Chromium browser for macOS.

WinterMaximus
0

Insanely clean, minimalist and FAST browser. Privacy focused, and !bangs work really well. Can be a tiny bit buggy at times. Way better than Brave and Vivaldi in my opinion, and definitely better than Chrome/Edge.

Review from a new or low-activity account — shown here, but not counted in the app rating.
0

Unlike Brave, Helium gets the !gm bang right :-) You people got me rethinking my raw Chromium browser and trading it in for Helium.

jethro_tull
1

In bartending terms, this browser would be that guy who wants his whiskey "neat". Features like bookmark synchronization, Google service integration, Widevine DRM (Netflix, Disney+) support aren't built in. You will need a separate password manager application, since no integrated password manager is here, for security reasons (no way for a bad actor to take passwords that aren't stored in the browser's database). If you're the man that seeks a chromium-based browser with absolutely no frills, give it a shot.

7 of 11 comments

Featured in Lists

Open-Source Slopware

A list of open-source software containing slop (LLM generated) code or endorses the usage of LLMs in other ways. This list contains software that obviously accepts irresponsible coding practices or promotes LLM usage. I found these applications while searching for alternatives to previously used software that turned out to contain code generated by slop-machines. Each of added applications have at least one link that points to the verifiable proof. This list by no means is meant to cover all the software that contains code by not-so-intelligent tools and people using them but to serve as a reminder to myself about what I have already checked. Why having LLM generated code (and using generative tools in general) is bad? Ethical reasons — such as illegally retrieved training material, underpaid workers that prepare the training data. Impact on environment — increased fossil fuel usage to supply the needed electricity power, water usage in water scarce regions. This somewhat overlaps with the above. Social impact – noise pollution in neighbourhoods near AI data centres, air pollution from diesel- or gas-powered turbines (also overlaps with the above), resource consumption by data centres drastically increases utility prices. Impact on brain and thinking, reasoning — by offloading thinking and decision making to machines people are shooting in their foot (more like in their head) as this leads to brain rot. Less intelligent people are easier to control. Even legal issues (especially in open-source software as it cannot be guaranteed that the “generated” code is not really just re-used, thus unknowingly violating the source license). Inevitable enshittification — every software product from big technology eventually gets enshittified to maximize revenue. For users this could mean hidden or plain ads, biased opinions/information, privacy violations, increased prices for LLM based tools. Burden on open-source software maintenance — LLM tools provide easier access to code contributions which often shifts the responsibility of checking code quality from developers to maintainers and reviewers. Digging through walls of merge request text and code generated by slop-machines takes valuable time that otherwise could be spent more meaningfully by fixing bugs and working on new features. I will try to add links that back up the claims above, but it may take a while. Of course, I see how and where generative tools could be helpful and sometimes I feel tempted to find an acceptable way to use them, but for now the direct and indirect costs far too much outweigh gains. This list has its positive counterpart: Slop-Free (Supposedly) Open-Source Software (not quite complete yet). Also take a look at and give thumbs up to AI Slopfree Software Catalog which contains software dedicated against usage of LLMs. Also, here is a list of some labels that can be added / voted for so they would eventually appear on application pages: Slopware; Slop (LLM) Code; Slop-Source Software; Open-Source Slopware; Contains Slop (LLM Generated) Code.
By Edgars148 appsUpdated

Clippy approved Browsers

An up to date list of the best browsers Factors behind this selection: Fast Private/Security Focused Open Source User friendly Dedicated devs Cross platform support Least amount of headache (I have yet to find a browser without any)
By Clippy15 appsUpdated

My Windows Setup

My setup for a mix of development work and general use.
By itsnate47 appsUpdated

Official Links

Install from the command line

  • brew install --cask helium-browser

Be careful what you paste into a terminal. Check what a command installs before running it.

What is Helium Browser?

The Chromium-based web browser made for people, with love. Best privacy by default, unbiased ad-blocking, no bloat and no noise. People-first and fully open source.

Best privacy by default, not as a hidden option

Helium blocks ads, trackers, fingerprinting, third-party cookies, cryptominers, and phishing websites by default thanks to preinstalled uBlock Origin. No extra steps are needed, and there are no biased exceptions — unlike other browsers.

The browser itself doesn't have any ads, trackers, or analytics. Helium also doesn't make any web requests without your explicit consent, it makes zero web requests on first launch.

Not enough? Increase privacy even further with ungoogled-chromium flags or uBlock Origin filters. You're finally at the steering wheel of your privacy on the Internet — not in a toy car, but in a real race car.

We will always stand by our promise of the best privacy and will never prioritize profit over people, unlike big corporations.

Respectful by design

Helium doesn't annoy you with anything and never will. It doesn't do anything without your consent: no unprovoked tabs about updates or sponsors, no persistent popups telling you about features you don't care about, no weird restarts.

Nothing interrupts you, jumps in your face, or breaks your flow. Everything just makes sense. You're in full control.

Fast, efficient, and light

Helium is based on Chromium, the fastest and most optimized browser yet. Helium builds on this base to improve performance and save even more energy. You will notice a difference after using Helium for a day. It doesn't slow down over time.

All bloat is removed: Helium is one of the lightest modern browsers available.

Powerful when you need it

Open pages side-by-side with split view to get even more things done at once. Quickly copy page links with ?+Shift+C and share your discoveries with ease. Install any web apps and use them as standalone desktop apps without duplicating Chromium.

Designed to get out of your way

Helium's interface is compact and minimalistic, but it doesn't compromise on beauty or functionality. More web content fits on the screen at once, and the browser interface doesn't get in your way. You can hide everything extra from the toolbar if it annoys you.

Helium is built with attention to detail. Nothing jiggles or flickers abnormally. Your actions aren't throttled or stopped by lag. Everything's fast, smooth, and simple. Comfort and simplicity are among our top priorities.

Works with all Chromium extensions, privately

All Chromium extensions are supported and work right away, by default, including all MV2 extensions. We'll keep support for MV2 extensions for as long as possible.

Helium anonymizes all internal requests to the Chrome Web Store via Helium services. Thanks to this, Google can't track your extension downloads or target ads using this data. No other browser does this.

Helium Browser Videos

Helium Browser information

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Web Browsers

GitHub repository

  •  21,275 Stars
  •  609 Forks
  •  524 Open Issues
  •   Updated  
View on GitHub

Our users have written 11 comments and reviews about Helium Browser, and it has gotten 139 likes

Helium Browser was added to AlternativeTo by Paul on and this page was last updated .