{"id":151403,"date":"2026-03-18T00:01:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T04:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/?p=151403"},"modified":"2026-03-18T00:01:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T04:01:55","slug":"helium-new-lightweight-browser-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/helium-new-lightweight-browser-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Helium: New Lightweight Browser &#8211; Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"daves-3669619348\" class=\"daves-single-post-before-content daves-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p><a href=\"https:\/\/helium.computer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Helium browser<\/a> is the new kid on the block, claiming to be the &#8220;<em>Best privacy and unbiased ad-blocking by default<\/em>&#8220;. Helium is an open-source, lightweight, fast, Chromium-based browser. So, let&#8217;s check whether the blurb is accurate.<\/p>\n<h2>Helium Browser Review<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Privacy-Partial Fail: <\/strong>Helium comes with the uBlock Origin extension installed by default. uBlock Origin is an excellent broad-content blocker, so ads and tracking are automatically blocked. However, browser fingerprinting is a different matter.<\/p>\n<p>Helium claims that it &#8220;<em>does its best to prevent fingerprinting<\/em>&#8220;, but apparently, its best is not good enough. I passed Helium through <a href=\"https:\/\/coveryourtracks.eff.org\/learn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cover Your Tracks<\/a> and received the following report:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Helium-Scan-Results.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-151404\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Helium-Scan-Results-640x111.png\" alt=\"helium-scan-results\" width=\"640\" height=\"111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Helium-Scan-Results-640x111.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Helium-Scan-Results-350x60.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Helium-Scan-Results-150x26.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Helium-Scan-Results.png 683w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As you can see, Helium passed the ad-blocking and tracking tests but failed to eliminate <a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/the-threat-of-browser-fingerprinting\/\">fingerprinting<\/a>. A &#8220;unique&#8221; fingerprint is not good, meaning the fingerprint can be used to track the users&#8217; online activity.<\/p><div id=\"daves-2761970033\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content daves-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Speed-Pass<\/strong>: Helium is a lightweight browser with no customization options or fancy bells and whistles, consequently it is very fast.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lightweight-Pass<\/strong>: It sure is. I cannot even show you a screenshot because Helium&#8217;s interface is so basic, with just a search bar; there really is nothing to show.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>NOTE: Helium is still in the Alpha stage of development, so there is a potential for bugs. That said, it behaved perfectly during my short-term testing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>BOTTOM LINE<\/strong>:<\/p><div id=\"daves-3453996046\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-2 daves-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>I would question Helium&#8217;s claim to be the &#8220;<em>best private<\/em>&#8221; browser, and until the developers implement effective anti-fingerprinting measures, in my opinion, the <a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/browser-privacy-fact-or-fiction\/\">Brave browser<\/a> still retains that title.<\/p>\n<p>That said, Helium does have a lot going for it. If you prefer a basic, lightweight browser that&#8217;s fast and offers more in the way of privacy than most, Helium is well worth checking out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>One Final Note<\/strong>: Because Helium is still in Alpha stage, there is currently no auto-update feature, and the user needs to visit <a href=\"https:\/\/helium.computer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Helium&#8217;s home page<\/a> to download each latest version manually.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p><div id=\"daves-4144633080\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-3 daves-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"daves-3866645117\" class=\"daves-after-content daves-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3225321574\" \ndata-ad-format=\"autorelaxed\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Helium browser is the new kid on the block, claiming to be the &#8220;Best privacy and unbiased ad-blocking by default&#8220;. Helium is an open-source, lightweight, fast, Chromium-based browser. So, let&#8217;s check whether the blurb is accurate. Helium Browser Review Privacy-Partial Fail: Helium comes with the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[5145,14816],"class_list":["post-151403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-browser","tag-chromium","tag-helium"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}