Privacy 101 - Web Browsers

This section covers some fundamentals of web browsing on a daily basis and how the choices you make impact your privacy.

Web Browsers

The browser you use daily makes a huge difference to what data is collected on you, both by the browser developer and third parties they potentially share your data with. I haven’t included all browsers here as this guide is for everyday folks, not those sitting in underground concrete bunkers with tinfoil hats.

Chrome

Chrome is the most widely used browser. If you’re going to use it, you are, indirectly, agreeing to have data collected about you. And if you look at the data collected for the Android app in the Play Store, it paints a pretty stark picture. I don’t have iOS, but the data types I could verify are listed below, noting the datatypes in the table represent a mix between desktop and the Android app. If you’re using Chrome on Google Android, your Google account and your Chrome activity are already linked, even if you don’t sign in.

Chrome is kept secure against external threats but it’s really harvesting a bunch of data about you for Google. Now some people might like that because it means they’re being advertised things they may like. But it also means Google is making a tidy sum off of your data. And it knows a LOT about you which I find quite intrusive. Though being in the UK, as we are, Google does have obligations on what it does with that data. Because GDPR. 

Some of this data collection is configurable and you can deny Google from collecting it. Proton has an excellent video covering how to do this. There are also browser extensions that can be added to block or limit some of what it’s doing if you don’t want to switch browsers. However, Chrome has faced scrutiny for taking steps against ad blockers.

In addition, security research has identified Google Chrome is silently, and with no additional consent by the user beyond initially installing Chrome, downloading 4GB AI models onto desktop computers. And if you delete it, Chrome will redownload it.

PrivacyDefend rates Chrome at a 4.5/10 due to its substantial data collection, whilst PrivaScore rates Chrome the worst of all browsers it assessed (85/270).

Brave

Brave looks like Chrome, acts like Chrome, works with most Chrome extensions, but doesn't report your every move back to Google. It’s a free and open-source, privacy-focused web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc. based on the Chromium web browser. It blocks third-party advertising and tracking by default and doesn't send your browsing history to Brave. In fact Brave Shields even gives you a lovely little tally of all the ads and trackers it's blocked for you, and the data it’s saved you, each time you open a new tab.

If I had to recommend an alternative to Chrome for most people, it would be Brave. It’s my second browser behind Firefox. I’m just too deep down the Firefox rabbit hole. Plus they’re pretty even.

PrivacyDefend rates Brave at 8.5/10 due to its inherent privacy protection, whilst PrivaScore rates Brave the joint best of all browsers assessed (270/270).

Brave is available on iOS, Android, Windows and Linux.

Firefox

Firefox doesn’t quite look like Chrome, but it’s a free, privacy-focused and customizable open-source browser from the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation. It’s what I use everyday for web browsing on Android and my desktop. I do recommend it, but it does require some config to make it a bit more private than how it comes out of the box. Whereas Brave is so similar to Chrome, and so private by default, that migrating to Brave will have a bit less friction than perhaps migrating to Firefox will.

Firefox will try and spring sponsored stories and ads on you. It’s how they make money to sustain their free product. But you can turn all of that off pretty easily. And it really needs uBlock Origin and Ghostery adding to it. After that it’s peaceful internet surfing. Bliss.

PrivacyDefend rates Firefox at 8.5/10 due to its inherent privacy protection, whilst PrivaScore rates Firefox very highly (255/270).

Firefox is available on iOS, Android, Windows and Linux.

Edge

Microsoft’s browser is quite feature rich, but again, has extensive data collection on your activities. It’s not something I have a lot of experience with as I’d rather use anything else over a Microsoft product (where possible). If you are going to use it, be aware that there have been security issues with the built-in Edge password manager. It’s also the only app in the Android Play Store that openly says it shares your data with 3rd parties.

*Shared with 3rd parties. What 3rd parties you ask? Great question and I wish I could tell you.

PrivacyDefend rates Edge at 5/10 due to its data collection and data sharing, whilst PrivaScore rates Edge very poorly (97/270). So a bit better than Chrome, but very far from good.

Safari

I used to have an iPhone back in the day - an iPhone5. And I used to have a Macbook which was pretty decent. But my Safari years are long behind me now and sadly this browser is only available for Apple products. You won’t find it on Android, Windows or Linux. And like all Apple products it's not open source, meaning an independent 3rd party can’t review the code to see what it is and isn’t doing. So it’s a fairly large “trust me bro” from Apple.

Without being able to review the data collected by Safari in the iStore myself, I’m quite limited in any sort of analysis as to what I can find online. PrivacyDefend rates Safari at 8/10, whilst PrivaScore rates it averagely (119/270) mostly it seems due to it being closed source code. PrivacyTests provides a little more detail on the differences. So, it seems reasonably better than Chrome and Edge, but it’s only available on Apple and it’s still behind Brave and Firefox.