Arc (Web Browser, discontinued)★★★⯪☆An interesting experiment in finding different ways to use the web, on the idea that people don’t want to use it more, they want to use the web less to accomplish what they want.
Arc Search (discontinued)★★★★☆Surprisingly, I like the mobile Arc browser better than its desktop counterpart. Simplified UI, stays mostly out of your way, and it’s satisfying to fling tabs offscreen to close them. Still leery of the AI summarizer, though.
Brave (Web Browser)★★☆☆☆A privacy-focused browser, but for every cool privacy feature there’s something else that makes me want to firewall the application away from my system.
Chromium (Web Browser)★★★⯪☆The basis for most web browsers these days, driven mainly by building Google Chrome. Less tracking and branding, but stable updates are only available on Linux.
Dia (Browser)★★☆☆☆An AI chatbot masquerading as a web browser, or the other way around. You can use it without the AI features, but that just leaves you with a stripped-down Chromium skin.
DuckDuckGo★★★★☆A private-ish search engine that’s also serving less slop than Google. Disposable email aliases are convenient. The browser extension and standalone browser block known trackers, and the Android app can block trackers in other apps too.
Ecosia (Search)★★★☆☆Non-profit search provider that uses renewable energy and partners with environmental organizations. AKA “the search engine that plants trees.”
Falkon (Web Browser)★★★★☆A surprisingly capable Chromium browser for KDE and other Linux desktops that runs well even on low-end hardware and virtual machines.
Google Chrome★★★☆☆There was a time when Chrome was the fastest web browser available. It isn’t anymore, and over the last few years it’s felt less like a user agent and more like a Google agent.
Microsoft Edge★★☆☆☆Once you turn off all the Microsoft specials, it feels usable again – but then, it’s just another Chromium skin.
Opera (Web Browser)★★★☆☆Opera used to be one of my favorite browsers back in the day, but its current incarnation just doesn’t appeal to me. I much prefer Vivaldi, which is a spiritual successor to the original.
Regarding Mozilla and BraveOn Brendan Eich’s brief promotion to CEO at Mozilla, the fallout for Mozilla and the creation of Brave.
Ungoogled Chromium★★★⯪☆This takes Chromium and removes everything that connects to Google services…including things like safe browsing and the extension store.
Vivaldi (Web Browser)★★★★★Spiritual successor to the original Opera browser, this ultra-customizable web browser can open into a full suite for email, calendar, feeds and more – but only if you want it to.