Brave is a popular destination, and the only browser built on the same engine as Google Chrome that I still trust.
Google Chrome is just one piece of the larger Google ecosystem.
Helium gave me something Brave never fully couldI finally stopped feeling tied to Google's webAfam Onyimadu / MUOChrome serves as an entry point to Google's ecosystem.
That said, it's worth noting that Helium was only launched in 2023 and is far smaller than most browsers, including Chrome and Brave.
And unlike Brave, Helium achieves this without replacing one ecosystem with another.
I've read more articles about leaving Chrome than I'd like to admit. In each of those, the common reasons cited were privacy and Chrome's heavy resource usage. These are valid, especially when you consider Google's monopoly and use of data. However, leaving Chrome is just one part of the puzzle. The bigger part answers the question: for what?
Brave is a popular destination, and the only browser built on the same engine as Google Chrome that I still trust. But Brave has had its issues. In fact, several. However, I found one browser that may be the absolute best destination for anyone leaving Chrome.
Brave is great, but it has problems
The red flags you've ignored
Afam Onyimadu / MUO
Brave has more than 100 million users, and that's the first sign that it could be doing something right. Out of the box, it gives you one of the best browsing experiences, devoid of ads, tracking scripts, cross-site cookies, and malicious scripts, and you don't need to hunt down extensions like uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger for this. It also offers one of the strongest fingerprint randomizations, which makes cross-site tracking very difficult. Every time I tried using EFF's Cover Your Tracks tool, I got a randomized fingerprint.
Even though it's built on Chromium, it comes reasonably de-Googled, removing Google Account integration, disabling background "phone home" services, and proxying essential services so that Google remains blind to your IP. These are all the reasons why it's become a sought-after Chrome alternative.
That said, it has a history that most people who use it today have decided to overlook. In 2020, Brave injected affiliate codes via URL auto-complete. This was a secret way Brave profited from users without them actually opting in or knowing. There was also a scandal in which Brave solicited and accepted cryptocurrency donations from users on behalf of high-profile internet creators without notifying them. These are all well-documented, with a dedicated Reddit post listing all of Brave's controversies.
For those who still trust Brave, the argument is that it has managed to build 100 million users despite all that, showing a significant U-turn and a commitment to transparency. If you can't move past these controversies, Brave is not for you, and you'd probably be better off using Helium, a browser that's extremely lightweight and fast, with none of the baggage of Brave, none of Chrome's ad model, and a small team committed to transparency. If speed and privacy are among the things you prioritize, I'll show you why the Helium browser helped me ditch Google.
Helium feels like a browser from before the complicated web
The simplicity is what finally sold me
Almost all the browsers I have tried recently are doing too much and turning into ecosystems. Google Chrome is just one piece of the larger Google ecosystem. Brave has crypto integration, VPN upsells, AI, and just so much that you're not really asking for when you just want to browse. The same goes for Vivaldi, Opera, and a host of others.
Helium's philosophy is the very opposite of this. It aims to remain lightweight, which is why it instantly feels faster and more responsive than your average browser. It's focused and intentionally minimal. After installation, it launches on Windows with two options: Use Defaults and Configure. Choosing Configure lets you fine-tune privacy, security, and interface settings, while the Default option opens to a minimal page with a search bar and a center-screen option to add a shortcut. For daily browsing, you'd notice quick cold launches, responsive tab switching, and less background activity. With the same number of tabs and workload, while Chrome recorded 1,667MB of RAM, Helium stayed below 230MB.
Installing it was the first time in a long while I'd used a browser that wasn't immediately pushing account sync. Helium is based on Chromium, so you still get several Chrome-related advantages: website compatibility, extension support, familiar layout, and the modern rendering engine. It also operates a highly transparent model, with bug tracking, feature roadmaps, and code changes publicly accessible, often via GitHub.
Helium Browser OS macOS, Windows, Linux Price model Free Helium is a privacy browser built on Ungoogled Chromium, an open-source derivative of the Google Chromium project.
Helium gave me something Brave never fully could
I finally stopped feeling tied to Google's web
Afam Onyimadu / MUO
Chrome serves as an entry point to Google's ecosystem. This starts with the default Google search engine. Surprisingly, Brave doesn't do better either, still defaulting to Google Search. While this is a tiny element that can be changed, Helium uses DuckDuckGo out of the box.
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In most modern browsers, you'd encounter Google account nudges, Gemini integrations, pressure to sync, password manager lock-in, and constant cross-service integration. Brave did a good job of removing a lot of Google's tracking infrastructure; however, it then built its own ecosystem around the browser. This is where Helium is fundamentally different. Rather than stripping off Google to replace it with something native, it stays completely out of your way. This allows browsing with fewer prompts and less friction, and makes the entire experience feel calmer.
That said, it's worth noting that Helium was only launched in 2023 and is far smaller than most browsers, including Chrome and Brave. A power user may not find certain advanced features they're used to, and it doesn't have the wide range of privacy tools that Brave has. Sadly, this also means it hasn't been tested as much as most of the competition, and it's impossible to be certain how it will fare several years down the line. But this was a trade-off I was happy to make because the team is small, communication is transparent, and the browser feels honest about what it's trying to do. Its marketing strategy isn't privacy, but by keeping things simple, it's become a private and fast option.
Exactly why I left Chrome
Helium's lure wasn't about being dramatically more powerful than Chrome. However, it felt like what the internet should be: calm, predictable, and fast. So far, Helium has been a pleasant reminder that the web doesn't need to revolve around Google to feel complete. And unlike Brave, Helium achieves this without replacing one ecosystem with another.
