What is this?
Helium is a Chromium-based web browser built for privacy: unbiased ad-blocking out of the box, no bloat and no noise. It is free, open source, and currently in beta.
Helium is a Chromium-based web browser built for privacy: unbiased ad-blocking out of the box, no bloat and no noise. It is free, open source, and currently in beta.Is it just Chrome with a different skin, or a separate browser?It is its own browser built on ungoogled-chromium (Chromium stripped of Google services) and then heavily modified by the Helium team.
It is its own browser built on ungoogled-chromium (Chromium stripped of Google services) and then heavily modified by the Helium team.How do I get it on my computer?Download it from helium.computer, which automatically picks the right binary for your platform, or grab the latest macOS, Linux, or Windows release straight from GitHub.
Download it from helium.computer, which automatically picks the right binary for your platform, or grab the latest macOS, Linux, or Windows release straight from GitHub.Is it ready to use as my main browser?Almost: it is in beta, so unexpected issues may occur, and the README asks users to report anything they hit. Expect some rough edges.
Almost: it is in beta, so unexpected issues may occur, and the README asks users to report anything they hit. Expect some rough edges.Can I use it on Windows and Linux, or is it Mac-only?All three desktop platforms are covered — there are official releases for macOS, Linux, and Windows. No mobile versions are mentioned.
All three desktop platforms are covered — there are official releases for macOS, Linux, and Windows. No mobile versions are mentioned.Do I need to install an ad blocker separately?No. Privacy-first ad-blocking is built in, and Helium ships and maintains its own fork of uBlock Origin rather than relying on the stock extension.
No. Privacy-first ad-blocking is built in, and Helium ships and maintains its own fork of uBlock Origin rather than relying on the stock extension.Why did the team build on ungoogled-chromium?Per the README credits, it made working with Chromium way easier. It gives Helium a de-googled Chromium base, which the team then modifies heavily for its privacy-first goals.
Per the README credits, it made working with Chromium way easier. It gives Helium a de-googled Chromium base, which the team then modifies heavily for its privacy-first goals.Which other Chromium browsers does it borrow patches from?It includes patches from the Inox patchset, Debian, Bromite, Iridium Browser, and Brave. All patches are sorted by vendor in the patches directory of this repo.
It includes patches from the Inox patchset, Debian, Bromite, Iridium Browser, and Brave. All patches are sorted by vendor in the patches directory of this repo.Is any part of Helium closed source?No. All packaging, tooling, services, and components are open source and published on GitHub, including the onboarding app and Helium's own fork of uBlock Origin.
No. All packaging, tooling, services, and components are open source and published on GitHub, including the onboarding app and Helium's own fork of uBlock Origin.What are similar projects?ungoogled-chromium, qutebrowser, awesome-privacy, FreeTube, uBlock, Vela, desktop, hosts
ungoogled-chromium, qutebrowser, awesome-privacy, FreeTube, uBlock, Vela, desktop, hostsWhich topics is it in?degoogle, web-browser, anti-tracking, ad-blocker, open-source-alternative, adblock, chromium, foss, app, cpp, browser, c++
degoogle, web-browser, anti-tracking, ad-blocker, open-source-alternative, adblock, chromium, foss, app, cpp, browser, c++