Helium

TL;DR

• What it is: An open-source (GPL-3.0), Chromium-based browser built on ungoogled-chromium with uBlock Origin bundled, third-party cookies blocked, and zero telemetry. Made by the small “imput” team behind Cobalt.
• Who it’s for: Privacy-focused users who want Chromium compatibility without the surveillance, Brave users who bounced off the crypto and BAT integrations, and Firefox ESR users tired of maintaining a custom user.js for privacy.
• Privacy angle (not cost): Unlike most self-hosted reviews, this isn’t about replacing a SaaS bill. It’s about escaping Chrome’s data collection and Brave’s commercial baggage — $0 for every browser here, but the cost is your data.
• Key strength: “Zero web requests on first launch” is real and verifiable. uBlock Origin ships by default with Manifest V2 support, third-party cookies blocked, HTTPS enforced, no password manager, no sync, no cloud.
• Key weakness: Beta software. No DRM (can’t play Spotify, Netflix, Prime Video), no password manager, no cloud sync across devices, bundled uBlock occasionally breaks login flows, small-team project with uncertain long-term maintenance burden.

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What is Helium

Helium is a Chromium-based web browser built by a small team operating under the imput organization — the same team behind Cobalt, the privacy-focused media downloader. The project is a fork of ungoogled-chromium, heavily modified, and also includes patches from Bromite, Iridium Browser, Brave, Inox patchset, and Debian. The repo sits at 12,460 GitHub stars, is licensed GPL-3.0 for Helium’s unique code, and is currently in beta on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

The positioning on helium.computer is explicit: “Best privacy by default, not as a hidden option. Helium blocks ads, trackers, phishing websites, and other nonsense by default, thanks to community filters and uBlock Origin… The browser itself doesn’t have any ads, trackers, or analytics. Helium also doesn’t make any web requests without your explicit consent, it makes zero web requests on first launch.” That “zero web requests on first launch” claim is the core differentiator, and it’s the thing every review in our sample tested and confirmed.

This is not a team of hundreds. It’s a small group, shipping in public with no venture funding mess, no token, no referral URL injection. That’s the context for everything else in this review.

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Why people choose it over Brave, Firefox, Chrome, and Arc

Versus Brave

Brave is the closest comparison and the most common point of exit. Brave was originally pitched as the privacy-first Chromium browser, and for a while it was. Then came the BAT crypto token, the Brave Rewards program, affiliate URL injection incidents, sponsored new tab backgrounds, and the general commercial pressure of running a browser company.

Roland Taylor at It’s FOSS framed it: “Helium takes a stricter ‘no commercial entanglement’ stance — there is no cryptocurrency, no referral URLs, and no telemetry. For those prioritizing privacy above ecosystem convenience, Helium occupies a compelling middle ground between Brave’s controversial history and Chromium’s data collection practices.” The pitch is simple — Helium is Brave without the things Brave added after it became a company.

Versus Firefox (and Firefox ESR with BetterFox)

One review documents the Firefox-to-Helium migration angle: the author was running Firefox ESR with BetterFox user.js — a custom privacy hardening config that requires ongoing maintenance. His reasons for looking elsewhere: some web apps only worked correctly in Chromium-based browsers, and he wanted something that felt lean and private by default, without needing constant tweaking. Helium delivers that — the privacy is in the defaults, not in a config file you maintain.

The tradeoff is real: Firefox is an independent engine with its own cookie model. If you care about browser engine diversity, Firefox still matters. Helium doesn’t help on that axis.

Versus ungoogled-chromium (the parent project)

Helium is a downstream of ungoogled-chromium, heavily modified. The practical difference: ungoogled-chromium is a patchset you have to apply yourself or find a distro build for, with minimal UI work beyond the patches. Helium is that patchset plus a cleaner UI, !bangs, split view, onboarding, extension store anonymization, and actual release binaries you can download. You trade purism for polish.

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Features: what it actually does

Privacy architecture (the whole point):

• Built on ungoogled-chromium, not stock Chromium — Google telemetry stripped at the source
• uBlock Origin bundled by default with Manifest V2 support, community filter lists active
• Third-party cookies blocked by default
• Anti-fingerprinting measures applied
• HTTPS enforcement on all websites with warnings when unavailable
• Zero web requests on first launch unless you explicitly act
• No password manager (explicit design decision — “passwords should be separate from a web browser to be truly secure”)
• No cloud sync, no phoning home to external servers
• No telemetry, no analytics

Helium services (the anonymizing backend):

• Chrome Web Store request anonymization — extension downloads proxied through Helium services so Google can’t track them. Per the website: “No other browser does this.”
• uBlock filter list updates proxied through Helium services
• Browser update checks proxied
• All Helium services are open source and self-hostable — you can run your own instance if you don’t trust the default one

Productivity features:

• Native !bangs — 10,000+ search shortcuts (!w for Wikipedia, !gh for GitHub, !chatgpt to open a ChatGPT query, etc.). Works offline directly in the browser
• Split view — open two pages side-by-side
• Quick link sharing via keyboard shortcut
• Web app installation — install any site as a standalone desktop app without duplicating Chromium
• Compact, minimalistic UI with hideable toolbar elements

Chromium compatibility:

• All Chromium extensions supported, including Manifest V2 (which Chrome is deprecating)
• Works with Chrome Web Store extensions directly
• Uses Chromium’s rendering engine — no compatibility issues with sites that require Chrome

Platforms and packaging:

• macOS (primary development platform, auto-updates)
• Linux (AppImage, with development script)
• Windows (binary release, no auto-update yet)
• Currently beta on all platforms
• No iOS or Android build

What’s deliberately missing:

• No DRM support — breaks Spotify Web, Netflix, Prime Video, any Widevine content
• No built-in password manager
• No cloud sync across devices
• No crypto wallet, no token, no affiliate URL injection

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Privacy math (not cost math)

Every browser in this comparison is $0. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Arc, Helium — all free. The real math is what you pay in data:

• Chrome: extensive telemetry, sign-in tied to Google account, search history, browsing behavior, device fingerprint, extension store tracking.
• Edge: Microsoft telemetry, Bing integration, sign-in tied to Microsoft account.
• Brave: zero direct telemetry by default (better than Chrome), but BAT token integrations, affiliate URL rewriting incidents historically, sponsored new tab images.
• Firefox (default): some telemetry by default (can be disabled), Pocket integration, sponsored content on new tab in some regions.
• Helium: zero web requests on first launch, no telemetry, no analytics, no account, no sync. The Helium services backend anonymizes extension store requests so even your extension downloads aren’t attributable.

Dollar-denominated cost of switching: Helium is $0 software cost, ~30 minutes to migrate your bookmarks and extensions from Chrome/Brave.

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Installation reality check

Unlike most self-hosted reviews, there’s nothing to install on a server here. Helium is a desktop binary — download, run, use. The catch is it’s beta, and beta means real bugs.

What you actually need:

• A recent macOS, Linux, or Windows machine
• ~200MB for the binary
• About 10 minutes to import your existing profile from Chrome or Brave

What can go sideways:

• DRM is not supported. Spotify Web, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and any site using Widevine will fail. If you use web-based streaming services in a browser, you need a second browser for those.
• Bundled uBlock Origin can break some logins. The workaround: installing the Chrome Web Store version resolves this.
• No DRM + no password manager + no sync means you’re handling those concerns yourself. Bitwarden, 1Password, and KeePassXC all work as extensions or separate apps.
• Beta stability. The README is explicit: “Helium is currently in beta, so unexpected issues may occur.” Always back up your data before switching browsers.
• Small team. If the imput team stops maintaining Helium, you’re on a Chromium fork without a maintainer, and Chromium releases a new security update every 2–4 weeks.
• Windows auto-update not implemented yet — manual updates required on Windows as of the latest beta.

Realistic time estimate: 10–15 minutes from download to a usable browser with your extensions imported from Brave or Chrome.

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Who should use this (and who shouldn’t)

Use Helium if:

• You liked Brave in 2019 but bounced off the crypto, BAT token, and affiliate URL incidents.
• You’re running Firefox ESR with a custom user.js and tired of maintaining it.
• You want Chromium compatibility plus privacy defaults, not a maintenance project.
• You use a separate password manager (Bitwarden, 1Password, KeePassXC) anyway.
• You accept beta-software risk.
• You don’t use web-based DRM streaming services in your browser (or you have a separate browser for those).

Don’t use Helium if:

• You need web-based Spotify, Netflix, or Prime Video.
• You need cloud sync across devices and don’t want to roll your own.
• You need a built-in password manager.
• You need iOS or Android (Helium is desktop only).
• You’re a risk-averse user on production systems who can’t tolerate beta-software bugs.
• You care about browser engine diversity and want to support Gecko (use Firefox).

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Alternatives worth considering

• Brave — the closest analog, widely available, still more mature than Helium, but with the commercial baggage Helium is reacting against.
• Firefox + Arkenfox or BetterFox user.js — independent engine, maximum flexibility, requires maintenance of a hardening config.
• LibreWolf — Firefox fork pre-hardened for privacy. Less maintenance than Arkenfox-on-Firefox, less feature-forward than Helium.
• Ungoogled-chromium — the upstream of Helium. Purist, minimal UI, more painful to install and keep updated.
• Mullvad Browser — Mozilla Firefox ESR fork with Tor-style anti-fingerprinting, developed by the Mullvad VPN team.
• Arc — polished, design-forward, closed source, VC-funded. Opposite end of the spectrum from Helium.

For a privacy-focused user who wants Chromium compatibility without the commercial strings, the realistic shortlist is Helium vs LibreWolf vs ungoogled-chromium. Helium wins on polish and defaults. LibreWolf wins on engine diversity. Ungoogled-chromium wins on purity.

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Bottom line

Helium is the browser Brave users wanted Brave to stay. It’s open source, zero-telemetry, ships with the privacy defaults you’d otherwise configure manually, and has no business model on your data. The beta status is a genuine concern — if you need DRM streaming or cross-device sync, it’s not your daily driver yet. If you’re willing to accept beta-software risk and use a separate password manager, Helium is the cleanest privacy-first Chromium option in 2026, with a refreshingly honest “no commercial entanglement” stance.

This review is the privacy-angle outlier in our unsubbed.co coverage — most of what we track is cost-saving self-hosted alternatives, but some tools are worth installing because staying on the incumbent costs you in data instead of dollars. If you run a team and want help standardizing on a private browser with an internal extension policy and self-hosted Helium services, that’s the kind of project upready.dev takes on.

Sources

This review synthesizes 5 independent third-party articles along with primary sources from the project itself. Inline references throughout the review map to the numbered list below.

1. [1] whoerip.com (2026) — ”🥷 Helium Browser Review: Anonymous Browsing In 2025” (link)
2. [2] dtptips.com (2026) — “The Rise of the Helium Browser: A Deep Dive - Digital Tech & Productivity Tips” (link)
3. [3] deepakness.com (2026) — “Trying and Migrating to the Helium Browser | DeepakNess” (link)
4. [4] pixelscan.net (2026) — “Helium Browser Review 2025: Privacy-Focused Browser with Limits” (link)
5. [5] itsfoss.com (2025-12-10) — “Is Helium the Browser Brave Was Meant to Be?” — Brave comparison / commercialization-alternative angle (link)
6. [6] GitHub repository — official source code, README, releases, and issue tracker (https://github.com/imputnet/helium)
7. [7] Official website — Helium project homepage and docs (https://helium.computer)

References [1]–[7] above were used to cross-check claims about features, pricing, deployment, and limitations in this review.