Happy Monday, friends! We’ve got 400 words and the full read is about 2 minutes. Let’s get to today’s privacy recommendation!
What am I suggesting and why?
Download Brave web browser and don’t look back. Google is one of the largest ad companies in the world and tracks you all over the web, but Google Chrome is their window to absolutely everything you do online—even when you’re ‘incognito’. Stop telling Google all your business.
Duration: 15 Minutes
Ease: Very Easy
Cost: Free
You got this, let’s go:
Download Brave for your Mac or PC. Follow instructions to install.
Follow the welcome tour Brave provides.
Optional: Import bookmarks from Chrome during the tour.
Set Brave as your default web browser.
Don’t forget mobile!
Use Brave on your mobile device as well for added privacy.
iPhone/iPad Instructions for changing default browser:
Download Brave for iPhone.
Open Settings > Safari.
Tap Default Browser App.
Select Brave from the list.
Android Instructions for changing default browser:
Download Brave for Android.
Open Settings > Apps.
Tap Brave.
Under ‘Defaults,’ tap Browser app.
Select Brave from the list.
Why Brave?
Privacy and familiarity.
Privacy is the default. Brave automatically blocks trackers and ads, and it ensures that every website you visit is secure (you’ll see ‘https’ in the address bar instead of just ‘http’.)
Familiarity is nice. Google Chrome and Brave both run on the same open-source platform: Chromium. Chromium browsers are very popular and they run websites well—I say this as a web developer. If you’re familiar with Google Chrome, Brave will feel like home.
For the extremely privacy minded, Brave also has a Tor option built in if you need to go totally undercover (think of it like an incognito window that’s ACTUALLY incognito).
Are there other options?
Definitely. There are other options for private browsers—Firefox would be my alternative suggestion for top notch privacy and usability.
If you want maximum privacy in your web browser, you could also look at Tor browser, but it seems like you sacrifice a little on the usability and pages loading properly.
There’s also a list of the 5 best private web browsers of 2022 from Lifewire if you want to see some more options!
Want to dig deeper?
“The 5 Best Private Web Browsers of 2022” Lifewire
“Why You Shouldn’t Use Google Chrome After New Privacy Disclosure” Forbes
“Chrome: Google’s biggest threat to your privacy” ComputerWorld