Evaluating Brave Origin as a Privacy-Focused Alternative to Chrome

Like most people, Chrome was my default browser for years. It just worked, fast, compatible, and backed by a familiar ecosystem of extensions. But as I started getting deeper into open-source software and privacy-respecting tools, I began to think more about how much of my data was being collected and used to support Google's advertising business.

Google Chrome is not just a browser, it is also deeply tied into Google's wider data collection and advertising ecosystem. So I started looking for something that kept the usability of Chrome without all of Google's proprietary services, background data collection, and tight integration with its advertising platform.

The obvious first stop was Firefox. It is the browser most people have heard of first, largely because it has been around for a long time and has consistently positioned itself as an alternative to Chrome. On paper, it makes sense as a recommendation because it is open source, developed by a non-profit organisation, and explicitly focused on user privacy and transparency.

But after actually using it day to day, a few things put me off. A fresh Firefox install comes with sponsored content on the new tab page, which already feels like the wrong direction for a privacy-focused browser. On top of that, Mozilla's 2024 policy changes caused a lot of backlash and raised trust concerns for many users. Then there is the practical side: some sites still work better on Chromium, and a lot of the extensions I relied on simply were not available in the Firefox add-on ecosystem.

That led me toward Chromium-based alternatives. Chromium, unlike Google Chrome, is the open-source project underneath the browser. It gives you the compatibility, extension support, and site reliability of Chrome, but without Google's telemetry, account integration, and ad-targeting infrastructure layered on top.

The Privacy Browser Landscape

After looking through privacy-focused browsers, three options stood out as bloat-free and worth paying attention to:

• Brave Origin, a stripped-down version of Brave built around privacy and minimalism.

• Helium Browser, a free and open-source Chromium browser with uBlock Origin built in.

• Waterfox, a Firefox-based browser for people who still want the Firefox engine without depending on Mozilla's standard build.

This post focuses mainly on Brave Origin, with a detailed comparison against Helium Browser since both are Chromium-based and fill a similar space. Waterfox is still worth mentioning, but it belongs in the Firefox camp rather than the Chromium one.

What Brave Origin Is

Brave Origin is a more minimal, privacy-first version of Brave. It keeps the parts of Brave that are actually useful for privacy and browsing, then remove the extras that make the standard Brave browser feel cluttered.

Standard Brave is not bad, but it does come with a lot of stuff I do not want in a browser. That includes Brave Rewards, Brave Wallet, Brave News, Brave Leo, Brave Talk, VPN features, and a handful of other built-in services. A lot of that can be turned off, but I would rather use a browser that does not ship with it in the first place.

Brave Origin removes that extra layer and keeps the core experience. What is left is a cleaner Chromium browser with strong built-in privacy features, Chrome extension support, and avoids unnecessary distractions.

What Brave Origin Keeps

• Brave Shields, Brave's built-in ad and tracker blocker written natively into the browser.

• Fingerprint protections, including Brave's anonymised approach to making browser fingerprinting less reliable.

• Chromium extension support, including the Chrome Web Store.

• Widevine DRM support, which matters if you actually watch Netflix and other DRM-protected services in the browser.

• Native translation, which is genuinely useful and one of those features you miss once it is gone.

• Split View, for side-by-side browsing in the same window.

• Container support, which is a Firefox-style tab isolation feature for separating sessions, cookies, and storage.

That last point is one of the things I like most about where Brave is heading. Containers are one of the most useful features Firefox has, and seeing Brave bring a similar concept to a Chromium browser is a big plus.

Pricing and Availability

Brave Origin is currently in beta and was introduced as a separate product from the standard Brave browser, with Linux users getting it for free while Windows and macOS users pay a one-time $60 fee. That pricing model makes sense in context because Brave Origin is being positioned as a stripped-down browser with no ads, no rewards system, and no extra monetisation layer.

On Linux, that makes Brave Origin especially appealing. You get the cleaner Brave experience without paying anything, which is a very strong deal for a browser that is trying to do privacy properly.

Helium Browser

Helium is a minimalist, privacy-first Chromium-based browser. Instead of being backed by a massive corporation, it is built and maintained by a small team of just 2 people. It is designed to be completely bare-bones, stripped down to the absolute minimum interface with zero bloat.

What Helium Gets Right

• uBlock Origin built in, which gives you one of the best content blockers available by default.

• Insanely Fast, Helium is really fast and highly optimised compared to standard Chrome.

• Full Chromium extension support, including continued support for MV2 extensions.

• Native bangs, allowing you to search specific sites directly from your address bar.

• Split view, for side-by-side browsing in the same window.

• A lightweight overall feel, dedicating more screen real estate to web content through an extremely compact interface.

Helium's main appeal is that it feels like Chromium reduced to the absolute essentials. It removes nearly everything that isn't directly related to browsing, resulting in a browser that is lightweight, fast, and simple.

Where Helium Falls Short

Helium is not trying to be a full replacement for every browser workflow, and that is where the differences start to matter.

• No Widevine DRM support, so streaming services like Netflix and other DRM-protected platforms will not work properly out of the box.

• No built-in sync. Personally, I do not use browser sync, but for people who rely on keeping tabs, history, bookmarks, and settings synchronised across multiple devices, this can be a significant drawback.

• No built-in password manager, which is intentional, but still matters for some people even if separate password managers are the better choice.

• No native translation, so translating websites requires an extension instead of a built-in translate feature.

• No container-style isolation feature, which is one of the more interesting reasons to watch Brave Origin long term.

So while Helium is a great option, it may feel more limited depending on what you need your browser to handle.

Brave Shields vs uBlock Origin

The most important comparison is between Brave Shields (Brave’s built-in privacy protection) and uBlock Origin (a powerful ad-blocking extension), since each is the core privacy tool in its default setup.

The short version is that both are good. Brave Shields is better if you want privacy protections deeply integrated into the browser with almost no setup. uBlock Origin is better if you want maximum control and the flexibility to tune exactly how blocking works.

In practice, I think both are excellent. This is not one of those situations where one option is clearly bad and the other is clearly good. It is more a case of browser-level integration versus extension-level flexibility. For most people, the difference is negligible.

Brave Origin vs Helium

This is where the decision becomes pretty simple. Helium is the clear pick if you want a free, minimal Chromium browser and do not care about DRM, sync, or some of the other features. Brave Origin is the better all-rounder if you want a browser that still feels minimal but covers most use cases.

Highly Recommended Extensions

These extensions are available on both Chromium-based and Firefox-based browsers.

• uBlock Origin: An open source ad blocker. Skip this on Brave Origin since Brave Shields is already running, as using two ad blockers simultaneously can cause conflicts. On Chromium-based browsers, the full MV2 version is available on browsers that support it (such as Helium), while Chrome and other MV3-only browsers are limited to uBlock Origin Lite. On Firefox browsers, the full MV2 version works without any restrictions.

• Popup Blocker (strict): An open source lightweight extension that intercepts and blocks popup windows before they even open, rather than waiting for them to appear. It halts all requests for new windows and lets you permit or deny each one, with multiple requests presented in a list.

YouTube Only

• SponsorBlock: An open source crowdsourced extension that automatically skips sponsor segments in YouTube videos based on community submitted timestamps. It also supports skipping intros, outros, and subscribe reminders.

• Return YouTube Dislike: An open-source extension that returns the YouTube dislike count. After Google removed the public dislike count from YouTube in November 2021, this extension restores it using a combination of scraped dislike stats and estimates extrapolated from extension user data, so you can judge content quality before watching.

Which Browser I Would Use

On Linux, Brave Origin would be the primary browser and Helium would be the secondary one. Brave Origin gets the edge because it is free on Linux, supports DRM, includes native translation, has Brave Shields built in, and now also has things like Split View and container support, which makes it more complete for daily use. Furthermore, another reason to commit to Brave Origin for the long term is that it is planned to go stable in June 2026. I still use Helium as my secondary browser because it is fast, minimal, and great when you want a more stripped-back browsing session.

On Windows, Helium makes more sense as the main browser for most people because Brave Origin costs $60 there while Helium is free. The main exception is if DRM support, sync, or Brave's browser-level privacy features matter enough to justify paying for Brave Origin. As a secondary browser on Windows, I would use Waterfox, which has recently integrated Brave's ad blocking engine written in Rust, though you can disable that and opt to use uBlock Origin instead if you prefer.

On Android, I use Waterfox as my mobile browser of choice because it supports installing extensions on mobile, which is really useful. This means you can run the same extensions listed above, including uBlock Origin, Popup Blocker (strict), directly on your phone. This makes a significant difference to the browsing experience compared to most mobile browsers that offer no extension support at all.

Conclusion

For a long time, Chrome stayed on top because it was the easiest option. That is still true in a narrow sense, but it is no longer true if you care about privacy, open source, and reducing dependence on big tech browsers.

Brave Origin is one of the best Chromium-based options I have found if the goal is to get Chrome-like compatibility without Chrome’s downsides, especially on Linux where it is free. Helium is also great, and on Windows it is probably the easier recommendation for most people unless DRM support matters. Between the two, there is now a very real case for leaving Chrome behind without sacrificing the browsing experience that made people stick with it in the first place.