Your web browser is like the door to the internet. It allows you to view websites on the internet. Without an internet browser, you would not be able to open a website or read the information on the World Wide Web. There are a handful of browsers available out there to install. However, what is the top safest and private web browser, is it Opera, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer or Edge? In this article, you will find out which one is the most privacy and security-focused of them all.
Just to make you aware. Browsers come in all different shapes, forms and sizes. They all have fancy new features and claim to be faster than the rest. It cannot be one of them, but you will be good at using all of them. It also depends if you know some online security practices. Also, note that all these browsers have their own different security features. The ones listed in this browser security comparison have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of privacy. The views in this article are expressed using the research done by Browserscope. Also, personal experience about using all of them is used on this page.
Which is the Safest, Secure and Private Web Browser (2022 Updated Edition)
Google Chrome – The best security-focused web browser
Google’s Chrome is one of the most famous out there. It has a huge market share among others. It is one of the best known for being secure and safe. It scores the highest is most security tests. Google is updating its browser regularly and releasing patches to newly discovered vulnerabilities almost instantly. Chrome has the highest malware detection rate out there. This means it can detect and block malware right in its track before it infects you.
Also as the Incognito mode has been known to not provide so much privacy while you’re using it, you can disable it easily.
Chrome security features in detail:
#1 Safe Browsing
This is Chrome’s feature of alerting its users before opening a website. It will show you an alert if you are about to open a website that has malware or is malicious. It also protects you from phishing attacks and web pages that try to trick you into providing your personal information.
#2 Sandboxing itself and open tabs
This will stop harmful malware from being installed on your computer. It also adds extra protection by securing your open tabs individually. This gives you an extra layer of security against harmful software that may want to enter your PC.
Are there any downsides?
Not really, the only downside is that Google makes money from advertising and knowing pretty much everything you do online. The browser itself is not fully open-source we don’t know what’s going on in there.
Security score: 10/10.
Privacy score: 9/10.
Mozilla Firefox – The privacy-orientated one
Firefox is one of the best browsers known in the field when it comes to privacy. It is an open-source. Anyone can look at its source code and see what is happening behind the scenes. This is good for security because if anyone has any droughts, they can just look at its code. Another great point is that it is run by a non-profit organization. This means it is not made for making the developers money or for any other financial reasons, it’s simply free software.
Security score: 10/10.
Privacy score: 10/10.
Update: Firefox is now also a top browser for security because of the recent features added by them.
Microsoft Edge – The refreshed Internet Explorer
Edge has a lot of improvements and is a lot different than internet explorer. It has a few security improvements over IE and other noticeable updates. Microsoft has built Edge with newer technologies and does not use any legacy tech used in its previous browser. There are also no more toolbars. This increases security because, in the past, malicious toolbars were installed on PCs to steal information from web pages and infect computers.
There are extensions available for Edge. However, they are only kept to a minimum, and only highly reliable ones are allowed. Edge still has a lot of work to do to get a top place in the ‘top secure browsers‘ category. Another major hit in the wrong direction is that Edge is closed-source.
Security score: 8/10.
Privacy score: 8/10.
Opera Browser
Opera has lots of built-in features from ad-blockers and so on. This browser is known for providing speedy security updates. It is not famous as much on PCs but its mobile version ‘Opera Mini‘ is very popular among smartphones. The market share among others is very small. Another thing to note is that it is closed-source software. No-one apart from the development team what is going on behind the scenes. It also comes with a pop-up blocker, snapshot tool, free VPN (Virtual Private Network), and many others.
Security score: 9/10.
Privacy score: 8/10.
Apple Safari
Safari is no longer supported on Windows. I highly recommend you stop using it because it has not received security updates in years. However, if you are using a MAC or running OSX it is a very good choice. Apple is known for being privacy-orientated and its security is always the best. They have the fastest security patches in the industry. It is still unknown if they have any connection with the NSA on data sharing. The browser runs very smoothly and has a very clean interface. If your main worry is security, then Safari for OSX is the best choice.
Security: 9.5/10.
Privacy: 8.5/10.
Tor Browser – A new winner for anonymity
If you are someone who loves to stay anonymous online and wants no history of their web browsing activities, Tor Project also known as Tor Browser is the best choice.
It comes with various different privacy features such as Tracker Blockers. This stops cookies from following you around the web. An additional security feature is that it stops surveillance in its tracks! Your ISP cannot see what websites you have visited, isn’t that good?
Tor Browser also comes with fingerprinting protection. This means that someone looking for you specifically can’t identify you based on your Browser, Device, and IP address. Additionally, it applies encryption 3 times so no third party can snoop on your connection.
Security score: 9.8/10
Privacy score: 9.9/10.
Brave Browser – Privacy at the core
One of the most underrated and under-the-radar browsers that are based on Chromium from Google. One of the main reasons I am in love with this browser is that it prevents fingerprinting and has its own ad-blocker built-in!
The nice factor is that Brave Browser is 100% open-source, however, it was tweaked by its developers to be ultra-secure. However, recently it has added Ads in its interface which layer on top of content sites like ours. It also comes with HTTPS Everywhere pre-installed and with auto-updates enabled.
Security score: 8/10.
Privacy score: 7.5/10.
Recommended Reads:
- Best Free Antivirus for Windows 10/11 (2022 Edition)
- How-to guide: Staying Safe from Latest Ransomware Attacks
- How to have a Malware-Free Windows PC (Guide)
- How to Secure your Wireless WiFi Home Network from Hackers
- Best 4 Ways to Keep Your PC Safe from Harmful Viruses (2022)
Conclusion – Which browser to use?
This depends on the platform as well as the usage. If you are using an Apple MAC or iDevice, Apple Safari is the top choice. If you are a Microsoft Windows user, Google Chrome is the best one hands down, followed by Firefox. This should answer your question about ‘Which browser is the best for Privacy, Security, and Safety?‘. All the browsers above have their own weaknesses and strength.
There is no perfect web browser to install. It all depends on who made them, what their purpose is, how fast their patches are and what features they come with. These browsers will not keep you entirely anonymous but will add a decent level of privacy to your web surfing.
I am in no way one of the anti Google zealots running rampant nowadays but calling Chrome “The best security focused web browser” is hilarious at best and a blatant lie at worse. Chrome has many pluses going for it but it isn’t close to being the best at being security focused. I would argue that the myriad ways that Chrome violates its users privacy is a very big security issue. There was a time when I swore by Chrome and pretty much anything else that Google had a hand in. But as the years went by I realized that what I was sacrificing in return for Googles free services wasn’t worth the loss of my privacy and therefore security.
Agreed! Having Google Chrome as #1 with 9 out of 10 for privacy just made this whole list good.
I totally do agree with you on this one. However, nothing is free in this world so
Except Firefox. That’s totally free.
One of the biggest problems I see with Chrome is it becoming a victim of its own popularity. If I were looking to exploit a browser for some reason, I would focus my efforts on Chrome due to its large market share.
And by extension, all the Blink based browsers — which includes Chrome, Chromium, Opera, Microsoft Edge, and Brave.
Well, you have a good point here, privacy should be a priority.
#1 Brave Browser
I think so in terms of a new champ, yes it is.
Rather the commonly know browsers what about the “Tor Browser” isn’t that really safer than those you mentioned?
And as a review / purporting to be some form of authority on the subject why wasn’t the Tor browser mentioned and or included, possibly as the real safest browser?
I certainly do agree with you!
I will be adding Tor Browser to this page very soon. Thanks for the tip.
Why isn’t Brave listed here?
Thanks for the suggestion, will add Brave Browser soon!