ungoogled-chromium
FreeChromium with every connection back to Google removed
A build of Chromium with every piece of code that communicates with Google services removed — no account sync, no Safe Browsing reporting, no crash reports, no background update checks, no preconnection or prefetching. Functionally it is Chromium, simply no longer talking to Google.
Why we picked it
Chrome's problem is not its engine — Chromium is open source with excellent performance and compatibility. The problem is the substantial background communication with Google it maintains by default: account sync, Safe Browsing checks, usage statistics, crash reports, update checks, live suggestions from the address bar, and DNS prefetching.
ungoogled-chromium does something blunt: strip all of that out of the source and recompile. 27,408 stars, BSD-3-Clause, matching Chromium.
Removed or disabled:
- Every connection to Google web services (account, sync, Safe Browsing, translation, spell check).
- Telemetry and crash reporting.
- The background auto-update mechanism.
- Address bar search suggestions, so typing no longer streams your input outward.
- Preconnection, prefetching and prerendering, which fire requests before you click.
It also adds controls such as blocking WebRTC IP leaks and finer referrer policy.
This is among the most demanding browsers on this site, and the costs must be stated:
- There is no auto-update. This matters most. Removing the update mechanism means you must watch for new versions and install them manually. A browser is the largest attack surface you run, and staying on an old build carries genuine security risk. If you cannot commit to updating regularly, use something else — that consideration outweighs any privacy gain.
- Installing extensions is awkward. Connections to the Chrome Web Store are blocked by default, so extensions require downloading crx files manually with developer mode enabled, or a community workaround. Getting uBlock Origin installed defeats many people at this step.
- Binaries are built by third-party volunteers. The main repository publishes a patch set, while per-platform executables are built by various contributors and posted on the binaries page. Download only from the official binaries page and verify checksums.
- Some site features break. Logins that depend on Google services, push notifications, and certain maps and captchas may not work.
Who it suits: people who know what they are doing, will maintain updates manually, and specifically want Chromium's performance with zero Google communication.
If you simply want a browser that does not track you, LibreWolf or Brave are far less trouble and update themselves. This one is for a small group with a specific requirement.