{"slug": "helium", "name": "Helium", "category": "browsers", "category_name": "Browsers and extensions", "description": "Chromium-based desktop web browser built on ungoogled-chromium, with built-in ad blocking.", "recommenders": 14, "commenters": 21, "warners": 2, "score": 12.399, "rising": 1.73, "first": "2025-12-06", "latest": "2026-10-22", "why": "Liked as a minimal, ungoogled Chromium with uBlock Origin and Chrome extension support, and several commenters switched to it from Arc, Firefox or Brave.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 16, "neutral": 5, "compare": 0, "warn": 2}, "spark": [0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 5, 2, 3, 1, 2], "listed": true, "loved": ["Daily driver", "Ungoogled Chromium"], "caveat": "Crashes", "short_quote": "I have permanently switched to https://github.com/imputnet/helium for a while now and have been quite happy with it.", "icon": true, "domain": "helium.computer", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://helium.computer/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Helium", "Helium Browser"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked as a minimal, ungoogled Chromium", "cites": [{"id": 803229632, "item_id": 50201852, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201852", "by": "lxe", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.", "excerpt": "https://helium.computer/ this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense. It can run chrome extensions, unblock, doesn't have random unnecessary features, etc", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 789999712, "item_id": 49374982, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49374982", "by": "hmokiguess", "date": "2026-08-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot", "excerpt": "I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Browser De-Slop"}, {"id": 775596128, "item_id": 48474758, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48474758", "by": "fallbackboy", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "excerpt": "I would recommend folks check out Helium (https://helium.computer) it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "context": "", "use_case": "ad-blocking browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow"}]}, {"text": " with uBlock Origin and Chrome extension support,", "cites": [{"id": 775596128, "item_id": 48474758, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48474758", "by": "fallbackboy", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "excerpt": "I would recommend folks check out Helium (https://helium.computer) it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "context": "", "use_case": "ad-blocking browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow"}, {"id": 775031408, "item_id": 48439463, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48439463", "by": "prmph", "date": "2026-06-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.", "excerpt": "It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}, {"id": 803229632, "item_id": 50201852, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201852", "by": "lxe", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.", "excerpt": "https://helium.computer/ this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense. It can run chrome extensions, unblock, doesn't have random unnecessary features, etc", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}]}, {"text": " and several commenters switched to it from Arc, Firefox or Brave.", "cites": [{"id": 803229632, "item_id": 50201852, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201852", "by": "lxe", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.", "excerpt": "https://helium.computer/ this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense. It can run chrome extensions, unblock, doesn't have random unnecessary features, etc", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 798337520, "item_id": 49896095, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896095", "by": "osener", "date": "2026-09-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've now switched to Helium.", "excerpt": "I usually try to keep an open mind but wow this is so bad. I was a loyal Firefox user but between the memory and perf issues and now this, I've now switched to Helium. I miss the \"Multi-Account Containers\" but that's about it. They just had to look at Arc for what people want out of the future of browser design and instead they committed this own goal.", "context": "former loyal Firefox user", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "The new Firefox design is here"}, {"id": 746475425, "item_id": 46654714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654714", "by": "roughly", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using Waterfox recently, which feels almost nostalgic in how much it\u2019s just a plain goddamn browser. It\u2019s really delightful. Helium seems to be trying to be the same thing for Chrome - it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers.", "context": "", "use_case": "Chrome-compatible sites", "switched_from": "Brave", "story": "Just the Browser"}]}, {"text": " Reported problems include frequent crashes on Mac and a broken color scheme,", "cites": [{"id": 775188320, "item_id": 48449270, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449270", "by": "runjake", "date": "2026-06-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)", "excerpt": "I tried to daily drive Helium on my Mac but it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago). It also scores much lower on EFF's Cover Your Tracks website versus Brave. Looks interesting and I like the relative minimalism, though.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser on Mac", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}, {"id": 781565424, "item_id": 48847839, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847839", "by": "feverzsj", "date": "2026-07-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable.", "excerpt": "They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable. [0]: https://github.com/imputnet/helium/issues/1532 [1]: https://github.com/imputnet/helium/issues/1850", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Transparency efforts behind the Helium Browser"}]}, {"text": " and one commenter says it is still Chrome with different paint.", "cites": [{"id": 786092800, "item_id": 49130800, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49130800", "by": "NetOpWibby", "date": "2026-07-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint.", "excerpt": "Your own engine?! Wow, that's incredible. Is this gonna be like Servo where people can build a browser around this, or will it be a standalone browser? I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint. When I was using Opera 12, it was the most standards-compliant browser so it became my main. What are the goals for cwbrowser (and is the name permanent)?", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "Show HN: I worked on a new browser for 2 years, today it passed Acid 3"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Daily driver", "summary": "Several commenters have switched to it full-time and are happy with it.", "quotes": [{"id": 803177265, "item_id": 50198579, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198579", "by": "Ardakilic", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.", "excerpt": "You could try Zen browser. It's like Arc, but Firefox based. Or if you like Chromium engine you could try Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 783657024, "item_id": 48978564, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48978564", "by": "hmokiguess", "date": "2026-07-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have permanently switched to https://github.com/imputnet/helium for a while now and have been quite happy with it.", "excerpt": "I have permanently switched to https://github.com/imputnet/helium for a while now and have been quite happy with it. That said, I still think the browser market is garbage for consumers.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Orion Browser by Kagi"}, {"id": 798337520, "item_id": 49896095, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896095", "by": "osener", "date": "2026-09-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've now switched to Helium.", "excerpt": "I usually try to keep an open mind but wow this is so bad. I was a loyal Firefox user but between the memory and perf issues and now this, I've now switched to Helium. I miss the \"Multi-Account Containers\" but that's about it. They just had to look at Arc for what people want out of the future of browser design and instead they committed this own goal.", "context": "former loyal Firefox user", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "The new Firefox design is here"}]}, {"label": "Ungoogled Chromium", "summary": "Described as a sane, no-nonsense default build of ungoogled Chromium.", "quotes": [{"id": 803229632, "item_id": 50201852, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201852", "by": "lxe", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.", "excerpt": "https://helium.computer/ this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense. It can run chrome extensions, unblock, doesn't have random unnecessary features, etc", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 789999712, "item_id": 49374982, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49374982", "by": "hmokiguess", "date": "2026-08-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot", "excerpt": "I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Browser De-Slop"}, {"id": 775596128, "item_id": 48474758, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48474758", "by": "fallbackboy", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "excerpt": "I would recommend folks check out Helium (https://helium.computer) it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "context": "", "use_case": "ad-blocking browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow"}]}, {"label": "Chromium compatibility", "summary": "Runs Chrome extensions and handles sites or tooling that need a Chromium browser.", "quotes": [{"id": 803229632, "item_id": 50201852, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201852", "by": "lxe", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.", "excerpt": "https://helium.computer/ this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense. It can run chrome extensions, unblock, doesn't have random unnecessary features, etc", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 746475425, "item_id": 46654714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654714", "by": "roughly", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using Waterfox recently, which feels almost nostalgic in how much it\u2019s just a plain goddamn browser. It\u2019s really delightful. Helium seems to be trying to be the same thing for Chrome - it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers.", "context": "", "use_case": "Chrome-compatible sites", "switched_from": "Brave", "story": "Just the Browser"}, {"id": 758257267, "item_id": 47391079, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47391079", "by": "aadishv", "date": "2026-03-15", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "e.g. I use Helium", "excerpt": "Someone already made a great agent skill for this, which I'm using daily, and it's been very cool! https://github.com/pasky/chrome-cdp-skill For example, I use codex to manage a local music library, and it was able to use the skill to open a YT Music tab in my browser, search for each album, and get the URL to pass to yt-dlp. Do note that it only works for Chrome browsers rn, so you have to edit the script to point t", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Let your Coding Agent debug the browser session with Chrome DevTools MCP"}]}, {"label": "uBlock Origin", "summary": "Has full support for uBlock Origin, which one commenter says is built in.", "quotes": [{"id": 775596128, "item_id": 48474758, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48474758", "by": "fallbackboy", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "excerpt": "I would recommend folks check out Helium (https://helium.computer) it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "context": "", "use_case": "ad-blocking browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow"}, {"id": 775031408, "item_id": 48439463, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48439463", "by": "prmph", "date": "2026-06-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.", "excerpt": "It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}]}, {"label": "Minimalism", "summary": "Praised for skipping unnecessary features.", "quotes": [{"id": 803229632, "item_id": 50201852, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201852", "by": "lxe", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.", "excerpt": "https://helium.computer/ this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense. It can run chrome extensions, unblock, doesn't have random unnecessary features, etc", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 775188320, "item_id": 48449270, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449270", "by": "runjake", "date": "2026-06-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)", "excerpt": "I tried to daily drive Helium on my Mac but it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago). It also scores much lower on EFF's Cover Your Tracks website versus Brave. Looks interesting and I like the relative minimalism, though.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser on Mac", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Crashes", "summary": "One user on Mac saw crashes multiple times a day.", "quotes": [{"id": 775188320, "item_id": 48449270, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449270", "by": "runjake", "date": "2026-06-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)", "excerpt": "I tried to daily drive Helium on my Mac but it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago). It also scores much lower on EFF's Cover Your Tracks website versus Brave. Looks interesting and I like the relative minimalism, though.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser on Mac", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}]}, {"label": "Color scheme", "summary": "A user says a broken color scheme made it almost unusable.", "quotes": [{"id": 781565424, "item_id": 48847839, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847839", "by": "feverzsj", "date": "2026-07-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable.", "excerpt": "They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable. [0]: https://github.com/imputnet/helium/issues/1532 [1]: https://github.com/imputnet/helium/issues/1850", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Transparency efforts behind the Helium Browser"}]}, {"label": "Fingerprinting score", "summary": "Reported to score lower than Brave on EFF's Cover Your Tracks.", "quotes": [{"id": 775188320, "item_id": 48449270, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449270", "by": "runjake", "date": "2026-06-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)", "excerpt": "I tried to daily drive Helium on my Mac but it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago). It also scores much lower on EFF's Cover Your Tracks website versus Brave. Looks interesting and I like the relative minimalism, though.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser on Mac", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}]}, {"label": "Still Chrome", "summary": "One commenter feels it is just Chrome with different paint.", "quotes": [{"id": 786092800, "item_id": 49130800, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49130800", "by": "NetOpWibby", "date": "2026-07-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint.", "excerpt": "Your own engine?! Wow, that's incredible. Is this gonna be like Servo where people can build a browser around this, or will it be a standalone browser? I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint. When I was using Opera 12, it was the most standards-compliant browser so it became my main. What are the goals for cwbrowser (and is the name permanent)?", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "Show HN: I worked on a new browser for 2 years, today it passed Acid 3"}]}, {"label": "No containers", "summary": "A former Firefox user misses Multi-Account Containers.", "quotes": [{"id": 798337520, "item_id": 49896095, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896095", "by": "osener", "date": "2026-09-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've now switched to Helium.", "excerpt": "I usually try to keep an open mind but wow this is so bad. I was a loyal Firefox user but between the memory and perf issues and now this, I've now switched to Helium. I miss the \"Multi-Account Containers\" but that's about it. They just had to look at Arc for what people want out of the future of browser design and instead they committed this own goal.", "context": "former loyal Firefox user", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "The new Firefox design is here"}]}], "who": [{"by": "osener", "context": "former loyal Firefox user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896095", "date": "2026-09-29"}, {"by": "tomaszjanusz", "context": "built a fingerprinting extension", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49126469", "date": "2026-07-31"}, {"by": "jcubic", "context": "Linux user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48617327", "date": "2026-06-21"}, {"by": "Bender", "context": "Linux user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48437429", "date": "2026-06-07"}, {"by": "bjord", "context": "Firefox user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46328051", "date": "2025-12-19"}, {"by": "KitN", "context": "intern", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46172075", "date": "2025-12-06"}], "tags": ["for Chrome users", "for former Arc users", "for Linux users", "for Chromium-only sites"], "use_cases": ["daily browser", "web browsing", "browser", "avoiding intrusive ai in browser", "browser without ai", "browsing"], "compared": [{"slug": "arc", "name": "Arc", "co": 4, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "brave", "name": "Brave", "co": 5, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "firefox", "name": "Firefox", "co": 4, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "zen", "name": "Zen", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "chrome", "name": "Chrome", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "ublock-origin", "name": "uBlock Origin", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "codex", "name": "Codex", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "vivaldi", "name": "Vivaldi", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48436918", "title": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50197601", "title": "A farewell to Arc browser", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48471970", "title": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49892721", "title": "The new Firefox design is here", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49373616", "title": "Browser De-Slop", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49331220", "title": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 5, "warn": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 2, "neutral": 2}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 3}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 2}}, "quotes": [{"id": 803229632, "item_id": 50201852, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50201852", "by": "lxe", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.", "excerpt": "https://helium.computer/ this is the browser I use now. it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense. It can run chrome extensions, unblock, doesn't have random unnecessary features, etc", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 803177265, "item_id": 50198579, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198579", "by": "Ardakilic", "date": "2026-10-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.", "excerpt": "You could try Zen browser. It's like Arc, but Firefox based. Or if you like Chromium engine you could try Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "A farewell to Arc browser"}, {"id": 798337520, "item_id": 49896095, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49896095", "by": "osener", "date": "2026-09-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've now switched to Helium.", "excerpt": "I usually try to keep an open mind but wow this is so bad. I was a loyal Firefox user but between the memory and perf issues and now this, I've now switched to Helium. I miss the \"Multi-Account Containers\" but that's about it. They just had to look at Arc for what people want out of the future of browser design and instead they committed this own goal.", "context": "former loyal Firefox user", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "Firefox", "story": "The new Firefox design is here"}, {"id": 789999712, "item_id": 49374982, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49374982", "by": "hmokiguess", "date": "2026-08-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot", "excerpt": "I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Browser De-Slop"}, {"id": 789368641, "item_id": 49335540, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49335540", "by": "astudentinearth", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend giving a try to alternatives like Zen or Helium", "excerpt": "Much needed list. On the browser front, I recommend giving a try to alternatives like Zen or Helium, which are Firefox and Chromium based respectively. For AI buttons that specifically bug you, content blockers like uBlock Origin are especially helpful to zap them out of the page.", "context": "", "use_case": "avoiding intrusive AI in browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI"}, {"id": 786204256, "item_id": 49137766, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49137766", "by": "Bender", "date": "2026-08-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Helium [1][2], for now at least.", "excerpt": "Helium [1][2], for now at least. [1] - https://helium.computer/ [2] - https://github.com/imputnet/helium", "context": "", "use_case": "browser without AI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Which web browser has no AI?"}, {"id": 786092800, "item_id": 49130800, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49130800", "by": "NetOpWibby", "date": "2026-07-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint.", "excerpt": "Your own engine?! Wow, that's incredible. Is this gonna be like Servo where people can build a browser around this, or will it be a standalone browser? I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint. When I was using Opera 12, it was the most standards-compliant browser so it became my main. What are the goals for cwbrowser (and is the name permanent)?", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "Arc", "story": "Show HN: I worked on a new browser for 2 years, today it passed Acid 3"}, {"id": 786023504, "item_id": 49126469, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49126469", "by": "tomaszjanusz", "date": "2026-07-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Helium and Zen myself, depending on the context of the work I do", "excerpt": "This extension does not allow you to adjust how a given patch works - for the reasons you wrote. You are 100% right. This extension allows you to configure the availability of certain spoofed surfaces for specific sites. Moreover, this extension does not try to override the protections that Firefox uses, e.g. in the case of limits on the presentation of the amount of available RAM. Your opinion is completely correct ", "context": "built a fingerprinting extension", "use_case": "browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: I built a cross-browser extension that controls fingerprinting surfaces"}, {"id": 783657024, "item_id": 48978564, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48978564", "by": "hmokiguess", "date": "2026-07-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have permanently switched to https://github.com/imputnet/helium for a while now and have been quite happy with it.", "excerpt": "I have permanently switched to https://github.com/imputnet/helium for a while now and have been quite happy with it. That said, I still think the browser market is garbage for consumers.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Orion Browser by Kagi"}, {"id": 782591986, "item_id": 48911999, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48911999", "by": "theturtletalks", "date": "2026-07-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I\u2019m testing Helium Browser[2]. It\u2019s based on Chromium, but has changed a lot under the hood and I\u2019ve been daily driving it.", "excerpt": "I replaced Raycast recently with Sol[0], but SuperCmd[1] is also really good. And I\u2019m testing Helium Browser[2]. It\u2019s based on Chromium, but has changed a lot under the hood and I\u2019ve been daily driving it. Also replacing CapCut with OpenCut[3]. I\u2019ve also completely ditched Codex CLI with Pi[4] and now am trying OMP[5]. 0. https://github.com/ospfranco/sol 1. https://github.com/SuperCmdLabs/SuperCmd 2. https://github.c", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "The zero-cost fallacy: open-source software in the agentic era"}, {"id": 781565424, "item_id": 48847839, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48847839", "by": "feverzsj", "date": "2026-07-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable.", "excerpt": "They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable. [0]: https://github.com/imputnet/helium/issues/1532 [1]: https://github.com/imputnet/helium/issues/1850", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Transparency efforts behind the Helium Browser"}, {"id": 777877232, "item_id": 48617327, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48617327", "by": "jcubic", "date": "2026-06-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Helium on Linux with Polish locale.", "excerpt": "Does't work for me. It rendered some garbage: \b:f3=Ygbukte!in\"c\"Hbviann:1h3> =n= \" Exgtyvhkle znt%pf sdafipg thfiv lmu \"vas dcdpeed hron dbvjbno\"rixfls, ;.q> I use Helium on Linux with Polish locale.", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Stored a Website in a Favicon"}, {"id": 775596128, "item_id": 48474758, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48474758", "by": "fallbackboy", "date": "2026-06-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "excerpt": "I would recommend folks check out Helium (https://helium.computer) it\u2019s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.", "context": "", "use_case": "ad-blocking browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow"}, {"id": 775556640, "item_id": 48472290, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48472290", "by": "dotcoma", "date": "2026-06-09", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "try Helium. Or Iridium. Or even Brave.", "excerpt": "To people who like Chrome, or some of its features (I love their bookmarks), I say: try Helium. Or Iridium. Or even Brave.", "context": "", "use_case": "Chrome replacement", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow"}, {"id": 775188320, "item_id": 48449270, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48449270", "by": "runjake", "date": "2026-06-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)", "excerpt": "I tried to daily drive Helium on my Mac but it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago). It also scores much lower on EFF's Cover Your Tracks website versus Brave. Looks interesting and I like the relative minimalism, though.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser on Mac", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}, {"id": 775031408, "item_id": 48439463, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48439463", "by": "prmph", "date": "2026-06-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.", "excerpt": "It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.", "context": "", "use_case": "web browsing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}, {"id": 775003168, "item_id": 48437698, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48437698", "by": "colesantiago", "date": "2026-06-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "If you are on any of these browsers, especially Chrome please switch to Helium.", "excerpt": "> And I've tried a large number of browsers over the years: IE, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Konqueror, Chrome, Chromium, Firefox, Orion, Zen, Brave, Mullvad, DuckDuckGo, Vivaldi etc, etc. If you are on any of these browsers, especially Chrome please switch to Helium.", "context": "", "use_case": "daily browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}, {"id": 774998864, "item_id": 48437429, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48437429", "by": "Bender", "date": "2026-06-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Helium is my fallback when a Firefox addon is giving me grief", "excerpt": "Helium is my fallback when a Firefox addon is giving me grief and I don't feel like debugging it/them. Firefox will always be my primary as I find the addon options make the internet functional for me. Canonical, Certage, ClearURLs, CSS Exfil Protection, FoxReplace, NoScript, Tab Reloader, Temorary Containers, uBlock Origin, Zoom Page WE I use both browsers on Linux.", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "fallback browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used"}, {"id": 771586562, "item_id": 48224160, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48224160", "by": "brandonkal", "date": "2026-05-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "plus Helium when I need to test in Chromium", "excerpt": "Great job on the design refresh! I was a heavy Vivaldi user and especially liked the integrated tiling and tab grouping. But over time it got more and more bloated and performance suffered so now I just use vanilla Safari (didn\u2019t expect that) for most browsing plus Helium when I need to test in Chromium. I use Aerospace for tiling everything now but it breaks Safari scrolling performance so when that becomes annoying", "context": "", "use_case": "testing in Chromium", "switched_from": "", "story": "Vivaldi 8.0: our biggest design overhaul"}, {"id": 758257267, "item_id": 47391079, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47391079", "by": "aadishv", "date": "2026-03-15", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "e.g. I use Helium", "excerpt": "Someone already made a great agent skill for this, which I'm using daily, and it's been very cool! https://github.com/pasky/chrome-cdp-skill For example, I use codex to manage a local music library, and it was able to use the skill to open a YT Music tab in my browser, search for each album, and get the URL to pass to yt-dlp. Do note that it only works for Chrome browsers rn, so you have to edit the script to point t", "context": "", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Let your Coding Agent debug the browser session with Chrome DevTools MCP"}, {"id": 746475425, "item_id": 46654714, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654714", "by": "roughly", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve been using Waterfox recently, which feels almost nostalgic in how much it\u2019s just a plain goddamn browser. It\u2019s really delightful. Helium seems to be trying to be the same thing for Chrome - it\u2019s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers.", "context": "", "use_case": "Chrome-compatible sites", "switched_from": "Brave", "story": "Just the Browser"}, {"id": 741248816, "item_id": 46328051, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46328051", "by": "bjord", "date": "2025-12-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if you're a chrome user on desktop (I use ff), helium might be worth a try", "excerpt": "and if you're a chrome user on desktop (I use ff), helium might be worth a try https://helium.computer full disclosure: one of the devs is a friend of mine if for some reason you want to use webkit on desktop (linux), there's always gnome web, but in my experience it can't handle anything beyond very basic browsing (for example, a youtube video will cause it to crash)", "context": "Firefox user", "use_case": "desktop browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Is Firefox Firefucked?"}, {"id": 738753203, "item_id": 46172075, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46172075", "by": "KitN", "date": "2025-12-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Currently settled on Helium.", "excerpt": "I was looking for a good browser. I\u2019m finally interning, and Brave has taken over as my official browser(I don\u2019t like the concept of workspaces/profiles). I used Comet for a while but found it extremely annoying. I like Zen, but I\u2019m not a fan of sidebars in browsers. Currently settled on Helium. This would have been good, but I can\u2019t seem to understand the obsession with sidebars.", "context": "intern", "use_case": "browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nook Browser"}]}