Helium
Chromium-based desktop web browser built on ungoogled-chromium, with built-in ad blocking.
Liked as a minimal, ungoogled Chromium123 with uBlock Origin and Chrome extension support,456 and several commenters switched to it from Arc, Firefox or Brave.789 Reported problems include frequent crashes on Mac and a broken color scheme,1011 and one commenter says it is still Chrome with different paint.12
Why people recommend it
Daily driver · 3
Several commenters have switched to it full-time and are happy with it.
“Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.”
“I have permanently switched to https://github.com/imputnet/helium for a while now and have been quite happy with it.”
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“I've now switched to Helium.”
Ungoogled Chromium · 3
Described as a sane, no-nonsense default build of ungoogled Chromium.
“it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.”
“I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot”
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“it’s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.”
Chromium compatibility · 3
Runs Chrome extensions and handles sites or tooling that need a Chromium browser.
“it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.”
“it’s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers”
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“e.g. I use Helium”
uBlock Origin · 2
Has full support for uBlock Origin, which one commenter says is built in.
“it’s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.”
“It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.”
Minimalism · 2
Praised for skipping unnecessary features.
“it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.”
“it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)”
Caveats and dissent
Crashes · 1
One user on Mac saw crashes multiple times a day.
“it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)”
Color scheme · 1
A user says a broken color scheme made it almost unusable.
“They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable.”
Fingerprinting score · 1
Reported to score lower than Brave on EFF's Cover Your Tracks.
“it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)”
Still Chrome · 1
One commenter feels it is just Chrome with different paint.
“I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint.”
No containers · 1
A former Firefox user misses Multi-Account Containers.
“I've now switched to Helium.”
Often compared with
2 moved from Arc to Helium
1 moved from Brave to Helium
1 moved from Firefox to Helium
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Tell HN: Helium is the best browser I ever used 4 mentions
- A farewell to Arc browser 2 mentions
- Google Chrome is killing all uBlock Origin bypasses, Edge, Opera to follow 2 mentions
- The new Firefox design is here 1 mention
- Browser De-Slop 1 mention
- How to disable or avoid intrusive AI 1 mention
Also written as Helium Browser. Data: helium.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 23
“it's basically ungoogled chromium without all the nonsense.”
“Helium Browser, which I moved to personally and never looked back.”
“I've now switched to Helium.”
“I have been using https://helium.computer/ as a sane default of ungoogled chromium and I like it a lot”
“I recommend giving a try to alternatives like Zen or Helium”
“Helium [1][2], for now at least.”
“I recently switched from Arc to Helium but it's still Chrome with different paint.”
“I use Helium and Zen myself, depending on the context of the work I do”
“I have permanently switched to https://github.com/imputnet/helium for a while now and have been quite happy with it.”
“I’m testing Helium Browser[2]. It’s based on Chromium, but has changed a lot under the hood and I’ve been daily driving it.”
“They messed up basic color scheme, making it almost unusable.”
“I use Helium on Linux with Polish locale.”
“it’s fast, basically just ungoogled chromium, and has full support for ublock origin.”
“try Helium. Or Iridium. Or even Brave.”
“it crashed too much (multiple times a day, as recently as a couple weeks ago)”
“It has uBlock Origin built in. No need to eve install it.”
“If you are on any of these browsers, especially Chrome please switch to Helium.”
“Helium is my fallback when a Firefox addon is giving me grief”
“plus Helium when I need to test in Chromium”
“e.g. I use Helium”
“it’s replaced Brave as my go-to for the sites that have issues with non-Chrome browsers”
“if you're a chrome user on desktop (I use ff), helium might be worth a try”
“Currently settled on Helium.”