Data collection is woven into almost all the services we use these days, making privacy part of everyday life rather than a niche concern. Your browser stands in the middle of it all as one of the most-used gateways to the internet. Hence, switching to a privacy browser is recommended. Even though it won’t immediately fix all privacy concerns, it’s a vital step in regaining control.
So, I decided to test several privacy browsers for fingerprinting resistance, IP and DNS leak protection, and tracker-blocking strength using their default settings. There are ways to make your browser more private, but I went with the default settings since that’s how most people interact with browsers. I found five worth talking about,…
Data collection is woven into almost all the services we use these days, making privacy part of everyday life rather than a niche concern. Your browser stands in the middle of it all as one of the most-used gateways to the internet. Hence, switching to a privacy browser is recommended. Even though it won’t immediately fix all privacy concerns, it’s a vital step in regaining control.
So, I decided to test several privacy browsers for fingerprinting resistance, IP and DNS leak protection, and tracker-blocking strength using their default settings. There are ways to make your browser more private, but I went with the default settings since that’s how most people interact with browsers. I found five worth talking about, and one really stood out.
Tor Browser
The strongest anonymity tool (but not always practical)
Tor Browser is often seen as the gold standard for browser anonymity. It routes your connections through the Tor network, which consists of three relays: an entry node, a middle node, and an exit node, ensuring no single point knows both your original IP address and your final destination.
However, to see how it works for privacy for everyday users, I ran the Cover Your Tracks test. This tool measures how your browser’s unique characteristics can be used to track you around the web. Tor Browser returned a non-unique fingerprint, meaning you don’t stand out on the internet—you aren’t easily identifiable from other users. This is the result you’ll want from a privacy browser.
Tor also does well in limiting IP leaks. I ran a WebRTC leak test from BrowserLeaks to see if the browser was revealing my IP address, and Tor Browser completely disables RTCPeerConnection and RTCDataChannel, the APIs that typically reveal internal IPs.
Tor also has three security levels: Standard, Safer, and Safest. Higher security levels are more restrictive and disable features that could reduce privacy.
The main trade off is usability: strict protections can break sites and hinder daily use. So, for a daily privacy browser, it comes off as very aggressive. Routing through the Tor network also makes it considerably slower than other privacy options.
Tor Browser
OS Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
Developer Tor Project
Price model Free
The Tor Browser is an open-source browser for anonymous browsing. It passes your connections through 3 layers, ensuring no single point knows your original IP and destination.
Firefox
The most flexible mainstream browser for privacy
Firefox is a mainstream standard for private browsing. Firefox is open source and avoids Chrome’s data-collection practices, but its default privacy posture is weaker than its marketing suggests, which is why I no longer trust it as a daily driver.
Out of the box, Firefox provides less fingerprint resistance than expected. For instance, on the Cover Your Tracks test, it shows a unique fingerprint, which means it stands out, and you’ll be easily identified on the web. It revealed 18.47 bits of identifying information, which is poor fingerprint resistance, especially compared with Tor Browser, which had only 12.02 bits.
In the BrowserLeaks WebRTC test, RTCPeerConnection and RTCDataChannel were enabled, and the WebRTC handshake exposed my public IP address. Even though this was expected in the default configuration, it’s worth noting.
Even though it’s often the go-to privacy browser, the reality doesn’t seem to match the marketing. You can enhance tracker protection in the settings or harden it with third-party tools or other configurations, but by default, I’ll rate it just slightly above Tor Browser, simply because it’s more usable.
OS Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Price model Free
Firefox is a free, open-source web browser developed by Mozilla, focused on speed, privacy, and security for users on all major platforms. It includes advanced features like tabbed browsing, a built-in password manager, private browsing mode, strong tracker blocking, and customization through thousands of extensions and themes.
Mullvad Browser
Serious privacy with zero-trust defaults
Mullvad Browser is newer than all the browsers I tested. It’s built by Mullvad in partnership with the Tor Project. Mullvad Browser adopts the same privacy philosophy as Tor Browser, even though it doesn’t use the Tor network, removing the speed constraints of Tor Browser while giving you hardened, anonymity-focused browsing. It’s better for daily use than Tor and offers better out-of-the-box privacy than Firefox.
Just like Tor Browser, Mullvad Browser returned a non-unique fingerprint result in the Cover Your Tracks test, demonstrating strong fingerprint resistance and protection against tracking across the web. It revealed only 12.01 bits of identifying information, placing it almost on par with Tor Browser and far ahead of Firefox.
It enables RTCPeerConnection and RTCDataChannel by default and doesn’t leak either local or public IP addresses in the BrowserLeaks WebRTC test. This means the browser maintains WebRTC functionality while not exposing sensitive information.
Mullvad Browser comes heavily pre-hardened with Tor-style letterboxing and canvas protection. It also integrates nine active filter lists, including EasyPrivacy, uBlock filters, and tracking protection lists. It provides one of the best protections for a browser that doesn’t route through Tor and doesn’t require tweaking about:config. While it is more convenient than Tor Browser, it lacks persistent logins/history, which is great for privacy but makes it a bit inconvenient for daily browsing. Still, of all the browsers I tested, it is my second-best for daily privacy browsing.
Mullvad Browser
OS Windows, macOS, and Linux
Price model Free
Mullvad is an open-source privacy browser. It is a fork of Firefox and is built on the Gecko engine.
Brave
Best privacy browser
Brave Browser’s approach is fundamentally different from those of the other browsers I tested. The browser is built with privacy first and performance second, and it somehow doesn’t force you to choose between them. It doesn’t require extensions to provide tracker blocking, automatic HTTPS upgrades, fingerprinting protections, and ad-blocking. Brave is the only Chromium browser that I still trust.
It shows a randomized fingerprint on the Cover Your Tracks test, proving that it blocks both tracking ads and invisible trackers. By constantly changing your fingerprint, long-term tracking across the web becomes significantly tougher.
Its WebRTC test results also show that it doesn’t leak sensitive information. While RTCPeerConnection and RTCDataChannel remain enabled for functionality, Brave doesn’t leak your local IP or internal details.
It takes the top spot for a privacy browser for two reasons. First, because of how much it blocks by default, it includes eight active filter lists, and secondly, because of how fast it is. While being great for privacy, it is also one of the most compatible privacy options with modern websites, which gives a generally pleasant user experience. It’s by far the easiest to recommend for daily use.
OS Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Price model Free
Brave is an open-source web browser focused on privacy, speed, and user control. Its standout features include Shields, which block ads, trackers, cookies, fingerprinting, and more by default, giving users granular privacy protection without the need for extensions.
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Privacy that fits real life
The one thing that became clear the more I tested these browsers is that privacy without usability isn’t any good. Privacy is about finding tools that don’t get in your way. But they also have to be tools that don’t need tech smarts to use. Some of these browsers stood out because, right after downloading, without any knowledge of browser hardening, you get a decent level of privacy.
If you’re looking for a privacy-focused browser, hopefully this gives you an idea of where to start. You may consider hardening your browser, but you should know that the more you harden a browser, the greater the chance it will break websites or fail compatibility or fingerprinting tests.