Ungoogled Chromium review

Ungoogled Chromium is a project rather than a product: it is Google Chromium without its dependency on Google web services. The maintainers remove functionality tied to Google domains, such as Google Host Detector, URL Tracker, Cloud Messaging and Hotwording, and strip pre-made binaries from the source, replacing them with user-provided alternatives where possible. They also add controls that promote transparency, like forcing pop-ups into tabs, while keeping the default Chromium experience as close to stock as they can. The result is a browser that does not phone home to Google but also does not add privacy features of its own, so there is no built-in ad or tracker blocker and you will want an extension. Safe Browsing is disabled as part of the de-Googling, which removes phishing and malware warnings. Builds cover many Linux distributions, macOS and Windows, mostly via community packagers and repositories such as the Arch AUR and Debian OBS, so updates depend on those maintainers.

Who it is for

technical users who want Chromium without Google services

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Removes Chromium functionality specific to Google domains
• Removes pre-made binaries from the source code
• Keeps the default Chromium experience as closely as possible
• Forces pop-ups into tabs
• Builds for many Linux distributions, macOS and Windows

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: No background connections to Google web services
• Strength: Available through Arch AUR, Debian and Ubuntu repositories
• Strength: Close to stock Chromium, so sites behave as in Chrome
• Weakness: Safe Browsing is disabled, removing phishing and malware warnings
• Weakness: No built-in ad or tracker blocker
• Weakness: Builds come from community packagers rather than one vendor

Key facts

• Engine: Chromium
• Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows
• Google services: Removed
• Safe Browsing: Disabled

Where it ranks

Ungoogled Chromium is No. 9 in our Best Privacy Browsers verdict.