Privacy-first browser with unbiased ad-blocking and a clean, minimal interface. Browse the web without noise. Fully open source, by @imputnet
Joined February 2025
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recently new in the helium browser:
- cname uncloaking in built-in ublock origin, enabled by default
- important fix for rare mid-update data reset on macOS, and an additional safeguard that makes helium retry several times, close the browser on repeated failure, and notify the user about issues with macOS keychain, instead of regenerating the data encryption key right away
- compact debugging warning, now presented as an activity indicator
- global privacy control with useful guidance in refreshed network settings, disabled by default
- experimental flag for bypassing DPI-based internet filtering via TLS ClientHello splitting, field tested and proven to work well around the world
- lazy session restore: helium will only load activated tabs in restored windows, saving memory, traffic, and resources
- going back from a site opened in a new tab will bring you back to the tab you opened it from
- redesigned the onboarding to follow refreshed design language and added a third-party password manager selection page
- updated all icons across UI to rounded style
- new animated progress bar for indicating page loading progress even when tabs are hidden
- new hibernated tab appearance: hibernated tabs are now greyscale
- horizontal splits and split management options on resizer right click
- new fullscreen activity notice (such as fullscreen video) with reduced visibility time
- if your system DNS provider supports DoH, helium upgrades DNS to DoH by default
- redesigned dmg "installer" window on macOS
- page reload icon in toolbar is now animated on click
- the rounded frame outline is no longer covering page contents by 1px
- less delay in split view drag-and-drop
- more keyboard shortcut options
- more zoom presets in settings
- more search engines available by default
- more secure DNS options
- default state indication in flags
- i18n improvements that make UI options easier to understand
- lots and lots of other minor UI and internal fixes
- all latest chromium updates and fixes, as usual! we follow mainline chromium releases within 2 days (most often within hours)
in between these changes, we've been busy working on our take on browser data sync, which we hope to finish and share with you soon.
we also began working on the mobile version of helium for ios and android, but it will take some time before it's publicly available, as we want to make it actually good.
check all of this out in helium 0.17.2 and newer: helium.computer/
if any nerds follow our work on github, we’ve also been working on optimizing CI workflows, migrating to siso, supporting RBE, and cleaning up building pipelines to reduce unnecessary extra maintenance, increase flexibility and modularity, and improve general readability. we also made our own gardener bot to help us with reviews, issue triage, and more.
we have more things to improve, but we wanted to highlight these efforts as they're very cool (to us, at least)
needless to say, we’ve been working more than ever before and don't plan on slowing down any time soon
if you enjoy helium and want to support our work, we would really appreciate a tip, as helium is fully funded by its users: helium.computer/sponsor 👀
Helium retweeted
done, compact debugging warning is now in the latest version of @heliumbrowser
that must suck 🥱
Microsoft’s plan for Edge means that uBlock Origin users are losing one of their browser options. theverge.com/tech/976880/mic…
Helium retweeted
the latest version of @heliumbrowser offers installation of popular password managers during browser setup, promoting better online hygiene and browser independence, instead of locking people in :)
recently added to the helium browser:
- opt-in crash reporting, with a prompt after a crash and optional automatic reporting in settings
- fingerprinting protection settings and explainers. helium has had fingerprinting protection for a while, but now you can toggle it per site in case a website misbehaves
- the page zoom indicator is back, with the current zoom percentage, click-to-reset, and an option to hide it
- force pasting in input fields via the right-click menu or a custom keyboard shortcut
- shift + right-click to force-open a context menu
- bookmark bar visibility preferences, including an option to always hide it
- native selection translation on macOS, using apple’s private translation API
- experimental native frame materials on macOS
- tab group UI improvements and alignment fixes that make tab groups readable and coherent across layouts
- theme-tinted browser pages (settings, downloads, bookmarks, etc.)
- cleaner, narrower context menus
- basic page screenshotting
- reverse image search from the context menu when google is selected as the search engine
- fully sharp corners when the rounded frame is disabled, even when a side panel is attached
- fixes for custom keyboard shortcuts on macOS
- a LOT of stability improvements
we focused on stability, peace of mind, and QoL improvements. helium should feel more stable than ever before, and we'll keep fixing any new issues that pop up, with the help of crash reports on all platforms!
now is the best time to switch to helium: helium.computer/
since opt-in crash reporting requires us to process and store reports for debugging, we added a section to the privacy policy to reflect that: helium.computer/privacy
see the full diff compared to the last version here: github.com/imputnet/helium-l…
helium and its web services are fully open source, including the new crash report processing server: github.com/imputnet/helium-s…
if you like helium and would like to support its development, you can sponsor it at helium.computer/sponsor :)
we published the first blog post on our new website, highlighting our efforts to ensure that helium is transparent, open, and people-first
we believe transparency is paramount for projects like helium, and encourage others to do the same
helium.computer/blog/transpa…
we released the brand new landing page for helium, fully up-to-date and packed with fresh info
go check it out helium.computer/ :D
along with the landing page update, we've revised privacy policy and terms of use with updated markdown formatting and explicit mention of cloudflare usage for caching browser updates:
- helium.computer/privacy
- helium.computer/terms
see the full diff for both here: github.com/imputnet/helium-l…
Helium retweeted
the latest release of @heliumbrowser for macOS comes with an experimental flag to enable native frame materials
i will improve it in future releases, and it'll be available in appearance settings by default once it's fully ready to go