I've been using Helium for just over a month. I know it's in beta but I've had only minor issues so far and it runs super fast and has no bloat which is what I like.
One thing is that it doesn't play DRM content, which doesn't bother me because I don't use any of those subscription services like Netflix, etc. but if you do, then it's probably not the browser for you (yet)
If you feel like Brave is too bloated with pointless crypto features and runs too slow you might like Helium. If it hasn't bothered you so far, probably just stick with Brave.
As far as I understand, to enable DRM content in a browser as a developer, you have to purchase a Widevine license which costs a lot of money. I've heard people say between 5k-10k USD, but I never verified the exact amount with a proper source, so don't quote me on that. The point is that it's a prohibitively high amount of money if you're not a sizable company. Helium is being developed by 2 people + voluntary open source contributors, so it's understandable they don't have the money to spend on this. Other browsers with small development teams, like Zen, are in a similar situation. They do accept donations though, so hopefully eventually enough people donate to them and they can afford to buy this license.
If Helium has some features that you like and Brave doesn't have them - yes.
If it's for "privacy" - no. both are good enough, like most browsers, you won't gain or lose anything unless you need very specific privacy settings for some niche cases.
I prefer it over brave mostly because of it's speed. In my experience helium felt significantly faster than brave. And the vertical room it gives me is crazy compared to brave, which is especially useful for me since I'm using a 16:9 laptop.
I also prefer not having web3 junk shoved in my face. And I know you can turn it off but it definitely rubs me the wrong way.
DRM is not an issue for me personally because I don't use any of those services.
You are better off trying it out for 20 minutes, doing some benchmarks and fiddling with some settings before seeing if you like it or not
Helium is still in beta, not allowing for automatic updates for example (or for Linux it's just the appimage, which I think means you gotta download a new appimage for each update). I may switch once it's out of beta, but in the meantime still stories and reviews may come out
No. Absolutely not. The last time we had a flavor of the month situation like this, it was Thorium. And we know how that turned out. There's also a very heavy astroturfing campaign going on with it at the moment, a mix of bots and people trying to influence yadda ydda, which is why you're seeing an unusual uptick in it being mentioned nonstop.
Brave is already well established, has an actual company that's maintaining it, and it is only one of three browsers that have been vetted by security and privacy experts to be genuinely safe over at privacy guides. They automatically reject any unGoogled chromium browsers over there by the way. Which is what any sane person should do.
Now, even if you ignore the questionable things that is surrounding Heilum in the back end and I'm not going to touch on that, but I am going to bring it up, that will never change the fact that it's managed by only a couple of people, and worst of all it's built on the base of Ungoogled chromium, which is extremely insecure and is never recommended for use.
ungoogled chromium is a security risk. they removed the component updater, which does out-of-band security updates for important browser components like certificate revocation lists (CRLSets). you'll get cooked by zero day vulnerabilities.
Helium is still in beta I don't recommend using it. Maybe in the future it will be worth checking, but I still don't think you want to. Take a look at private browsers, and I recommend Cromite or even sticking with the Brave browser you mentioned
I use Helium Broswer exclusively for YouTube, keeping Helium settings stock with no extra extensions with uBlock filters stock with a uBlock script to block all websites only allowing YouTube to run...its permanently signed in and sandboxed from Brave which is my default browser and I've never seen a ad on YouTube.
in Brave I have it set to auto shred on close so Helium is perfect for me always signed in always working zero ads.
I've been using Helium for just over a month. I know it's in beta but I've had only minor issues so far and it runs super fast and has no bloat which is what I like.
One thing is that it doesn't play DRM content, which doesn't bother me because I don't use any of those subscription services like Netflix, etc. but if you do, then it's probably not the browser for you (yet)
If you feel like Brave is too bloated with pointless crypto features and runs too slow you might like Helium. If it hasn't bothered you so far, probably just stick with Brave.
So netflix wouldn’t load on that browser? may i ask why, what is the cause/reason for a browser not running DRM?
As far as I understand, to enable DRM content in a browser as a developer, you have to purchase a Widevine license which costs a lot of money. I've heard people say between 5k-10k USD, but I never verified the exact amount with a proper source, so don't quote me on that. The point is that it's a prohibitively high amount of money if you're not a sizable company. Helium is being developed by 2 people + voluntary open source contributors, so it's understandable they don't have the money to spend on this. Other browsers with small development teams, like Zen, are in a similar situation. They do accept donations though, so hopefully eventually enough people donate to them and they can afford to buy this license.
Strange, I am able to play Tidal with no issues. And Tidal definitely utilizes DRM and Widevine.
If Helium has some features that you like and Brave doesn't have them - yes.
If it's for "privacy" - no. both are good enough, like most browsers, you won't gain or lose anything unless you need very specific privacy settings for some niche cases.
I prefer it over brave mostly because of it's speed. In my experience helium felt significantly faster than brave. And the vertical room it gives me is crazy compared to brave, which is especially useful for me since I'm using a 16:9 laptop.
I also prefer not having web3 junk shoved in my face. And I know you can turn it off but it definitely rubs me the wrong way.
DRM is not an issue for me personally because I don't use any of those services.
You are better off trying it out for 20 minutes, doing some benchmarks and fiddling with some settings before seeing if you like it or not
What is web3 if i may ask?
Crypto
Helium is still in beta, not allowing for automatic updates for example (or for Linux it's just the appimage, which I think means you gotta download a new appimage for each update). I may switch once it's out of beta, but in the meantime still stories and reviews may come out
iirc, they have automatic updates.
No. Absolutely not. The last time we had a flavor of the month situation like this, it was Thorium. And we know how that turned out. There's also a very heavy astroturfing campaign going on with it at the moment, a mix of bots and people trying to influence yadda ydda, which is why you're seeing an unusual uptick in it being mentioned nonstop.
Brave is already well established, has an actual company that's maintaining it, and it is only one of three browsers that have been vetted by security and privacy experts to be genuinely safe over at privacy guides. They automatically reject any unGoogled chromium browsers over there by the way. Which is what any sane person should do.
Now, even if you ignore the questionable things that is surrounding Heilum in the back end and I'm not going to touch on that, but I am going to bring it up, that will never change the fact that it's managed by only a couple of people, and worst of all it's built on the base of Ungoogled chromium, which is extremely insecure and is never recommended for use.
Why is ungoogled-chromium insecure?
ungoogled chromium is a security risk. they removed the component updater, which does out-of-band security updates for important browser components like certificate revocation lists (CRLSets). you'll get cooked by zero day vulnerabilities.
Just to double check brave is not built on an ungoogled chromium?
As a Helium user, I'm curious what those questionable things in the back end are supposed to be.
what are the other 2 browsers?
Mullvad and Firefox
Brave scores better when it comes to tracking protection out of the box still because of its robust blocker
Helium is still in beta I don't recommend using it. Maybe in the future it will be worth checking, but I still don't think you want to. Take a look at private browsers, and I recommend Cromite or even sticking with the Brave browser you mentioned
No. Brave is goat.
I use Helium Broswer exclusively for YouTube, keeping Helium settings stock with no extra extensions with uBlock filters stock with a uBlock script to block all websites only allowing YouTube to run...its permanently signed in and sandboxed from Brave which is my default browser and I've never seen a ad on YouTube.
in Brave I have it set to auto shred on close so Helium is perfect for me always signed in always working zero ads.
Vivaldi > Helium