Group test: Secure web browsers

You don’t need to wait for iCloud+ to surf more securely

Apple’s Safari is a great web browser, and if you’re an iCloud subscriber it’ll become even more so this autumn with iCloud+ and iCloud Private Relay. That routes your traffic through a relay to hide your IP address, your exact geographic location and your browsing data. It’s not quite a Virtual Private Network (VPN), but it’s pretty close. That’s great if you’re an iCloud subscriber upgrading to macOS Monterey. But if you aren’t, the browsers on test here all promise to keep you safe, secure and private when you’re online.

You’ll notice that one browser is conspicuous by its absence: Chrome. That’s because Chrome is at heart a browser built to connect to Google, and as Mozilla told Forbes magazine: “Chrome is the only major browser that doesn’t offer meaningful protection from tracking.”

While Chrome itself may not be the best choice, the Chromium engine it’s built on is very fast and very powerful. Some of the browsers here use it to deliver a Chrome-like experience without the Google stuff.