I just downloaded it, I'll give it a try. I'll chime in at some point in the future on how I like it.

Thanks!

does this mean that the likes of Vivaldi and Iron do not remove all the google phone home and data collection stuff - i thought they did?

Interesting project there, thanks for letting us know, and I, too, would be concerned about updates.

Here's what Vivaldi says about privacy. [vivaldi.com...]

engine, i read through that carefully and it seems to refer only to the vivaldi website/s itself, no mention of what happens with data (if any) collected by the browser.

I've hated Google Chrome for years - along with that joke of a toolbar they had back in the day -- I even quit using Google search about 2 years ago as well.

Google isn't anything more than just a glorified ad server these days and that's about it IMHO - I don't have the time to be marketed to for things that I don't need or want - I'm not a cow, and I don't need to be led around by the nose when I search

Google toolbar was reading Microsoft Word documents I opened back in 2003.
The toolbar was running live in the background even without Internet Explorer open.
Nortons antivirus warned me the process was behaving like spyware. Naughty Google. So I blocked it. That was before Google desktop search days.

This version of the browser removes the Google integration. Even getting extensions to work is a bit of a chore. Those wary of the toolbar integration may be interested to take a look at this browser again.

Google toolbar was reading Microsoft Word documents I opened back in 2003.
The toolbar was running live in the background even without Internet Explorer open.
Nortons antivirus warned me the process was behaving like spyware. Naughty Google. So I blocked it. That was before Google desktop search days.

Google as a company did not exist before their desktop search product, and it came out way earlier than 2013. I have been using it since 1998 or 1999.

I also never had any of the issues you mentioned with the Google toolbarr. Maybe it was another company you were thinking of?

See also: [en.m.wikipedia.org...]

Timely that this thread should pop back-up. I just found a pretty big bug with it. There is an issue with SSL certificates Others have found it before me, it is documented here:
[github.com...]

My problem is with downloading bootstrap 4 css files from maxcdn.

It basically sends everything we do in it back to Google, installs random software quietly on our systems, and has even been caught turning on peoples microphones for eavesdropping.

This reaks of sensationalism. Everything we do? Installs random software? Give me a break. And the microphone thing was a bug in Chromium that probably would also have ended up in this "Googleless" version. Does Chrome collect a lot of data? Sure, that much is obvious from reading their Google Chrome Privacy Whitepaper [google.com]. Much of this (what "N O D E" terms "#*$!"¹) benefits users, though, and can even be disabled in the Settings menu. If you don't want Google seeing anything you do on the internet, perhaps it's time to get off the grid.

_{1. that's "tihsllub" in reverse.}

This reaks of sensationalism.

I'm inclined to agree, to an extent. The wording chosen helps promote it.

Part of the problem is that most people don't read the privacy documentation in the first place. However, there are many people that prefer to raise the anonymity levels as much as possible, and this solution might help some achieve that.

Of course, all of use around here are well aware of the risks of online privacy, or should that be, lack of privacy.
The UK has just made this law, [webmasterworld.com] and it's probably one of the tightest in Europe.
It really makes little difference for an ISP, or third party that has a tracking cookie, and all you can do is your utmost to cover as many of your tracks as possible. If that means using this browser, or other methods, that's fine with me, and the people that choose to use it. It's an option, not compulsory.

As you say, go offline if people can't take it.

@robzilla I largely agree with your post above, but I disagree with your last statement.

If you don't want Google seeing anything you do on the internet, perhaps it's time to get off the grid.

The idea of "I have nothing to hide so it is fine that my privacy is invaded" is misguided, naive and dangerous. Much of what I do use data from a variety of sources, where I take these puzzle pieces and easily glue them together to provide valuable information. With today's computers and availability of advanced software for machine learning and data-mining almost anybody can do it. So leaving a trail of what appears to you to be innocent bits a data allows others the opportunity to mine it for variety of uses, malicious or otherwise.

A recent example of this, my local police in the city of Montreal were recently caught spying on a local journalist by tracking his phone meta data and gps locations. Not because the journalist was under investigation for any criminal wrong doing. Instead, they used his phone records to spy on other policy officers that might have communicated with him. This isn't the NSA we're talking about, this is ongoing on the municipal level. I will skip the political ethical implications of this example, but the point here is that this journalist had nothing to hide but it is others around him that were unknowingly being spied on.

It's a matter of preference, as engine suggested, and, I would add, one of trust. I don't feel my privacy is being invaded when I use Chrome, or any other Google service I use on a daily basis, despite the obvious potential for abuse, nor do I believe my data is being (or will be) used against me in any meaningful way. Whether that's naive or misguided depends on your perspective; it isn't to me, but I can see how it may be to others less trusting.

I have a friend who does use the internet but will call an online store to order a product and demand that his information won't be stored in their database (on a sidenote, I myself am much more concerned about these smaller businesses and their security practices than Google's). He may also ask the baker for his bread recipe. His concerns are valid, as are those of people who feel they need to "unGoogle", I just don't share the severity of those concerns personally -- and I've seen all Black Mirror episodes. My gripe here was primarily with the "reporting".