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SafetyScorer

Ranking

Safest Browsers and Search Apps 2026

Every web browser we cover, from Chrome, Safari and Edge to privacy browsers such as Brave, Tor Browser and Mullvad Browser, plus the Google and DuckDuckGo search apps. Each score weighs how much the app collects about your browsing, how fast it fixes security flaws, the controls it gives you, how well it warns you about scam and malware sites, and its record with regulators.

Updated · Scores update with each page

The ranking

  1. Tor Browser

    Tor Browser is the strongest privacy tool most people can install. It collects nothing and routes every page through three volunteer relays. The catches are no phishing or malware warnings, fake installers spread outside torproject.org, and easy access to dark-web sites full of scams.

    Score 85, grade A

  2. DuckDuckGo

    DuckDuckGo's search and browser app is a strong privacy choice. It does not store searches with your IP address, blocks most third-party trackers and collects nothing it links to you. Its ads come from Microsoft, which kept a tracking exception until 2022, and as a browser it cannot shield you from every scam site.

    Score 84, grade B

  3. Mullvad Browser

    Mullvad Browser is Tor Browser without the Tor network, built by the Tor Project for Mullvad. It collects nothing, deletes history and cookies on exit and makes users look alike to trackers. It does not hide your IP address without a VPN, has no phishing or malware warnings and runs only on desktop.

    Score 84, grade B

  4. Safari

    Safari is a strong default for iPhone, iPad and Mac users. It blocks cross-site cookies and, since iOS 26, fingerprinting in all browsing, and synced history is end-to-end encrypted. The catches are WebKit flaws used in targeted attacks in 2024 and 2025 and fixes that arrive only with Apple's system updates.

    Score 81, grade B

  5. Brave

    Brave is one of the most private mainstream browsers. It blocks ads and trackers by default, Apple's label shows no data linked to you, and its Leo AI does not keep your chats. The catches are past slips, such as affiliate codes in 2020 and a Tor leak in 2021, and crypto features most people do not need.

    Score 80, grade B

  6. Vivaldi

    Vivaldi is one of the more private mainstream browsers. It keeps your history on your device, encrypts Sync with a password only you know and has promised not to add an AI chatbot for now. The catches are a small security team with no paid bug bounty, and an ad blocker you have to choose at setup.

    Score 80, grade B

  7. Firefox

    Firefox is the most private of the big mainstream browsers. It blocks cross-site cookies and known trackers by default, and Mozilla cannot read your synced data. The catches are sponsored tiles and usage data that stay on until you switch them off, and a 2025 change to Mozilla's "we never sell" wording.

    Score 79, grade B

  8. Onion Browser

    Onion Browser is the Tor browser the Tor Project recommends for iPhone and iPad. It collects no data and hides your IP address from websites. Apple's WebKit engine stops it from matching Tor Browser, several leaks were fixed in 2025 and 2026, and paid look-alike apps sit next to it in the App Store.

    Score 77, grade B

  9. Samsung Internet

    Samsung Internet, the browser built into Galaxy phones, is a safe choice with tracker blocking switched on by default in the US, UK, EU and Korea. Its privacy notice, last updated in 2018, allows more collection than its Google Play label shows, including browsing history and advertising IDs.

    Score 69, grade C

  10. Opera

    Opera is a reasonably safe Chromium browser with quick fixes for reported flaws and a clear privacy statement. It is not a privacy browser, since its apps carry advertising SDKs, its labels list data used for ads, and the free VPN covers only browser traffic.

    Score 67, grade C

  11. Microsoft Edge

    Edge is as hard to hack as Chrome, since both run on Chromium, and adds SmartScreen and a Kids Mode. It is not a private browser, because Apple's label lists user content used to track you and shopping features are on by default.

    Score 64, grade C

  12. Google Chrome

    Chrome is one of the most secure browsers against hacking, with quick fixes for the zero-day bugs attackers use. It is not a private browser. Third-party cookies stay on, Apple's label lists data used for third-party ads, and Google settled a class action over tracking in Incognito mode.

    Score 59, grade C

  13. Google Search

    The Google app, home to Search, Discover and Lens, is secure to use and has decent controls. Its weak side is data. Searches, location and browsing feed Google's advertising, scam ads and wrong AI answers still reach users, and regulators in the US and EU have ruled against Google Search.

    Score 55, grade C

  14. Perplexity Comet

    Comet is an ordinary Chromium browser with a powerful AI agent attached, and the agent is the problem. Four research teams, in five published studies, have shown it following hidden instructions from web pages, emails and calendar invites, and Perplexity's privacy notice lets it record your browsing when you sync.

    Score 53, grade D

  15. UC Browser

    UC Browser is a weak choice for privacy and security. Its own Google Play label says data is not sent over a secure connection, Apple's label lists precise location linked to you and used to track you, and researchers have repeatedly found it sending data it should not. India has blocked it since 2020.

    Score 39, grade F

Which apps are on this list

The list covers every app in our browsers and search group. That means the browsers people use every day, Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Samsung Internet and Opera; the privacy browsers Brave, Vivaldi, Tor Browser, Mullvad Browser and Onion Browser; and newer or regional ones such as Perplexity Comet and UC Browser. Two search apps sit here too, because they are how many people start browsing on a phone: the Google app and DuckDuckGo, which is a search engine and a browser in one.

How the order is built

Each app is scored on five factors. Privacy and security count for 30% each: what the browser collects about your browsing and who it shares that with, and how quickly flaws get fixed. Transparency and control count for 15%, scams and harmful content for 15%, and the regulatory record for 10%. Full rubrics are on how we score apps.

The list is those scores sorted from the highest down. When we update a page, its place here moves too, so this text does not quote scores.

What the browsers near the top have in common

They collect very little and block tracking by default. Tor Browser and Mullvad Browser collect nothing and delete history and cookies when you close them. Brave blocks ads and trackers out of the box, and Firefox and Safari block cross-site cookies without you changing a setting. Firefox and Safari also encrypt synced data so that Mozilla and Apple cannot read it.

Why the biggest browsers score lower

Chrome and Edge are among the hardest browsers to hack, since both run on Chromium and get fast fixes for attacks seen in the wild. They lose ground on privacy, because they are built by companies that make money from advertising and from data about what you do online. Security and privacy are scored separately, so a browser can be strong on one and weak on the other.

What the score does not tell you

No browser stops you typing your password into a fake login page or approving a scam payment. Keep automatic updates on, since an out-of-date browser is the easiest way in for an attacker. Add only the extensions you need from the official store, as a rogue extension can read every page you open. And if you live somewhere that blocks websites, a browser that hides your IP address matters more than any score.

Questions

What is the most private web browser?

Tor Browser and Mullvad Browser collect nothing and make their users look alike to trackers, and Tor Browser also hides your IP address by routing every page through three volunteer relays. Among everyday browsers, Brave, Firefox and Safari block cross-site tracking by default, and Vivaldi offers its tracker blocker when you first set it up. Chrome, Edge and Opera all list data used for advertising in their app store labels.

Is Google Chrome safe to use?

Against hackers, yes. Google patches the zero-day bugs attackers use quickly, and Chrome warns you about known phishing and malware sites. It is not a private browser, though. Third-party cookies stay on, its App Store label lists data used for third-party ads, and Google settled a US class action over tracking in Incognito mode.

Does private or Incognito mode stop tracking?

No. Private windows only stop the browser saving your history and cookies on your own device after you close them. Websites, your employer or school network and your internet provider can still see what you do, and sites you sign in to still know it is you. To limit tracking, use a browser that blocks trackers by default.

Is Tor Browser safe or legal to use?

It is legal in most countries and widely used by journalists and people living under censorship. It has no built-in phishing or malware warnings, and its access to .onion sites puts scam markets one click away. Download it only from torproject.org, because fake installers are spread elsewhere. On an iPhone, the Tor Project points people to Onion Browser instead.

Are AI browsers safe?

Not yet for anything sensitive. An AI agent that reads pages and acts for you can be tricked by hidden instructions on those pages. Four research teams have published studies showing Perplexity's Comet following instructions planted in web pages, emails and calendar invites. Keep such agents away from your email, bank and work accounts.

Which browsers should I avoid?

Avoid browsers you cannot keep updated, and apps that leak data. UC Browser's own Google Play label says data is not sent over a secure connection, researchers have repeatedly caught it sending data it should not, and India has blocked it since 2020. Also avoid unofficial "Tor" or "private browser" apps from unknown publishers that copy well-known names.