European Alternatives to Chrome 2026 - Privacy-Focused Web Browsers | European Purpose

European Alternatives to Chrome

Looking for a European alternative to Google Chrome? Chrome tracks your browsing activity to build detailed advertising profiles and is deeply integrated with Google's data collection ecosystem. For users who value privacy, there are excellent privacy-focused browsers available.

We've curated the best privacy-focused web browsers, many with European roots. These alternatives provide fast browsing, full website compatibility, and robust privacy protection without sacrificing features.

5 Alternatives
100% Privacy Focused

Why Choose a Privacy-Focused Alternative to Chrome?

No Tracking

Browse the web without being watched. No profiles built from your activity.

Built-in Ad Blocking

Block ads and trackers by default for faster, safer browsing.

Faster Performance

Pages load faster when ads and trackers are blocked at the browser level.

Open Source Options

Many alternatives are open source, ensuring transparency and security.

Best Privacy-Focused Alternatives to Chrome

We've curated the best privacy-focused web browsers, including European-made options. Each alternative has been evaluated for privacy features, performance, and usability.

Vivaldi

Norwegian browser with powerful customization and privacy features

9.0
Norway

Feature Comparison: Chrome vs Privacy Alternatives

Feature Chrome Vivaldi Brave Firefox
Origin USA (Google) Norway USA USA (Non-profit)
Tracks Users Yes No No Minimal
Built-in Ad Blocker No Yes Yes No (add-on)
Open Source Chromium Partial Yes Yes
Chrome Extensions Yes Yes Yes No (own store)
Cross-Platform Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mobile Apps Yes Yes Yes Yes

Frequently Asked Questions

Vivaldi is the best European alternative to Chrome. Based in Oslo, Norway, it's built by the co-founder of Opera. Vivaldi uses the Chromium engine (like Chrome) for full website compatibility but offers extensive privacy controls, built-in ad blocking, and doesn't track users. For maximum privacy with a European focus, Mullvad Browser from Sweden is also excellent.

Yes, for Chromium-based browsers like Vivaldi and Brave, you can install extensions directly from the Chrome Web Store. Firefox, LibreWolf, and Mullvad Browser use Firefox add-ons instead, which has a similarly extensive library. Most popular extensions have versions for both platforms.

Chrome tracks your browsing history to build advertising profiles, syncs data to Google's servers, and is removing support for ad blockers (Manifest V3). Privacy browsers like Vivaldi, Brave, and Firefox don't track you, have built-in ad blocking, and give you control over your data. Many users also find privacy browsers faster due to blocking ads and trackers.

Yes, and often faster. Browsers like Brave claim pages load up to 3x faster because they block ads and trackers at the browser level. Vivaldi and Firefox are also highly optimized. The Chromium-based alternatives (Vivaldi, Brave) use the same rendering engine as Chrome, so website compatibility and performance are identical.

Yes, all major browsers make it easy to import from Chrome. When you first install Vivaldi, Brave, Firefox, or others, they offer to import your bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history, and other data from Chrome. The process is typically automatic and takes just a few clicks.

Browser fingerprinting tracks you by combining information about your browser, screen size, fonts, and other characteristics to create a unique identifier. Mullvad Browser and LibreWolf specifically resist fingerprinting by making all users look identical. Brave also includes fingerprinting protection. This makes it harder for websites to track you without cookies.

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