Helium Official Download
About Helium
Helium is an open-source browser based on Chromium that was originally branched from ungoogled-chromium. Its focus is on privacy, respect for user choice and a clean, hassle-free experience. Out of the box, it blocks ads, trackers, cookie pop-ups and third-party cookies, and it adds noise to some web interfaces to reduce the risk of being tracked through browser fingerprinting. Users do not need to go through settings one by one to switch off data collection. According to the developers, Helium makes no network requests at all when it starts for the first time, contains no analytics and shows no built-in browser advertising.
In everyday use, Helium keeps the features you would expect from a modern browser. It is compatible with all Chromium extensions and reaches the Chrome Web Store through an anonymous proxy run by its own service. Web apps can be installed, keyboard shortcuts customized, and tabs managed with vertical tabs, split-screen browsing and tab groups. Tabs you are not using can be put to sleep to save memory and battery.
The interface offers several layouts, including a borderless mode that keeps attention on the web page, and the toolbar and colours can be customized. Built-in !bangs shortcuts are resolved locally and take you straight to a target website from the address bar. When you first start using Helium, you can migrate important data from your previous browser.
The Mac is Helium's main development platform. Separate DMG installers are offered for Apple silicon and Intel Macs, and with Helium services enabled, the browser updates itself automatically on macOS. The project is released under the GPL-3.0 license, while code inherited from ungoogled-chromium keeps its BSD-3 license, and it is free to use.
Helium is still in its testing phase, so you may occasionally run into problems. For Mac users who like the Chrome ecosystem and its extensions but do not want to be bothered by data collection, Helium is well worth trying, offering familiar Chromium compatibility with privacy protections already switched on.
Key features
- Ad, tracker and cookie-banner blocking by default
- Fingerprinting protections
- No first-launch requests or analytics
- Chromium extension support with anonymised Web Store access
- Vertical tabs, split view, tab groups and tab hibernation
- Built-in !bangs
- Apple silicon and Intel builds with auto-update
Official downloads
The SHA256 comes from the GitHub Release asset digest, so you can verify the file yourself. How to verify
The link points to the app’s official release channel; appwl does not rehost or modify files.
How to install
“App is damaged and can’t be opened”
Move the app into Applications, open Terminal, run this line, then open the app again:
xattr -cr "/Applications/Helium.app"“Developer cannot be verified”
In Finder → Applications, Control-click the app, choose Open, then Open again. On macOS 15 or later: System Settings → Privacy & Security, then “Open Anyway” at the bottom.
Apple silicon or Intel?
Apple menu → About This Mac. If the chip says Apple M, pick the Apple silicon build; Universal works on both.
Check the file
Run this in Terminal and compare the result with the SHA256 listed for the cloud file:
shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/file-nameAlternatives
Google Chrome
Firefox
Brave
Microsoft Edge
Changelog
Release notes
FAQ
How do I download Helium?
Helium is downloaded from its official channel: the “Official download” button on this page opens the official release page (github.com).
Is Helium free?
Helium license: GPL-3.0. appwl only lists official builds and charges nothing for downloads.
Which systems does Helium support?
This page offers Helium for macOS, version 0.20.3.1.
Is Helium from appwl safe?
appwl only lists official releases with their version and date. You can verify the SHA256 using the install tips on this page.