Helium
About Helium
Helium is an open-source browser built on Chromium and originally branched from ungoogled-chromium. It blocks ads, trackers, cookie banners and third-party cookies out of the box, adds noise to some web APIs to resist fingerprinting, and makes no web requests on first launch, with no analytics or browser ads.
It keeps the features people expect: full Chromium extension support with anonymised Chrome Web Store access, web app installs, vertical tabs, split view, tab groups, tab hibernation, several layouts and built-in !bangs. macOS is the primary development platform, with DMG builds for Apple silicon and Intel and automatic updates when Helium services are enabled. The project is still in beta.
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
Download via Quark Drive
We’re still preparing the Quark Drive share for this app. It will appear here once it’s ready. Tap “Request” to bump it up.
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?
The Quark Drive share for Helium is being prepared and will appear in the download section of this page.
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.