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Helium icon

Helium

v0.20.3.1·Browsers

About Helium

Helium is a privacy-focused, open-source browser based on Chromium that originally branched from ungoogled-chromium. Ads, trackers, cookie banners and third-party cookies are blocked by default, some web APIs are noised against fingerprinting, and the browser makes no requests on first launch, with no analytics or built-in ads.

Helium supports Chromium extensions with anonymised Chrome Web Store access and offers vertical tabs, split view, tab groups, tab hibernation, custom shortcuts, web apps and built-in !bangs. On Windows it ships x64 and ARM64 installers plus ZIP packages, and updates automatically when Helium services are enabled. It is GPL-3.0 licensed and currently in beta.

Key features

  • Ads, trackers and cookie banners blocked by default
  • Fingerprinting protections
  • No analytics or browser ads
  • Chromium extensions with anonymised Web Store access
  • Vertical tabs, split view, tab groups, tab hibernation
  • Built-in !bangs
  • x64 and ARM64 installers with auto-update

Download via Quark Drive

Quark Drive link coming soon

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

“Windows protected your PC”

SmartScreen shows this for apps without a paid signature. Click “More info”, then “Run anyway”.

Antivirus blocks it

Open-source apps are often flagged because they aren’t commercially signed. Check the SHA256 first, then allow it in your antivirus.

Won’t start, or a DLL is missing

Usually a missing runtime. Install Microsoft’s Visual C++ Redistributable (x64) and the .NET Desktop Runtime, then try again.

Check the file

Run this in Command Prompt and compare the result with the SHA256 listed for the cloud file:

certutil -hashfile "%USERPROFILE%\Downloads\file-name" SHA256

Alternatives

Google Chrome icon

Google Chrome

Latest·Browsers
Google Chrome for Windows, the free Chromium-based web browser from Google.
00Proprietary
Firefox icon

Firefox

Latest·Browsers
Mozilla's open-source browser for Windows, with built-in tracking protection, extensions and cross-device sync.
00MPL-2.0
Brave icon

Brave

v1.98.63·Browsers
Brave browser for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows.
24.1k1Featured
Microsoft Edge icon

Microsoft Edge

Latest·Browsers
Microsoft Edge for Windows, Microsoft's Chromium-based browser with Copilot and IE mode.
00Proprietary

Changelog

v0.20.3.1Current
Release notes
Changes since last build: ### helium-windows ``` eff1545 update: helium 0.20.3.1 (#437) ``` ### helium-chromium ``` 2f81b9ca revision: bump to 3 (#2833) d69398d6 merge: update to chromium 156.0.8078.79 (#2832) 4f121e54 patches: refresh for chromium 156.0.8078.79 73f0dc74 merge: update ungoogled-chromium to 156.0.8078.79 28a211ab Update to Chromium 156.0.8078.79 add8136e Fix suggestions URL field not saving user input ``` --- See [this GitHub Actions Run](https://github.com/imputnet/helium-windows/actions/runs/41038051177) for the [Workflow file](https://github.com/imputnet/helium-windows/actions/runs/41038051177/workflow) used as well as the build logs and artifacts

Official changelog

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 Windows, 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.

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