WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.840 Google Chrome is absolutely everywhere, but there's really no reason you should feel compelled 00:00:05.840 --> 00:00:12.360 to use it. There are plenty of great alternatives out there with better functionality, better privacy, or better security. 00:00:12.360 --> 00:00:17.120 And we're not just talking about caving in to Microsoft's demands and switching to Edge. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:21.640 Let's look at a few options that are actually interesting, starting with Opera GX. 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:24.880 Normally, we'd be skeptical about any browser marketed 00:00:24.880 --> 00:00:28.880 as a gaming browser. I mean, how many gaming accessories have just ended up 00:00:28.880 --> 00:00:33.200 being terrible gimmicks with RGB? I would be in pain if I sat in this for too long. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.280 But Opera GX has features that are actually useful. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:40.920 Probably the biggest draw is the built-in resource limiter. 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:44.560 You can actually set limits for CPU, RAM, and network usage, 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.400 and the browser won't exceed those. A great feature if you need to have your browser open 00:00:49.400 --> 00:00:52.600 while you're playing a game, but you don't have top-end hardware. 00:00:52.600 --> 00:00:56.000 But Opera GX isn't just useful while you're gaming. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:00.360 It also has a game release calendar and deals aggregator for when it's time to go shopping, 00:01:00.360 --> 00:01:06.240 a sidebar that integrates Twitch and Discord, and support for several major RGB ecosystems. 00:01:06.240 --> 00:01:11.080 So your PC or your peripherals can switch to a different light pattern to let you know 00:01:11.080 --> 00:01:15.880 that a download is finished, for example. You also get Opera's other standard features, 00:01:15.880 --> 00:01:20.680 such as a forced dark mode, a pin board, and a free VPN. 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:26.520 But speaking of VPNs, what if you're not much of a gamer and are more concerned about privacy and security? 00:01:26.520 --> 00:01:31.600 You might wanna check out LibreWolf, which has no connection to LibreOffice, 00:01:31.600 --> 00:01:35.520 but it is a customized version of Firefox, which you may have figured out 00:01:35.520 --> 00:01:38.760 as they both have a fuzzy forest animal in the name. 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:42.680 LibreWolf is essentially a hardened version of Firefox, 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:47.440 meaning settings have been tweaked to give you a high degree of security and anonymity. 00:01:47.440 --> 00:01:52.240 Some of the changes are fairly straightforward, such as clearing your browser data by default 00:01:52.240 --> 00:01:55.760 when you close the browser, but others are a lot more interesting, 00:01:55.800 --> 00:01:58.880 such as preventing cookies from tracking you on different websites, 00:01:58.880 --> 00:02:02.800 turning off WGL graphics, as these can be used to identify you, 00:02:02.800 --> 00:02:06.400 and deleting any tracking information inside of URLs 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:11.200 before loading a page. LibreWolf also does not collect telemetry data. 00:02:11.200 --> 00:02:14.720 It doesn't support DRM, and it doesn't use search engines 00:02:14.720 --> 00:02:18.520 that track your search history. What it does do is use anti-fingerprinting 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:23.040 that's actually close to what you'd have in the Tor browser, but it's far faster than the Tor browser 00:02:23.040 --> 00:02:27.120 since LibreWolf is meant for normal browsing, not accessing the dark web. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:31.720 But that doesn't mean there aren't performance trade-offs. Certain websites could be affected 00:02:31.720 --> 00:02:36.320 with Netflix being a prime example. If you're really concerned about being tracked, 00:02:36.320 --> 00:02:41.560 this though is one of the better options out there. But what if you don't need gaming features or ultra security? 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:45.560 Are there any other good reasons to switch away from Chrome? We'd be very much remiss 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:49.560 if we didn't mention Vivaldi, and we're not talking about the violin guy. 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:55.040 Although it is chromium-based, it's heavily modified to be extremely customizable. 00:02:55.040 --> 00:03:00.600 For example, if you're a serious multitasker, you can actually stack tabs in multiple rows 00:03:00.600 --> 00:03:05.240 and even use your scroll wheel to switch between them, a little easier than all the tedious clicking. 00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:10.720 Is the address bar taking away too much real estate? No problem, you can move it around and resize it. 00:03:10.720 --> 00:03:16.040 For a more pleasing visual experience, Vivaldi's UI can also be set to match overall colors 00:03:16.040 --> 00:03:20.240 of whatever website you're in, similar to the functionality in recent versions of Windows. 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:24.440 You can also disable the button to close tabs, so you never do that accidentally. 00:03:24.440 --> 00:03:29.760 You can move the locations of the back and forward buttons and even decide just how rounded 00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:33.360 you want the corners of the UI to be, down to the pixel. 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:37.120 So give Vivaldi a try if you like being a total control freak. 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:41.000 But let's say that even after all this, you still like Chrome. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.160 You just don't wanna hand over all your data to Google. 00:03:44.160 --> 00:03:48.960 It turns out there's a version of Chrome just for you called un-Googled Chromium, 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:52.600 which is very much what it sounds like. It uses the same Chromium code base 00:03:52.600 --> 00:03:57.480 that underpins the regular version of Google Chrome, but it has all Google services stripped out. 00:03:57.480 --> 00:04:01.600 Not only is there no default integration with user-facing features like Google Search 00:04:01.600 --> 00:04:06.760 or the Google App Sweep, any code that phones home to Google in the background 00:04:06.760 --> 00:04:11.340 has also been removed, leaving Google with no ability to track your activity by default. 00:04:11.340 --> 00:04:15.360 Although this means a few features such as safe browsing may not work, 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:20.440 it's a compromise you'll probably be fine with if the thought of Google watching you makes you bristle. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:24.920 Though signing in to Google services manually will of course still work. 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:29.920 I gotta have my sheets. But these are only a few of the many alternative browsers out there. 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:35.280 If you think other viewers would like to know about your favorite, don't hesitate to share in the comments below. 00:04:35.280 --> 00:04:39.200 So thanks for watching guys. If you liked this video, hit like. Hit subscribe and hit us up in the comments 00:04:39.200 --> 00:04:42.320 with your suggestions for topics that we should cover in the future.