The most private browser in 2026

No browser is the most private for everyone. It depends on what you want to hide. In the latest PrivacyTests.org results, dated October 22, 2026, Brave and Mullvad Browser passed every test in the four groups we count, on a desktop with default settings. Chrome passed the fewest of the six browsers we compare. If you need to hide who you are and where you are, Tor Browser is built for that, with trade-offs.

“Private browser” can mean a browser built to limit tracking, or a browser’s private window. This guide covers the first kind. For the second, see our guide to incognito mode.

How we compare these browsers

We did not run these tests ourselves. We counted the published results of PrivacyTests.org, an open-source project that runs the same automated tests on each browser at its default settings. Each test ends in a pass, a fail, or “no such feature.” We leave out tests marked “no such feature.” The data file says the run was on a Mac.

You should know who runs it. PrivacyTests.org is a project of Arthur Edelstein. He says he runs it independently and that no company has sponsored it. He also says he worked for the Tor Project (2014 to 2018), Mozilla (2018 to 2021) and Brave (2022 to 2025), and that he is now building a browser extension for Chrome. That touches browsers in our table.

Mullvad Browser comes with its own note. The Tor Project developed it for Mullvad, a company that sells a VPN. Mullvad says it earns nothing from the browser and has no affiliates.

We use four groups of tests:

• Site isolation (27 tests). Can a tracker store data in your browser on one site and read it on another? A browser fixes this by keeping each site’s data in a separate box.
• Tracker scripts (19 tests). Does the browser block requests to well-known trackers, such as Google Analytics, DoubleClick and Facebook’s tracking code?
• Tracking cookies (19 tests). Does it stop the cookies from those same trackers? A cookie is a small file a website stores in your browser to remember you.
• Link tracking codes (23 tests). Does it remove tracking codes, such as fbclid and gclid, that get added to the end of web addresses?

The results

These are desktop results with default settings, counted from the site’s data of October 22, 2026. “22 of 24” means 22 passes among the 24 tests that apply to that browser.

Browser	Site isolation	Tracker scripts	Tracking cookies	Link codes	Total
Brave 1.97	27 of 27	19 of 19	19 of 19	23 of 23	88 of 88
Mullvad Browser 15.0	25 of 25	19 of 19	19 of 19	23 of 23	86 of 86
Tor Browser 15.0	23 of 23	0 of 19	19 of 19	18 of 23	60 of 84
Firefox 158	27 of 27	0 of 19	19 of 19	0 of 23	46 of 88
Safari 26.6	22 of 24	0 of 19	19 of 19	0 of 23	41 of 85
Chrome 156	19 of 27	0 of 19	0 of 19	0 of 23	19 of 88

The total counts every test equally. That is a simplification. Read the columns too.

What the table shows for each browser:

• Brave passed every test in the four groups. Its results here come from PrivacyTests.org alone.
• Mullvad Browser passed every test in the four groups that applies to it. It uses the uBlock Origin content blocker to block third-party trackers, according to Mullvad. It also uses letterboxing, which adds gray bars around the page so your window size doesn’t single you out. It saves no cookies between sessions, and Mullvad says it removed telemetry. It runs on Linux, macOS and Windows. Without a VPN it does not hide your IP address, Mullvad says. Read more on the Mullvad Browser page.
• Tor Browser blocked none of the tracker scripts. It passed the tracking-cookie tests and the isolation tests that apply to it. Its main job is different. The Tor Project says Tor stops websites from learning your location, and stops your internet provider or anyone on your home Wi-Fi from seeing what you fetch. It routes you through more than one relay, so no single relay learns what you do. The Project adds that there are situations where Tor does not solve these problems entirely. It also lists defenses against fingerprinting, such as letterboxing and spoofing your user agent.
• Firefox passed site isolation and tracking cookies. Mozilla says Total Cookie Protection confines cookies to the site where they were created. At default settings, it blocked none of the tracker scripts or link codes.
• Safari passed tracking cookies and most isolation tests. It blocked no tracker scripts or link codes at default settings. Apple says its advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection is on by default only in private windows, and you can turn it on for all browsing.
• Chrome failed tracker blocking at its default settings. Google says third-party cookies are blocked in Incognito mode by default, and that you can choose to block them in regular windows too. A third-party cookie comes from a site other than the one you are visiting.

What these tests don’t tell you

Fingerprinting is thinly tested. Browser fingerprinting is a way to identify a device from details such as its fonts and window size, even without cookies. PrivacyTests.org has one fingerprinting test, system font detection. Brave, Mullvad Browser, Tor Browser and Safari passed it. Firefox and Chrome did not. Anything else we say about fingerprinting comes from the makers’ own descriptions, not from independent tests.

The four groups cover tracking by websites. They don’t cover how a browser maker treats your data, how fast a browser is, or how quickly it fixes security flaws. Results change with every release. These are desktop results. The site publishes phone results separately.

How to choose and set up

1. Decide what you want to hide. If you mainly want to stop advertisers following you from site to site, look at the top of the table. If you need to hide your location or identity from a site or a network, you need Tor Browser or a VPN. A VPN is an app that sends your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to another server.
2. Get the browser from its maker’s official site. Don’t use an ad or a download portal.
3. Change the settings that matter. In Chrome, choose More, Settings, Privacy and security, Third-party cookies, then Block third-party cookies. In Safari on a Mac, choose Safari, Settings, Advanced, and set the advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection to all browsing. In Tor Browser, you can raise the security level. Standard is the default. Safer and Safest turn off more web features, and Safest disables JavaScript by default on all sites. Tor warns that this can break some pages.
4. Use the right tool for the job. Everyday browsing and a high-risk situation call for different browsers. Don’t expect one to do both well.
5. Remember that signing in tells a site who you are. No browser can change that.

What can go wrong

• A “private” label proves nothing. Private windows only keep history off your device. Our guide to incognito mode explains the difference.
• Stricter settings can break sites. Tor warns about this for its higher security levels. Chrome says blocking third-party cookies can stop some sites from working as expected.
• Mullvad Browser without a VPN shows your IP address. Mullvad says so itself.
• A browser can’t remove what is already collected. For data that data brokers already hold, see our guide to removing your personal information.

What to do now

1. Decide whether you want to block everyday trackers or hide your identity and location, and pick from the table.
2. If you use Chrome, block third-party cookies in Settings, Privacy and security.
3. If you use Safari, turn on advanced tracking and fingerprinting protection for all browsing in Safari, Settings, Advanced.
4. If you want the strongest tracker blocking in the table, try Brave or Mullvad Browser, installed from their official sites.
5. If you need to hide your location and identity, use Tor Browser, and keep Standard security unless you have a reason to raise it.