Fascinating, I use Firefox because on Android I can use extensions (for this https://plzat.me). This is a great alternative.
Edit: hard to find where to get this browser. Do I need to build it myself?
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1. desktop-style extensions: natively install any extensions (like uBO) from the chrome web store, just toggle "desktop site" in the menu first.
2. privacy/security hardening: applies the full patch sets from Vanadium (with Helium's currently wip).
Means you get both browsers' excellent privacy features, like Vanadium's webrtc IP policy option that protects your real IP by default, and security improvements such as JIT being disabled by default, all while being a reasonably efficient FOSS app that can be installed on any (modern) android.
It's still in beta, and as I note in the README, it's not a replacement for the full OS-level security model you'd get from running the GrapheneOS Vanadium combo. However, goal was to combine privacy of Vanadium with the power of desktop extensions and Helium features, and make it accessible to a wider audience. (Passkeys from Bitwarden Mobile should also work straight away once merged in the list of FIDO2 privileged browsers)
Build scripts are in the repo if you want to compile it yourself. You can find pre-built releases there too.
Would love any feedback/support!
Edit: hard to find where to get this browser. Do I need to build it myself?
Have you thought about merging your efforts with ungoogled-chromium (Android)?
There USED to be an ungoogled-chromium for Android (circa v88 chrome, the APK is still available for download) that also allowed extentions.
The cool part about Helium is that it's based on patches, rather than forking the full source code. I don't know how sustainable this is in the long term, but it's an interesting approach for sure.
Without updates, many sites will likely stop working with it soon.
Kiwi had some great features, like disabling AMP mode, rearranging the Chrome Store for mobile, and customizable tab layouts, etc. These features might interest others as well.
Some Chromium builds has that: https://chromium.woolyss.com/#google-api-keys
Kiwi was a great browser but has since shutdown. Android needs something like Kiwi that also has a steady income to support itself in future.
Combined Obtainium it's easy to keep it updated. https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium
Is extension support only meant to work with a Google account signed in or am I missing something?
EDIT: I tried loading the store page in desktop mode but I can't install the non-Lite uBlock Origin, I guess because this Chromium version doesn't support Manifest V2 anymore. I'm still on Kiwi Browser which supports MV2.
> ...would consider 'sync with the data parasites' as a misfeature.
I am curious why Firefox isn't a choice for you. Why Mozilla as a NGO isn't trusted for handling your data?
As to not trusting an NGO with my data, well... where to start? Ever since Mitchell Baker turned Mozilla into an activist cooperative while firing those pesky developers - who needs developers when all you want to do is political campaigning - and raising her own salary 5-fold that organisation has lost its shine as far as I'm concerned. As far as I'm concerned Mozilla is ripe for a new 'March 31 event' [1] in the sense of a transfer of the stewardship of the Gecko engine and Firefox browser to either another organisation entirely or to a splinter group from within Mozilla which still considers developing the main competitor to the Blink engine as its primary focus without any of the heavy political baggage from the Baker days.
[1] https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/netscape-sets-source...
Of course, if Google succeeds in their mission to kill AOSP, kill unsigned APK installation (even for power users) and force all developers to submit photo ID, this is kind of moot.
The mobile FOSS community would benefit from accelerating transition away from Android to alternatives, even as incomplete and insecure as they are at the moment. The upstream maintainer of the OS itself is an entity that is hostile to the ownership rights end users have over their own devices, has been doing a ton of engineering work on "DRM" (to "manage" aka remove YOUR rights), has shown warning signs of abandoning the open source nature of AOSP itself, and has generally signaled extensive hostility towards their own end users, on an ongoing basis, across more or less all of their product lines. Alphabet/Google has been very clear about telegraphing how much they hate your freedom and how hard they're working to alleviate you from the burdensome weight of being able to decide what runs on your own hardware that you purchased.
I say this as a disappointed and worried GrapheneOS user. You can rip Google out of Android. Ripping AOSP out of Android is a much more complicated and much less realistic task, though. I'm not advocating for everyone moving their entire PROD workflow off of Android and onto a Linux smartphone today, but we shouldn't be burying our heads in the sand to the long-term risks that Alphabet itself poses to the availability, auditability, trustworthiness, and usefulness of AOSP.
1. Checkout Chromium's codebase.
2. Make a commit and see how long it takes.
3. Try to push it to any git hosting service.
And yes, being 10s vs 10000s devs in the same repo isn't fun.