Privacy Policy
Privacy isn’t a feature bolted onto The Browser — it’s the whole point of it. Last updated 9 July 2026.
The short version
The Browser has no accounts, no ads, no analytics, no trackers, and no telemetry. We — the developer — never receive, store, sell, or share any of your data, because the app contains no analytics, advertising, attribution, or crash-reporting code of any kind. Almost everything happens on your device.
What we collect
Nothing. The developer runs no accounts and operates no servers that receive your data. We cannot see your browsing, searches, bookmarks, or settings, because none of it is ever sent to us — there is nowhere for it to go.
What stays on your device
Your browsing history, bookmarks, open tabs, favourites, quick links, settings, start-page layout, and any downloaded on-device AI models live only on your device — and, if you turn on iCloud Sync, in your own private iCloud. They are never sent to us or anyone else. AI provider keys you enter are held in the device Keychain, not in plain settings.
Requests you initiate
Like every web browser, The Browser makes network requests to fetch the things you ask for. These go directly from your device to the service involved and never pass through us:
- Web pages load from the sites you visit.
- Searches — and, if you enable them, search suggestions — go to the search engine you choose. Suggestions are always off in Private tabs.
- Site icons (favicons) are fetched from a third-party icon service so tabs and the start page can show each site’s logo.
- The optional weather widget sends only your approximate location to the Open-Meteo API (no account or key) when you enable it.
- The optional start-page photo picker sends your search term to Openverse — and, as a fallback, Wikimedia Commons — to find freely-licensed images.
AI features
On-device AI — summaries and “Ask about this page” using a downloaded model or Apple Intelligence — runs entirely on your device. No page content leaves it, so it works even in Private tabs. Optional cloud AI works only if you add your own provider API key; then, and only then, the text of the page you ask about is sent directly from your device to that provider to generate a reply. We never receive or see it, and cloud AI is automatically disabled in Private tabs.
Translation
Page translation runs on your device and downloads languages on demand, keeping your reading private. The optional developer API fallback ships inert and does nothing unless a key is supplied.
Private tabs
Private tabs record no history and no search suggestions, are kept out of the normal on-disk browsing cache, and disable cloud AI — for browsing that leaves no trace on your device.
Content blocking
The built-in ad and tracker blocker and the cookie-consent handling run locally in the browser engine to strip ads, trackers, and consent pop-ups as you browse. Any blocklist you add is fetched from the URL you provide.
Data deletion
Clear your history, cache, and cookies any time in Settings ▸ Clear Browsing Data. Deleting the app removes all of its on-device data, including downloaded AI models and stored AI keys.
Third-party services
The services you choose to use — the sites you visit, your search engine, the favicon service, Open-Meteo, Openverse/Wikimedia, and any cloud AI provider you key in — each have their own privacy policies and terms, which govern how they handle the requests your device sends them. The open-source components bundled in the app are listed under Settings ▸ About ▸ Open-Source Licenses.
Children
The Browser is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the updated version ships inside the app with a new date. Because we collect nothing, there is no historical data for a policy change to expose.
Contact
Questions about your privacy or the app? Email thebrowser.ai@proton.me.