Windows 10, 8, 7
How to install, update and remove Chromium, on Windows?
About updates: your settings, bookmarks, extensions, history, passwords, cookies... will be saved. Do not worry!
For automated updates, choose one of the Chromium #updaters
Installer
- Download the EXE executable file (This is a 7-zip self-extracting archive. So you can unzip it to see its content)
- Close Chromium browser if opened
- Execute this EXE file
- Wait for 2 or 3 seconds (Installation is silent)
- Open Chromium browser. It is updated!
- To remove it definitively: use the standard way or a software (Geek Uninstaller, Revo Uninstaller, Ccleaner...)
Archive
- Download the ZIP archive file
- Close Chromium browser if opened
- Unzip this ZIP file
- Delete all the files from your installation directory
- Move the files from the unzipped directory to your installation directory
- Open Chromium browser. It is updated!
- To remove it definitively: delete your installation directory
Portable
Note: Chromium has #secure-preferences feature based on the machine SID. So extensions, certificates and passwords are not portable. The best way to migrate your data is to synchronize them.
- Download and unzip "chrlauncher-xxxxxxx.zip"
- Execute chrlauncher.exe (chrlauncher is a free and open-source Chromium launcher/updater)
- Close Chromium browser if a notification displays a new version
- Click on the "Download" button
- Wait for download and automatic installation
- Open Chromium browser. It is updated!
- To remove it definitively: delete the chrlauncher folder
Package
- Install Chocolatey (A free and open-source package manager) in command-line
- Chromium will be automatically updated via Chocolatey (using our API)
- To remove it definitively: use the "uninstall" command-line via Chocolatey
Windows XP, Vista
Since version 50, Chromium is not available on XP and Vista. For help, version 49 works fine.
- Last stable version (49.0.2623.112): installer, archive, portable
- Others: portable
In addition, if you have an old CPU without SSE2 support, version 34 is the last one (portable, builds before 253860).
Chromium for 64-bit Windows
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.92 (737173) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020Portable • Archive • Installer • Package →
Info:
80.0.3987.163 (722274) • Friday, 3 Apr 2020
Info:
- sha1: da88248c60f2dd817d36d88d5e9db8bf119a3db0
.(virus?) - chrome.sync.7z - sha1: c2cd8b7494813a3e41fa8343c06a587557a68f08
.(virus?) - mini_installer.sync.exe - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Package: The free and open-source Chocolatey tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- List of changes
- Previous versions (win64)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive
Standard build of Eloston's ungoogled-chromium. All patches applied apart from "Safe Browser".
Info:
80.0.3987.163 (722274) • Friday, 3 Apr 2020
Standard build of Eloston's ungoogled-chromium. All patches applied apart from "Safe Browser".
Info:
- sha1: c4cffbb4ceffc62a6e87d89ae89f6de746602adf
.(virus?) - ungoogled-chromium-80.0.3987.163-1_windows.7z - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Previous versions (win64)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive • Installer
Info:
83.0.4102.0 (755245) • Wednesday, 1 Apr 2020
Info:
- sha1: 71bf308f55de67c738e74e8d41446e7d6243533e
.(virus?) - chrome.zip - sha1: d825053595e3c4ac1eabd05bc6d70c4c051448c0
.(virus?) - mini_installer.exe - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Previous versions (win64)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive • Installer
Info:
83.0.4102.0 (755245) • Wednesday, 1 Apr 2020
Info:
- sha1: ef6af0afcaa990eaae01500091f51043e7fd1b9f
.(virus?) - chrome.zip - sha1: a3413de62dc23bd48cb05415f19fbe960fe8396c
.(virus?) - mini_installer.exe - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Previous versions (win64-sse2)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive • Installer
Info:
83.0.4086.0 (750130) • Friday, 13 Mar 2020
Info:
- sha1: 4a436ca9370c7bae9794f3673240b28cdc01b08b
.(virus?) - Chrome-bin-sync.7z - sha1: 1aa73f9611ef7a76da0cc4a3422ec40d0bcb0777
.(virus?) - mini_installer.exe - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Previous versions (win64)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive
Info:
83.0.4086.0 (750130) • Friday, 13 Mar 2020
Info:
- sha1: 1096cc2a59345d204ca50feea6a57057de433110
.(virus?) - Chrome-bin.7z - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Previous versions (win64)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive • Installer • Package →
Info
84.0.4109.0 (757314) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020
Info
- md5: 5a108ef40b6fafff211880618387dfb9
.- mini_installer.exe - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Package: The free and open-source Chocolatey tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Create browser #google-api-keys
- Add #flash plugin and
#html5-audio-videosupport - #updaters
- Install an #older-version
- List of changes
- Source: Google repository
Chromium for Windows on Arm
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.92 (737173) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020 In collaboration with the Open Source Software group at Arm, we are sharing Chromium for Windows on Arm. Official announce at Arm developer community.
If there are any issues, please head to https://crbug.com/new and file an issue with “Windows on Arm” in the title, send a copy to chromium-win-dev@arm.com
If there are any issues, please head to https://crbug.com/new and file an issue with “Windows on Arm” in the title, send a copy to chromium-win-dev@arm.com
Installer
Info:
80.0.3987.163 (1037) • Saturday, 4 Apr 2020
Info:
- sha256: b50f5620da669dead6a0ce27f8d4a384ed37780a18e299650e32f5f126cb9b02
.(virus?) - mini_installer.exe - sha256: a6efb6c9c5ea06707ca53184583e037e94085ab095663b099bd004e96849a108
.- chromium.src.zip - Installer: This file is signed with an Arm certificate
- Full source code: chromium.src.zip (More than 2GB)
Chromium for 32-bit Windows
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.92 (737173) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020Portable • Archive • Installer • Package →
Info:
80.0.3987.163 (722274) • Friday, 3 Apr 2020
Info:
- sha1: 34b08f9b58e7c4b0973632968826a673ffe70d4c
.(virus?) - chrome.sync.7z - sha1: c130a790619a4802edfe18f6005d149b0e4a6878
.(virus?) - mini_installer.sync.exe - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Package: The free and open-source Chocolatey tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- List of changes
- Previous versions (win32 or x86)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive
Standard build of Eloston's ungoogled-chromium. All patches applied apart from "Safe Browser".
Info:
80.0.3987.163 (722274) • Friday, 3 Apr 2020
Standard build of Eloston's ungoogled-chromium. All patches applied apart from "Safe Browser".
Info:
- sha1: b28fc14469f586adacdd49381f05459370536f2e
.(virus?) - Ungoogled-Chromium-80.0.3987.163-Win32.7z - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Previous versions (win32 or x86)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive • Installer
Info:
83.0.4102.0 (755245) • Wednesday, 1 Apr 2020
Info:
- sha1: 24832ca5d95711d350c6519bce5468da4f61de74
.(virus?) - chrome.zip - sha1: 2f639e4b4173745f592fbb1715876126e7cfb432
.(virus?) - mini_installer.exe - Portable: The free and open-source chrlauncher tool is used to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Previous versions (win32)
- Source: Github repository
Portable • Archive • Installer • Package →
Info
84.0.4109.0 (757314) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020
Info
- md5: ba086eb8ca0f6014ed214b64948babae
.- mini_installer.exe - The Portable version uses the free and open-source chrlauncher to install, update and launch Chromium.
- The Package version uses the free and open-source Chocolatey to install, update and launch Chromium.
- Create browser #google-api-keys
- Add #flash plugin and
#html5-audio-videosupport - #updaters
- Install an #older-version
- List of changes
- Source: Google repository
macOS 10.10+
How to install, update and remove Chromium, on macOS?
About updates: your settings, bookmarks, extensions, history, passwords, cookies... will be saved. Do not worry!
For automated updates, choose one of the Chromium #updaters
Installer
- Download the DMG file
- Close Chromium browser if opened
- Execute this DMG file
- Drag its icon on Applications folder
- You may then "Eject" and throw away this disk image
- To remove it definitively: drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash.
Archive
- Download the ZIP archive file
- Close Chromium browser if opened
- Unzip this ZIP file
- Double click on the unzipped folder to open it
- Drag its icon on Applications folder
- To remove it definitively: drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash
Chromium for 64-bit macOS
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.92 (737173) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020Installer →
Info:
80.0.3987.163 • Friday, 3 Apr 2020
Info:
- Chromium Updater Extension is included in the Installer. (Archive: ZIP)
- List of changes
- Previous versions
- Source: official website
Archive
Info:
80.0.3987.149 (989) • Friday, 20 Mar 2020
Info:
- sha1: 68bfff81b74e2ae4ff2a65039251ed6d28e04648
.(virus?) - Chromium.80.0.3987.149.sync.app.zip - Use #updaters-on-mac
- List of changes
- Previous versions
- Source: Github repository
Archive
Info:
80.0.3987.149 (989) • Friday, 20 Mar 2020
Info:
- sha1: bb0a220fbe5210ab822c697094c6882dd3d310b9
.(virus?) - Chromium.80.0.3987.149.nosync.app.zip - Use #updaters-on-mac
- List of changes
- Previous versions
- Source: Github repository
Archive
Info:
80.0.3987.163 (722274) • Thursday, 2 Apr 2020
Info:
- sha1: dc0ab8787380121ed5d0eb8d7201ef79381e67f8
.(virus?) - Chromium.app.ungoogled-80.0.3987.163.zip - Use #updaters-on-mac
- List of changes
- Previous versions (ungoogled)
- Source: Github repository
Archive
Feedback appreciated - if demand will update once a month. Do no hesitate to write #comments ;)
Info:
83.0.4101.0 (754834) • Tuesday, 31 Mar 2020
Feedback appreciated - if demand will update once a month. Do no hesitate to write #comments ;)
Info:
- sha1: dd90c00d359ec9b54fcf88d7f01ea78310a4bde6
.(virus?) - Chromium.83.0.4101.0.sync.app.zip - Use an #updaters-on-mac
- Previous versions (macOS)
- Source: Github repository
Archive
Feedback appreciated - if demand will update once a month. Do no hesitate to write #comments ;)
Info:
83.0.4101.0 (754834) • Tuesday, 31 Mar 2020
Feedback appreciated - if demand will update once a month. Do no hesitate to write #comments ;)
Info:
- sha1: ecfa4ed83eb1b0b38468e512686231174a311676
.(virus?) - Chromium.83.0.4101.0.nosync.app.zip - Use an #updaters-on-mac
- Previous versions (macOS)
- Source: Github repository
Archive
Info
84.0.4109.0 (757325) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020
Info
- Create browser #google-api-keys
- Add #flash plugin and
#html5-audio-videosupport - Install an #older-version
- List of changes
- Source: Google repository
Chromium for 32-bit macOS
Since version 39, Chromium and Google Chrome are not available in 32-bit version for macOS.
Linux
How to install, update and remove Chromium, on Linux distributions?
In most cases, Chromium is directly available in the official repository of each Linux distribution. So it is easy to install, update and remove it via the integrated software/package manager or in command-lines.
There are other ways like Snappy (chromium::snap-package). For more, check a list of software package management systems.
Chromium for 64-bit and 32-bit Linux
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.92 (737173) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020Arch Linux
Available in the official repository
sudo pacman -S chromium
Info:
- Chromium at Arch Linux wiki
- Arch Linux is an independent distribution
CentOS
Available in the official repository
To install the stable Chromium version on CentOS 7+:
$ sudo yum -y update
$ sudo yum install -y epel-release
$ sudo yum install -y chromium
$ - requires given Linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged userTo run it:
$ chromium
Info:
- CentOS is a distribution affiliated with Red Hat (RHEL).
Debian
Available in the official repository
To install the stable Chromium version:
- use the integrated software/package manager
- or use the gdebi APT tool (apt://gdebi • chromium::deb-files)
- or use Snappy (apt://snapd • chromium::snap-package)
- or type these commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install chromium chromium-l10n
(chromium-l10n is only used for localization and is optional)Info:
- Chromium at Debian wiki and Debian packages
- Debian is an independent distribution
Fedora
Available in the official repository (since Chromium v52)
To install the stable Chromium version:
- use the integrated software/package manager
- or alternatively, type these DNF command:
sudo dnf install chromium
Info:
- Chromium at Fedora package, Fedora wiki and Fedora cloud
- Fedora is an independent distribution
Gentoo Linux
Available in the official repository
Info:
- Chromium at Gentoo Linux packages
- Gentoo Linux is an independent distribution
Linux Mint
Available in the official repository
To install the stable Chromium version:
- use the integrated software/package manager
- or type commands (#ubuntu)
Info:
- Chromium at Linux Mint Community
- Linux Mint is a distribution based on #ubuntu and #debian
Mageia
Available in the official repository
Info:
- Chromium at Mageia Application Database
- Mageia is an independent distribution
Manjaro
Available in the official #arch-linux repository
sudo pacman -S chromium
Info:
- Chromium at Arch Linux wiki
- Manjaro is a distribution based on #arch-linux
openSUSE
Available in the official repository
Info:
- Chromium at openSUSE package, openSUSE wiki and RPM resource chromium
- openSUSE is an independent distribution
Puppy Linux
Unavailable in the official repository but you can install it!
Follow the main discussion on the Puppy Linux forum.
Info:
- Chromium at PuppyLinux wiki
- Puppy Linux is an independent distribution
Ubuntu
Available in the official repository
To install the stable Chromium version, there are different ways.
1) For Ubuntu 19.10+, use the snap package (Deb to snap transition article).
snap install chromium
snap run chromium chromium::snap-package2) or use the integrated software/package manager. (Then to change the software language, you will have to go to Chromium → Settings → Advanced Settings → Language Settings)
3) or type these commands about this PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-chromium-builds/stage
sudo apt update
sudo apt install chromium-browser
To add language packages:
sudo apt install chromium-browser-l10n To add only the patent-free (ogg, vorbis, theora and av1) codecs:
sudo apt install chromium-codecs-ffmpeg
To add the patent-free codecs + mp3, aac, ac3, mpeg4 (audio/h264), mov:
sudo apt install chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra
Info:
- Chromium at Ubuntu packages and Launchpad
- Ubuntu is a distribution based on #debian
Chromium OS
Info
Chromium OS is the open-source OS designed by Google that primarily runs web applications. Based on Gentoo, it exists since 2009. Chromium is its default web browser. Google Chrome OS (closed-source) is based on Chromium OS.
Free and open-source releases:
- ArnoldTheBats' builds (Builds compiled by Tony Ditchfield)
- Linux Chromium OS Full (Builds compiled by the buildbot • Snapshots repository)
BSD
Chromium for 64-bit and 32-bit BSD
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.92 (737173) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020FreeBSD
Available in the official repository
Info:
- Chromium at FreeBSD wiki and FreeBSD source code
- FreeBSD is an independent distribution
OpenBSD
Available in the official repository
Info:
- Chromium at OpenBSD ports and OpenBSD source code
- OpenBSD is an independent distribution
Android
Chromium for 64-bit and 32-bit Android
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.96 (737173) • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020Package
All Bromite patches applied.
Info:
81.0.4044.76 • Saturday, 28 Mar 2020
All Bromite patches applied.
Info:
- sha1: 55069ba6e662dc5f021ce6467633e607b3e6dd21
.(virus?) - arm64_ChromePublic_HEVC.apk - List of changes
- Previous versions
- Source: Github repository
iOS
Reference: Google Chrome 81.0.4044.62 • Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020Chromium on iOS is a big fake!
Check the official blog post and build instructions to understand that Chromium cannot use the existing content/implementation, which is based on V8/Blink. It is just a skin on top of Safari. Go your way!
Notes
Obviously, you know this site is not the Chromium official website. As a regular user (not an expert), I created it in 2013 because there was no easy way to download good and stable releases of Chromium, on Windows. I try to keep it as safe and fast as possible! ;) This is absolutely a non-profit site. Please, read the #privacy-policy (on the right-hand side).In short:
- Since the beginning of the Chromium project until today, there is no binary of stable Chromium, shared by the official Chromium team.
- The official website is development oriented. Users are invited to download Google Chrome.
- The official download page gives to users only ZIP archives of development builds (also known as "snapshot", "nightly", "vanilla" or "raw" builds) which can be very unstable.
- This site gives to users a choice of builds: development (also on its simplest download page), stable and portable builds.
All downloads are only from reliable sources:
- Google Storage → development builds from the official repository (Chromium buildbot)
- GitHub, AWS and SourceForge → other free and open-source builds
1. Project
Chromium exists since 2008. It is the free and open-source project (#features) behind the famous Google Chrome browser. There are many advantages for an enterprise to work on an open-source project. Intrinsically, Chromium is a Google project maintained by many authors (developers, engineers, graphic designers, security researchers...) from Google, Adobe, Amazon, Cloudflare, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Igalia, Intel, Logitech, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nvidia, Opera, Samsung, Vivaldi, Yandex... and external contributors (Official graph).Chromium is not only a web browser. It is a blend of different important open-source projects:
- ANGLE (a graphics engine abstraction layer)
- Blink (a rendering/layout engine)
- Native Client (a sandbox for running native code)
- PDFium (a PDF generation and rendering library)
- Sandbox (a security mechanism for separating running programs)
- Skia (a graphics library)
- V8 (a JavaScript engine)
- and others...
One or more projects are used in Chromium browser (obviously!) and other software/service like Google Chrome, Googlebot Evergreen, Bingbot Evergreen, Mozilla Firefox (ANGLE, Skia, Google Safe browsing), Opera, Vivaldi, Microsoft Edge (Search "chromium" at Microsoft Third Party Disclosures. Official PDF presentation), Skype, Spotify, Steam, Minecraft, TeamViewer, WhatsApp, Twitch, Android WebView, Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Adobe Acrobat, Electron, CEF, QtWebEngine...
Chromium is not fully designed by Google! However, as a primary investor, Google gives a consistent guidance and provides all free tools and services related to this project.
2. Stable Chromium version
Officially, Chromium does not have a stable release. The official developers (aka The Chromium Authors) do not release it to end users. So it is continually in development. Google Chrome is the stable release... but is not open-source.Chromium is the project then Google Chrome is the product.
In fact, Chromium has a stable version. ^^
Example: The current stable version on #linux is 81.0.4044.92. In this version, there are 92 patches which correct many issues (bugs, feature requests, enhancements...). Because Chromium is open-source (#source-code), anybody can compile it. You must be a developer to do this. Just get the current stable version (81.0.4044.92) from the official Git repository and compile it!
All stable versions of Chromium on #windows, #mac, #linux... are always made by third-party developers.
The stable version of Chromium is compiled by:
- Google developers → Google Chrome
- Opera developers → Opera
- Yandex developers → Yandex browser
- Vivaldi developers → Vivaldi
- Microsoft developers → Microsoft Edge
- Hibbiki, Marmaduke and FreeSMUG developers → Chromium, on #windows and #mac
- Some developers → Chromium, on each #linux and #bsd distribution
- Some developers → Chromium-based browsers
- Some developers → other projects like CEF, Electron, QtWebEngine, Chromely, NW.js, Beaker, JxBrowser ...
3. Development
The development builds (also known as "snapshot", "nightly", "vanilla" or "raw" builds) are built automatically several times a day by the Chromium Buildbot (buildbot console) and made available as binary code releases.Snapshot
Once a snapshot has been built, it is placed in a directory in the chromium-browser-snapshots root directory of Google Storage and is automatically tested. This build is really just development tool for checking whether issues are fixed in the latest Chromium code. It can be buggy and unstable. They are downloadable on the official site, my alternative webpage and this site (Check The Chromium Authors tag!).LKGR
If that snapshot build successfully passes the automated tests, it is considered as a good build (known as LKGR meaning "Last Known Good Revision") and can become potentially a stable build. For info, LKGR builds were stored in the chromium-browser-continuous root directory until Friday, 18 Mar 2016. The Chromium team has removed few LKGR builders (407399, 576253 and chromium-dev) but other ones still work (latest commit). Finally, there is no LKGR binary shared by the Chromium team... but any developer can re-compile it! ^^Stable
Finally, a stable build is a development build tested by the Buildbot then improved by the Chromium team and all contributors.4. Conclusion
Note this website and the Chromium builds are made and shared by volunteers (devoted developers), freely, in their spare time. There is absolutely no business, no revenue (#privacy-policy). We are not Google. So please, respect our work. Officially, the #stable-chromium-version does not exist at all. We need time to re-compile Chromium. If you cannot wait for the latest version, prefer to use a development version (download page) or compile Chromium yourself (#source-code) or use other #browsers.Jerry (admin)
Features
Chromium vs Google Chrome.Chromium browser has:
- only open-source licenses (BSD license, MIT license, LGPL, MS-PL and MPL+GPL+LGPL tri-licensed) plus unlicensed files. It is a FOSS project. A full list of software developed by third-parties is available within the browser at chrome://credits (similar to this online page)
- a trademark according to Google (Trademarks list)
- a blue-colored logo
- the similar system requirements as Google Chrome
- the similar user interface and settings as Google Chrome
- the similar sandbox as Google Chrome
- the similar support for extensions and themes as Google Chrome
- the similar user agent as Google Chrome
- the similar experiments Field Trials (viewable as a list in "Variations" at chrome://version) as Google Chrome (and similar as Firefox studies)
- the built-in Chrome PDF Viewer (known as PDFium), on Windows
- the built-in Chromoting Viewer (To use it, you need to first install the Chrome Remote Desktop extension)
- the built-in Google Native Client
- the built-in Print preview and print system
- no stable version offered by the official team (aka The Chromium Authors)
- no digital signature
- no auto-update system (Solution: Use #updaters • On #linux, use the integrated software/package manager, even a PPA)
- no Google API keys (Solution: Check #google-api-keys)
- no built-in Flash player (Solution: Check #flash)
- no unwanted software protection (known as Chrome Cleanup and "software_reporter_tool.exe"), on Windows
- no support of proprietary codecs (AAC, H.264/MP4) (Solution: Check #html5-audio-video)
- no user RLZ identifier
- no user metrics (usage statistics) (opt-in option)
- no crash report (opt-in option)
- More details on the official site, focused on Linux.
Some developers maintain #chromium-forks that offer more features and enhancements. Thanks a lot for developers! ;)
Secure Preferences
Chromium has "Secure Preferences" feature which protect user data against #malware. On Windows, the user profile is encrypted based on the machine SID. So extensions, certificates and passwords are not portable. It works for all #chromium-forks like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, Brave, ungoogled-chromium... (except Cent Browser which is closed-source and therefore can be easily corrupted)Info relative to this feature:
- PortableApps::Google Chrome portable (Read "App Notes")
- PortableApps::Opera portable (Read "App Notes")
- Portapps::Brave portable (Read "Infos"... or detailed info on Github)
- Copy Chrome extensions from one computer to another
- How to migrate Google Chrome profile (extensions, cookies, etc.) to another Windows installation?
- profile_pref_store_manager.cc (Chromium code source)
- machine_id.cc (Chromium code source)
How to migrate user data from one computer to another?
The best way to migrate your data is to synchronize them.
There are also unstable ways:
- using these #command-line-flags: --disable-machine-id --disable-encryption (info)
- using an hacking method to bypass "Secure Preferences".
Google API keys
To use Google services (Sync, Translate, Contacts, Hotword...), Chromium needs Google API keys.Chromium can display a top message if the Google API keys are needed for Google services:
Google API keys are missing. Some functionality of Chromium will be disabled. Learn MoreHow to create your own Google API keys?
With your own Google API keys, many Google services (Sync, Translate, Contacts, Hotword...) will work. Follow the official API Keys page to get them. Other info at Github Gist. Then set three environment variables.
On Windows
Launch Command Prompt (cmd.exe) and enter the following commands: setx GOOGLE_API_KEY yourkey
setx GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_ID yourclientid
setx GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_SECRET yourclientsecret
(setx = set environment variables permanently)On macOS
This tutorial was written by Aargl on december 7, 2018 (#comment-4078). Thanks to him. There are 2 methods:1. Method with ChromiumSyncEnabler
ChromiumSyncEnabler (Archive: ZIP)- Put Chromium_template and ChromiumSyncEnabler.py at the root of the current user (~/)
- Put Chromium.app in ~/Applications
- In Terminal, type: python /Users/your_user_name/ChromiumSyncEnabler.py
- Enter your API keys
N.B.: if you want to activate for all users, do the same procedure putting the files respectively in / and /Applications (I haven't tried, but I can't see why it wouldn't work...)
2. Method with a plist file
Creation of a ~/Library/LaunchAgents/setenv.ChromiumSync.plist containing: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "https://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd ">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>setenv.ChromiumSync</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/bin/launchctl</string>
<string>setenv</string>
<string>GOOGLE_API_KEY</string>
<string>your_key</string>
<string>/bin/launchctl</string>
<string>setenv</string>
<string>GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_ID</string>
<string>your_key</string>
<string>/bin/launchctl</string>
<string>setenv</string>
<string>GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_SECRET</string>
<string>your_key</string>
</array>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
</dict>
</plist> (with "your_key" being the corresponding Google API key)Of course, you can name the LaunchAgent setenv.ChromiumSync or anything you want.
- This is perfectly working in 10.11
- In 10.9, you must create 3 separate LaunchAgent files instead (one for each key)
- I couldn't test more recent OSes, but I think it should work as in 10.11
The choice between method 1 or 2 depends on wether you want to enter your API keys each time or not... ;-)
Now launch Chromium.
How to disable Google API keys?
Without Google API keys, many Google services (Sync, Translate, Contacts, Hotword...) will not work.
On Windows
Launch Command Prompt (cmd.exe) and enter the following commands: setx GOOGLE_API_KEY "false"
setx GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_ID "false"
setx GOOGLE_DEFAULT_CLIENT_SECRET "false"
(setx = set environment variables permanently)Now launch Chromium.
Widevine plugin
Widevine is a closed-source Google plugin to play DRM content (= protected audio/videos) for web browsers. So we do not share this plugin with Chromium. However on Windows or macOS, its support is enabled on the stable versions (with the GN argument : enable_widevine = true).In Chromium and Google Chrome, you can check Widevine support at chrome://components → "Widevine Content Decryption Module" → The number must be different than 0.0.0.0 (screenshot)
Websites to test Widevine:
- https://bitmovin.com/demos/drm
- https://demo.castlabs.com/ (Choose videos with labeled "DRM")
- https://shaka-player-demo.appspot.com/demo/
Note that Chromium developers and most of users do not use this Google plugin at all. Chromium does not support Widevine natively. So to use Chromium with Widevine, you must to use a Chromium version with all enabled codecs (standard codecs + MP4/H.264), Widevine support and probably sync. On this website, the first stable version is ready for that.
If after that, it still does not work, follow the RobRich instructions at #comment-4955. (Note this link will show all comments of this site)
Flash plugin
Flash is a deprecated multimedia software platform. Adobe will be retire Flash at the end of 2020. Since 2015, the Flash #npapi plugin is discontinued. So, PepperFlash (PPAPI) is the unique plugin for Chromium. For info, PepperFlash is secure because it works in a sandbox. In short, it executes in its own process, separate from the browser's rendering engine.How to quickly install the Flash plugin?
On Windows and macOS, Chomium find PepperFlash itself (= without #command-line-flags)
- Install PepperFlash (PPAPI) from Adobe website.
- Check chrome://flash
- Disable "Ask first" in the chrome://settings/content/flash page. (screenshot)
- Test if animation works on the Flash Player versions page.
- Enjoy!
How to manually install the Flash plugin?
This is a full manual installation tutorial.
(If Google Chrome is already installed, go directly to "3. Add command-line flags"
1. Get PepperFlash (PPAPI)
This plugin is a non-free (proprietary) software developed by Adobe, and distributed bundled with Google Chrome. So get it from the official sources: Adobe or Google.1.1 From Adobe
Different official ways:- Stable version - Download page: Adobe Flash Player (Other versions) (Choose your OS and the PPAPI version)
- Stable version - Direct link: install_flash_player_ppapi.exe (Windows)
- Stable version - Direct link: install_flash_player_osx_ppapi.dmg (macOS)
- Beta version - From Adobe Labs (Search "PPAPI" and "Chromium" for your platform)
After install, the plugin path will be:
- On a 64-bit #windows:
- C:\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash\pepflashplayer64_[version].dll (64-bit version)
- C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\pepflashplayer32_[version].dll (32-bit version)
- C:\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash\pepflashplayer32_[version].dll (32-bit version)
1.2 From Google Chrome
Canary channel:- On #windows, get pepflashplayer.dll from Chrome Canary (64-bit) if you use 64-bit Chromium
- On #windows, get pepflashplayer.dll from Chrome Canary (32-bit) if you use 32-bit Chromium
- On #mac, get PepperFlashPlayer.plugin from Chrome Canary (64-bit)
1.3 From an unofficial source
(Use an online service to prevent #malware)- Search "PepperFlash" or "PPAPI" at [RU] effect8.ru or patheticcockroach.com
- Download and open the .7z archive
- Get "pepflashplayer.dll" (rename it, if needed) and "manifest.json" files.
Optionally, get the Flash version number:
(If you want to see the correct version number on Chromium internal pages)
- On all platforms, open the manifest.json text file in the PepperFlash folder.
- On Windows, you can do a right-click → Properties → Details, on the .dll file
2. Change the plugin directory
If you want, prefer a short path for the plugin. It will be easier for the next step. ^^Example on Windows: Put this .dll file in a path like C:\PepperFlash\ (Create the directory if needed)
3. Add command-line flags
Use these #command-line-flags:- --ppapi-flash-path=[plugin path]
- --ppapi-flash-version=[plugin version]
- And optionally --allow-outdated-plugins to disable browser notifications about outdated plugins
On #windows, create a Chromium shortcut. Then go to its properties and edit the target field:
--ppapi-flash-path="C:\PepperFlash\pepflashplayer.dll" --ppapi-flash-version="32.0.0.344" --allow-outdated-pluginsOn #mac, you will need to launch it from the command-line (in the Terminal):
/Applications/Chromium.app/Contents/MacOS/Chromium --ppapi-flash-path=/Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/PepperFlashPlayer/PepperFlashPlayer.plugin --ppapi-flash-version=32.0.0.344& The "&" at the end is not a typo. It is there to make sure Chromium is launched in a separate thread. Without the "&", Chromium would exit as soon as you quit the Terminal. Moreover, to simplify the Chromium launch, check How to create simple Mac apps from shell scripts (Archive: 1). Also see the #comment-566 and #comment-344. 4. Restart the browser
Relaunch it to apply changes.5. Check the installation
- Type chrome://flash in your address bar to check your Flash plugin used.
- Type chrome://settings/content/flash to manage it.
- For update, check the Flash Player version on the official page.
- For security information, see the security bulletins and advisories
6. Enjoy!
Now, even after browser updates, Chromium uses PepperFlash. ^^NPAPI plugin
NPAPI is a deprecated API that allows browser extensions to be developed. Chromium 45.0.2416.0 (331982) is the last version which still has NPAPI plugin support enabled via chrome://flags or group policy registry. (source • NPAPI deprecation)How to still use a NPAPI plugin?
Few ways:
- Switch to other browsers still supporting NPAPI plugins (like Waterfox browser).
- or install an older Chromium version (Ex: 331982, 331959, 331938, 331935...)
- or install the IE Tab addon which allows users to view pages using the IE layout engine
More info on site archives:
- chromium::wayback.machine (Sunday, 26 Jul 2015)
- chromium::archive.is (Friday, 17 Jul 2015)
HTML5 audio/video
By default, Chromium does not support proprietary codecs (AAC, H.264/MP4) in the HTML <audio> and <video> elements.How to use Chromium with all audio/video codecs?
Few ways:
- On #windows and #mac, use builds with all-codecs or all-codecs+
- or compile Chromium from #source-code with proprietary codecs, yourself.
- or install an older version having ffmpegsumo file (Ex: 333350, 333334, 333283, 333258...)
- or choose other #browsers
- On #linux, you can use Chromium with proprietary codecs
Before 4 June 2015, we used an alternative with the Google Chrome ffmpegsumo file and our Patch HTML5 Media extension. More info on site archives:
- chromium::wayback.machine (Monday, 8 Jun 2015)
- chromium::archive.is (Friday, 5 Jun 2015)
Check HTML5 audio/video support at https://tools.woolyss.com/html5-audio-video-tester/
If there is a video issue, disable hardware acceleration (see #browser-crash).
Advanced
1. Internal pages
To access to all internal pages, use chrome://about. Copy and paste this special URL directly into the address bar (omnibox). Obviously, this special URL works only in Chromium and Google Chrome. Note: About configuration settings, there is nothing similar to Firefox's about:config in Chromium.Few internal pages:
- chrome://components (Show and update info about available components like Widevine...)
- chrome://conflicts (List all modules loaded into the browser)
- chrome://credits (View all licensing info • Similar to this online page)
- chrome://flags (View all experimental features • You can set each feature)
- chrome://flash (Show info about the #flash plugin)
- chrome://gpu (Show info about GPU)
- chrome://net-export (Get all networking related info)
- chrome://omnibox (Test and follow responses of the searches via the omnibox/address bar)
- chrome://policy (Manage Chromium, for administrators • Policy list)
- chrome://predictors (List autocomplete action predictors and resource prefetch predictors based on user recent search and browsing history)
- chrome://quota-internals (Show info about disk space and storage usage)
- chrome://sync-internals (Show info about the Chromium sync feature)
- chrome://translate-internals (View all supported internal languages)
- chrome://version (Show details of Chromium version)
About browser plugins
Since version 57, the chrome://plugins page no longer exists. (official source)
Info:
- Manage PDF viewer and Flash plugins: chrome://settings/content
- Update components (like Widevine): chrome://components
- Check Flash plugin info: chrome://flash
2. Keyboard shortcuts
To use keyboard shortcuts (on Windows, Mac and Linux), check this full list of official shortcuts... and this one if you are developer. Most of the shortcuts are similar to IE, Firefox or any other browser.3. Command-line flags
There are command-line flags (or "switches") that Chromium accept in order to enable particular features or modify otherwise default functionality. Note flags often contain experimental or obsolete code, so they tend not to stick around for long.- Run Chromium with flags
- List of Chromium command-line switches (Auto-updated list provided by Peter Beverloo)
How to start Chromium directly in incognito (or private) mode, on Windows?
Add the "--incognito" flag at the end of the Chromium shortcut and restart the browser. (screenshot)
"C:\{...}\Chromium\Application\chrome.exe" --incognito4. User data directory
About your profile (history, bookmarks...), it is important to know where is stored your user data.How to change the user data directory?
Add the "--user-data-dir" flag at the end of the Chromium shortcut and restart the browser. (screenshot)
"C:\{...}\Chromium\Application\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir=..\my-profile-path5. External extension installation
How to install an external browser add-on?
If you wish to install extensions directly instead of just downloading the .crx source file, you must:
- Change the flag chrome://flags/#extension-mime-request-handling to "Always prompt for install".
- Click on the link of the .crx file you want to install
Get the .crx source file of any extension directly from the Chrome Web Store via CRX Viewer, Get CRX or via a site like Chrome Extension Downloader, CRX Extractor, Crx4Chrome.
- Go to chrome://extensions
- Drag and drop the .crx file on chrome://extensions
If it does not work...
- Add the "--enable-easy-off-store-extension-install" flag at the end of the Chromium shortcut and restart the browser. (screenshot)
- Go to chrome://extensions
- Drag and drop the .crx file on chrome://extensions
If it still does not work...
- Unzip the .crx file
- Go to chrome://extensions
- Drag and drop the unzipped folder on the page... or click on Developer mode then Load unpacked extension...
About updates:
- You have to update manually
- You can update when you want! ^^
- If ever a new version sucks, just re-install the previous one
6. Source code
Before all, check the official guide for developers.Official links to easily get or see the full Chromium source code:
- Google Git chromium/src
- The official GitHub mirror of the Chromium source
- Chromium Code Search or chromium/src/ (Old pages: Code search or chromium/src/)
- Source tarballs and its mirror ("-lite" is for building desktop Chromium • Latest stable version: chromium-81.0.4044.92.tar.xz - checksums)
ViewVC(Obsolete since the version 39.0.2132.2, on August 2014)
Interesting info:
- How to build chromium on Windows (by Intel • 2019)
- How to build chromium on macOS (by Intel • 2019)
- How to build chromium for Android (by Intel • 2019)
- How to build chromium for Linux (by Intel • 2019)
- Building Chromium on Windows from source (by Jeremy Sinclair • 2019 • Archive: 1)
- How to compile Chromium with audio/video codecs for Windows (by Nik • 2018 • Archive: ZIP)
- How to build Chromium with proprietary codecs (OS X) (by No encoding • 2018 • Archive: 1)
- Bash script to build and install latest stable Chromium from source on OS X (by Bobo • 2017 • Archive: ZIP)
- [UA] Компіляція браузера Chromium для Ubuntu (x265, HEVC) (by D.Bilous • 2016 • Archive: 1)
- How to compile Chromium for Android (by yashade2001 • 2015 • Archive: ZIP)
- How to compile Chromium for Mac (by sbagmeijer • 2015 • Original site is down!)
- Contributing to Chromium: an illustrated guide (2015 • Archives: 1 or PDF)
Build your own Chromium(Obsolete guide • 2013 • Archive: 1)
7. Older version
Never update your browser with a very old version. It even does not start.To downgrade Chromium installed with the Installer (.exe):
- Open Chromium and check its actual version at chrome://version
- Close Chromium.
- Uninstall Chromium WITHOUT to delete your #user-data-directory. It is an option of its uninstaller. (screenshot)
- Get the Installer (.exe) of an older version (from the → download/ page or Snapshots repository about "official" builds)
- Execute it to install Chromium.
- Open Chromium and check the new installed version at chrome://version
8. Browser crash
You have encountered a browser crash or issue :/Few ways to help you:
- To disable hardware acceleration: chrome://flags/#disable-accelerated-video-decode or chrome://settings → [Advanced] → System
- To disable/enable a browser feature: chrome://flags
- To check for conflicting software: chrome://conflicts
- To disable extensions/add-ons: chrome://extensions (Note the incognito mode disables all extensions by default)
Also you can use #command-line-flags: --disable-gpu, --disable-accelerated-video-decode...
API
This is a free and simple API for developers to update Chromium to the latest good build via a bash (shell) script, a browser extension... Read my #notes. Please, do not use this API to build other websites. To prevent abuse, the site can audit each API request.API details
GET request parameters:
- os → (required) windows or mac or android
- bit → (optional • 64 by default) 64 or 32
- out → (optional • json by default) json or string or xml or revision
Response:
chromium → windows or mac or android →
- architecture → (string) 64-bit or 32-bit
- timestamp → (integer) Unix time of this release built on the Chromium Buildbot server
- editor → (string) The Chromium Authors
- channel → (string) dev
- repository → (string) snapshots
- version → (string) (like xx.x.xxxx.x)
- revision → (integer) Git revision's commit position
- commit → (string) Git revision's commit hash
Examples:
Links
Except the Wikipedia's Chromium page, these links are official and point only to the Google sites.Focused on Chromium:
- Chromium Blog
- Chromium Browser Snapshots
- Chromium Bugs (Issue tracker)
- Chromium Code Reviews
- Chromium Dash
- Chromium Development Calendar and Release Info
- Chromium Discussion (on Google Groups)
- Chromium Gerrit (Code review)
- Chromium Main Console (Buildbot console)
- Download Chromium (ZIP archives)
- Monorail (The issue tracking tool for chromium-related projects)
- The Chromium Projects (The main Chromium website)
- Wikipedia's Chromium page
Focused on Google Chrome:
- Chrome Platform Status
- Chrome Release Channels
- Chrome Web Store (Extensions and themes 100% compatible with Chromium)
- Google Chrome help (100% compatible with Chromium)
- Planet Chromium
- Release updates from the Google Chrome team (Google blog)
Browsers
1. Chromium forks
In simple words, a fork of Chromium means Chromium engine is used to create another web browser.Proprietary browsers:
(developed by official contributors of the Chromium #project)
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Opera (by Otello Corporation • Golden Brick Capital/Qihoo 360)
- Vivaldi (Chromium's modified code is still open source)
- Yandex Browser (by Yandex)
I do not recommend:
- 360 Secure Browser (Proprietary)
- Comodo Dragon (Proprietary • Famous company but its Chromium is ever outdated compared to the #stable-chromium-version)
- Epic (Proprietary • Reviews)
- SRWare Iron (Proprietary • Versioning system is not clear: no source code of the latest version available since 2011 - Archive: 1)
- or other proprietary browser with "better privacy" than Google Chrome.
Why not recommended?
Because all of these browsers are closed-source, outdated, based on Chromium like Google Chrome... and most of the features they remove don't even exist in Chromium, in the first place. Control your personal info and #privacy yourself ^^
Colin (InsanityBit) explains this very well at "SRWare Iron Browser – A private alternative to Chrome?" (2012 • Archives: 1, 2)
Note if a new browser with "better privacy" than Google Chrome is based on Chromium and is fully open-source, it should be ok for me. But... Google is famous. Its privacy policy and marketing strategy are well known. So you have to ask you some questions. Do you trust in an unknown team more than Google? Is an outdated Chromium fork?
- Google engineer finds holes in three 'secure' browsers (2016 • Archive: 1)
- Google calls out Comodo's Chromodo Chrome-knockoff as insecure crapware (2016 • Archive: 1)
- Google warns! (2015 • Archive: 1)
Few free and open-source Chromium forks
- Brave (Block website trackers and remove intrusive internet advertisements • code differences with Chromium )
- Bromite (Patches for Chromium with adblocking features and enhanced privacy)
- Iridium (tarball, git, github, code differences with Chromium • Reviews)
- ungoogled-chromium (A set of patches for removing Google integration • Reviews 1, Reviews 2)
Advanced Chrome(Based on a development version • Often outdated browser)Aviator(Discontinued project since 2016 • Reviews)Inox(A set of patches applied on the Arch Linux chromium package • Arch Linux website)Superbird(Based on a development version • No source code since 2016 - Archive: 1)
2. Other open-source browsers
- Dooble
- Falkon (Formerly QupZilla • Chromium-based)
- Firefox (Firefox-based)
- Librefox (Firefox-based)
- Midori
- NetSurf (Works on any OS)
- Otter Browser
- Pale Moon (Firefox-based)
- qutebrowser (A minimalist browser)
- Tor Browser (Firefox-based using Tor, an anonymity network)
- Waterfox (Firefox-based)
- and other open-source browsers.
Privacy
For a better privacy protection, use open-source #browsers like Chromium, Firefox and even Tor browser. Do not forget: It is open-source does not mean it is secure and respects user privacy. Moreover, security ≠ privacy. If your browser is fully "open-source", it means that somebody with the capability can review the #source-code. It is easier for developers to find malicious code with versioning tools like SVN or Git. (Ex: Chromium downloads a Chrome extension as a binary without source code → corrected 7 days after the report). Only an open-source code allows such defense. This is better for secure browsing and user privacy. The security of Chromium is very solid. While I recommend Firefox as the most reliable browser for privacy enthusiasts in a standard web browsing (cf. about:config settings, containers system, better content-filtering, easier way to stop browser automatic connections), Chromium is probably a reasonable alternative for everyday web browsing.My way (but do as you like ^^):
- Modify your #hosts-file to stop "natively" domains who serve ads, spyware and malware
- Use a VPN with strong encryption for your whole OS or router to bypass many restrictions on Internet (It is better than browser VPN/proxy #extensions)
- Use an up-to-date web browser
- Change few #browser-settings
- Install few #extensions
The anonymization solutions are especially necessary for the exercise of freedoms (ex: for journalist, political opponent in certain countries, researcher, whistleblower...). These solutions are obviously very used by hackers too. Personally, I think most people cannot be anonymous on the Web even using a VPN, proxy or TOR network. It is a myth that you cannot be tracked online. If you exist, you are findable, especially if you use multiple devices and websites. There are a lot of technologies to identify a user and get its data. Check the #guides and #tests for more information.
But it is possible to be really anonymous on the Web if your respect all security rules. The book "The Art of Invisibility" written in 2017 by Kevin D. Mitnick will convince you. In a few words, do not trust proprietary software/services, third-party VPN service providers (VPN Leaks, VPN hacked...) and the cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin). So buy a new computer (like a used computer) with cash, from an unknown person. Install Tails. Change the MAC address. Connect to a public WiFi connection. Then never login to a site/service for which you are already known. SearX and .onion addresses are welcome. Here we go!
But it is possible to be really anonymous on the Web if your respect all security rules. The book "The Art of Invisibility" written in 2017 by Kevin D. Mitnick will convince you. In a few words, do not trust proprietary software/services, third-party VPN service providers (VPN Leaks, VPN hacked...) and the cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin). So buy a new computer (like a used computer) with cash, from an unknown person. Install Tails. Change the MAC address. Connect to a public WiFi connection. Then never login to a site/service for which you are already known. SearX and .onion addresses are welcome. Here we go!
Do you know...
Sure you can protect your privacy against tracking and profiling tools but it is really painful because these tracking tools are everywhere today: on Internet (website, app...), at home (computer, phone, router, smart TV, smart home speaker, smart bulb, smart grid...), in your car (GPS system, connected car...), in the street (video surveillance camera...), at your ISP and elsewhere. You can find them in firmware (hardware) and software (operating system, app, website, extension...).
Do you know in all computers (excepted RISC-V) there is an exploit-friendly firmware that user has no access?
Ex: in Intel processors, in AMD processors, in Raspberry Pi (proprietary Broadcom processor).
Do you know know there are probably untrusted certificates on your computer?
Ex: Apple, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla..., Dell..., Google..., Microsoft..., Lenovo..., Surveillance firm...
Do you know it is possible to follow a user behind Tor browser?
Ex: Advanced Tor browser fingerprinting (Archive: 1), Browser Fingerprinting, or with CSS (noscript-tracking.go [Archive: 1], CrookedStyleSheets) or with a zero-day exploit!...
About the "No log" mention of a VPN, do you know the jurisdiction of the country where the VPN server is located has authority on the jurisdiction of the country where the VPN provider is located?
Ex: Choose a VPN provider from Panama and connect to a French VPN server. There are no log in Panama. Ok, but this is not the problem! The VPN server is in France and there will be logs in France. This is the law. [FR] Minimal logs lifetime in France: 360 days. [FR] Minimal logs lifetime in Europe: 14 days.
1. Browser update
The reason for updating to the latest version is security. As security threats are found, they are fixed. Using an old version expose user to a number of security holes and privacy issues. Browsers are far more subject to hacking than other software.2. Browser settings
Adjust all settings and advanced settings in chrome://settings:- Do not log in with a Google account in the browser (screenshot • Do not sync your data!)
- Do not save passwords in the browser (Prefer a free and open-source password manager like Bitwarden, KeePass, LessPass or Password Safe)
- Enable the incognito (or private) mode (Ctrl+Shift+N shortcut • Use a #flag to start Chromium in this mode)
- Disable all options in the "Privacy and security" section (chrome://settings/privacy) because most of them use an external Google service. (Ex: "Safe Browsing" option uses Google Safe Browsing • More info about privacy settings)
- Block third-party cookies (chrome://settings/content/cookies)
- Block the #flash plugin (chrome://settings/content/flash)
- Do not share your location (chrome://settings/content/location)
- Prevent canvas fingerprinting (Use the --disable-reading-from-canvas #flag)
3. Hosts file
Modify your hosts file to prevent your OS from connecting to domains who serve ads, spyware and malware. This will increase your OS security and save bandwidth.- Dan Pollock's list
- hpHosts (A Malwarebytes service)
- Malware Domain List
- MVPS HOSTS
- Peter Lowe's list
- Unified hosts file with base extensions
- No more ads, tracking and other virtual garbage
Note:
- Few #extensions like uBlock Origin can also use these lists in their settings.
- Free and open-source auto-updating Hosts managers: hostsmgr, HostsFileEditor (on Windows), Gas Mask (on macOS)
4. DNS services
By default you are using the DNS servers of your ISP but you do not have to stick with them. Before to choose one, compare DNS performance. Free alternative Internet DNS services for personal use:- Adguard DNS
- Cloudflare DNS resolver (by Cloudflare • 1.1.1.1 for Families)
- Comodo Secure DNS (by Comodo)
- DynDNS (by Dyn)
- Google Public DNS
- Nextdns
- OpenDNS (by Cisco)
- OpenNIC
- Quad9 DNS
- Yandex.DNS (by Yandex • Technical details - IPv4 and IPv6)
Note:
- You can also use a DNS over HTTPS client (screenshot of Firefox 62+). Check Publicly available servers.
- You can also use a DNSCrypt client (Ex: Encrypt your DNS traffic with Simple DNSCrypt for Windows)
- You can also use your own DNS resolver with Unbound or other software.
5. Web search engines
Note: Few #extensions exist to protect user privacy on search engines.Search engines
Search engines index the content of web pages by running an algorithm on a web crawler.Metasearch engine
Metasearch engines use another search engine's data to produce its own results from the Internet.- Disconnect Search (by Disconnect.me • Uses Bing, Yahoo... results)
- DuckDuckGo (uses its own crawler + Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Wikipedia... results, on Amazon servers (AWS) • Review at an 8ch page archive • To search without JS, choose the html or lite version)
- Ecosia (uses Bing results)
- Givero (uses Bing results • Review at Hacker News)
- Oscobo
- Private.sh (by Private Internet Access • Uses Gigablast results)
- Qwant (uses its own crawler but is partner with Microsoft for Bing results, Bing Ads and Microsoft Azure • Its lite version)
- Startpage (uses Google results • Owned by System1, an advertising company)
- Swisscows (uses its own crawler + Bing results with enabled parental filter)
- YaCy (A peer-to-peer search engine)
If you are a web developer, use your own metasearch engine yourself ^^
- Searx (uses many search engines • Source code in Python • Author: Adam Tauber, @Searx_engine • Searx instances)
- MetaGer (uses Yahoo... results • Source code in PHP)
- Googol (uses Google results • Source code in PHP • Author: Bronco)
6. Extensions
Note: Extensions hosted on Chrome Web Store are updated via the Chrome update mechanism (cf. Chromium source code) which developers and users do not control. For a manual installation, read the #external-extension-installation part.Priority to open-source (no code obfuscation) extensions for Chromium and Firefox:
Block ads, trackers, scripts and popups
uBlock Origin + uBO-Extra- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: uMatrix, Privacy Badger, ScriptSafe, Nano Adblocker, Adblock Plus, AdBlock, Disconnect, Ghostery, Adguard AdBlocker, Fair AdBlocker, Stealth Mode, Forget Me Not, NoScript
- Info: uBlock Origin (wiki) is pattern-based filtering, while uMatrix (wiki) is matrix-based filtering which gives you more control over the filtering process. You can add filters to your ad-blocker via FilterLists (an open-source website)
- My advice: By default, block third-party scripts and frames (uBlock Origin screenshot). Also, about Adblock Plus or AdBlock, disable "Acceptable Ads" option (Adblock Plus screenshot).
Force to use secure connection of websites (https://)
HTTPS Everywhere- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: Smart HTTPS, KB SSL Enforcer, HTTPZ
Stop link redirection in Google, DuckDuckGo and Yandex search pages
Google search link fix- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: Don't track me Google, Google Redirects Fixer & Tracking Remover, Redirect Bypasser
Control the HTTP Referer on a per-site basis
Referer Control- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: Smart Referer, Web Developer
- Info on wikipedia
Prevent canvas fingerprint
Canvas Defender- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: CanvasBlocker, Canvas Fingerprint Defender, CanvasFingerprintBlock, Chameleon
- Info on wikipedia, browserleaks, ghacks
Emule locally CDN
DecentraleyesPrevent WebRTC IP leak
WebRTC Leak Prevent- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: WebRTC Control,
WebRTC Network Limiter - Info: An extension can only block the leak of your IP address. It does not block WebRTC in the "core" of Chromium. uBlock Origin and ScriptSafe can protect against the WebRTC IP leak. You can do some #tests.
Prevent CSS Exfil attack
CSS Exfil Protection- Download: store, amo
- Info on BleepingComputer, Github and mike-gualtieri.com
Unblock websites with a browser VPN/proxy
Browsec- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: Privatix, anonymoX, HidemanVPN, TunnelloVPN, TouchVPN, Hotspot Shield
- My advice: Prefer to pay for a safe and secure VPN provider protecting your whole OS ; or use a free VPN service without registration. Do not use Hola!, ZenMate or Betternet in their free version. Hola! is a botnet. Betternet shares/sells user data to third-parties. In its free version, ZenMate needs a registration.
Display sites quality
WOT (Web of Trust)- Download: store, amo
- Alternatives: DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials, Terms of Service; Didn’t Read
- My advice for WOT addon: Do not share your data. (WOT settings → Real-time protection → Set to off)
7. Tools
- Firewall
- Freenet
- I2P (Invisible Internet Project)
- Proxy
- VPN (Virtual private network)
- Tor (Anonymity network)
8. Guides
- Technical analysis of client identification mechanisms (Chromium)
- Privacy tools (2020 • Source code)
- PRISM break (2020 • Source code)
- The ultimate online privacy guide (2020 • Archive: 1)
- VPN Guide: Legality, Jurisdictions & Internet Censorship 2020 • Archive: 1)
- Privacy Respecting (2019)
- Who left open the cookie jar? (2018 • Archives: 1, PDF)
- Online tracking: A 1-million-site measurement and analysis (2017 • Archives: 1 and PDF)
- DNS Leaks (Causes & fixes) (2017 • Archive: 1)
- Privacy and security aspects of the ultrasound ecosystem (2017 • Archive: 1)
- Are VPN providers more trustworthy than your ISP? (2016 • Archive: 1)
- Don't use VPN services (2015 • Archive: 1 • Note I disagree with that but it offers an interesting reflection!)
- Internet privacy (Wikipedia)
- Chromium privacy
9. Tests
Reputable and reliable sites to show or prevent user data tracking:- Am I Unique (Device fingerprinting)
- AudioContext fingerprint test page
- Browser Leaks (WebRTC IP leak, System fonts, HTML5 Canvas fingerprinting...)
- BrowserSpy (It shows how much information can be retrieved from web browser)
- Browsing experience security check (Secure DNS, DNSSEC, TLS 1.3, Encrypted SNI)
- Device Info (Web browser security/privacy testing)
- Do I leak? (IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks)
- DNS leak test
- EFF Panopticlick (Device fingerprinting)
- Evercookie (Persistent cookies)
- IP Leak (IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks)
- IP Leak privacy test (IP address, DNS, WebRTC...)
- JonDonym (Approach to solving much of the problem of anonymity and access)
- Privacy Online Test And Resource Compendium
- Permission.site (To test the interaction of web APIs and browser permissions)
- STUN IP Address requests for WebRTC
- TorZillaPrint new (Only for Firefox and Tor Browser. Advanced scripts showing that you are unique on the Web even behind Tor, VPN...)
- Webpage tracking only using CSS (and no JS)
Malware
Your antivirus has detected a malicious software in Chromium files.False positive?
You have downloaded Chromium from a reliable source (#notes) and maybe also used open-source #updaters. In this case, it is surely a false positive. The detection is generic (heuristic). There is absolutely no backdoor or other malware inside Chromium. Remember that the full #source-code is available. You will get a similar result if you compile Chromium yourself.Note a specific thing about Chromium browser:
- Chromium has no digital signature (unlike Google Chrome). It is not signed because is open source and not "owned" per se by any one particular developer or organization. Moreover, a certificate is not free for developers (Example, Apple Developer Program).
- Antivirus use generic detection and database of malware signatures.
- VirusTotal which aggregates many antivirus is a Google service using its Trusted Source project to limit false positives for software like Google Chrome (because it is digitally signed), not for Chromium.
- So, unsigned Chromium + any antivirus or VirusTotal service = More chance to get an antivirus alert.
False positive reports known for few years ago:
- Chromium 32bit download has a virus? (2018 • Avast antivirus • Archive: 1)
- IDP.Generic reported for chromium executable (2018 • Avast antivirus • Archive: 1)
- False positive on Chromium executable (2016 • Avast antivirus • Archive: 1)
- False positive with Chromium (2015 • Panda Internet Security • Archive: 1)
- False Positive on latest Chromium Nightly? (2014 • Avast antivirus • Archive: 1)
- AntiVirus detected Malware while syncing using gclient (2014 • Chromium Issue Tracker • Archive: 1)
- pepflashplayer.dll tagged as malware and removed by F-Secure (2012 • Chromium Issue Tracker • Archive: 1)
- Kaspersky detects Chrome as Trojan (2010 • Chromium Issue Tracker • Archive: 1)
- Avast! Anti-Virus reports Google Chrome as Trojan (2008 • Chromium Issue Tracker • Archive: 1)
Authentic malware?
Yes. Obviously, it is also possible.- The common entry methods for Chromium virus are freeware downloads as bundled software (bundleware) and spam e-mails. It means Chromium has been silently installed via another software. Do not forget Chromium is free and open-source. So malware writers use Chromium to push malicious code on to your system. Remove this "fake" or suspicious Chromium web browser (like BeagleBrowser, BoBrowser, BrowserAir, Chedot, eFast Browser, Fusion Browser, Mustang Browser, MyBrowser, Olcinium Browser, Palikan, Qword Browser, Torch, Tortuga Browser...).
- The other way is about a compromised Chromium repository on a reliable source (#notes).
Check files on your OS
Free tools to scan your system:- Anti-malware: AdwCleaner and Malwarebytes (by Malwarebytes), Norton Power Eraser (by Symantec), Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool (by Kaspersky)
- Anti-virus: Kaspersky, Bitdefender, Avira, Avast, ClamAV... (Independent tests: av-test.org, av-comparatives.org)
- Anti-ransomware: No More Ransom!
Free online services (without registration) to check your file:
- Jotti
- VirusTotal (by Google • Its lite version)
- MetaDefender (by OPSWAT)
- virSCAN
- Hybrid Analysis (by Payload Security)
If you find an issue:
- Contact your anti-virus or anti-malware support
- Report it on the official Chromium supports. For links, see my #comment-1 below.
Chromium updaters
To update Chromium automatically.As always, never install a closed-source software especially if you have never heard it before! GitHub and its Gist service are good places to find good stuff. So, try these free and open-source Chromium updaters:
Updaters on Windows
- Chromium Update Notifications (by Christian Mund • 2020 • Browser extension)
- chrlauncher (by Henry++ • 2020 • C)
- Chocolatey (by Chocolatey team • 2020 • In command-line)
- Simple Chromium Updater (chrupd.cmd) (by mkorthof • 2020 • Batchfile)
- ungoogled-updater (by NeverDecaf • 2020 • Python)
- chromium for windows installer (by Lusito • 2019 • Javascript)
- ChromiumUpdathe (by Hristo Bogdanov • 2018 • C#)
- cr-updater (by pwlin • 2018 • Batchfile, PHP)
- Chromium_Updater (by Programming4life • 2018 • Rust)
- A web installer for Chromium (by LonelyCannibal • 2017 • AutoIt • Archive: ZIP)
- ChrUpdWin.cmd (by Michael Kharitonov • 2016 • Batchfile)
- Chromium Downloader (by stsy • 2016 • C#)
Updaters on macOS
- Chromium Update Notifications (by Christian Mund • 2020 • Browser extension)
- Homebrew Tap for the Marmaduke Chromium builds (by Charl P. Botha, then Matthew Salazar • 2020 • Ruby)
- Chromium Updater (by the FreeSMUG team • 2020 • Chrome Web Store • Archive: ZIP)
- chromium-updater-mac (by wangxufire • 2018 • Python)
- chromium-downloader-script (by Matteo Loporchio • 2017 • Shell)
- chromium-downloader (by Matteo Loporchio • 2017 • C)
- update_chromium_osx (by Klemens Gordon • 2016 • Shell)
- chromium-on-mac (by NicoLargo • 2015 • Shell)
Updaters on Android
- Chromium Auto Updater [Root] (by Federico Dossena • 2019 • Java)
- getChromium (by Andrew Wright • 2018 • Java)
Discontinued updaters
Chromium Updater (crupdater)(by Muhammer Ayes aka Zychopat • 2016 • Batchfile, AutoIt)chromium-nightly-updater(by Vikrant Chaudhary • 2016 • Java)Chromium updater script for OS X(by Alan Grosskurth • 2016 • Shell)Chromium-Download-Manager(by xinhugo • 2015 • Batchfile)chromium-update(by William Alexander • 2015 • PowerShell)Chromium Upgrader for Mac OS X(by mozamimy • 2015 • Shell)Chromium Updater(by Daniel Huhn • 2014 • Javascript)Chromatic(by Mr Gecko • 2014 • App • Source code)extension.chromium-updater(by Jackson Tan aka Hallbin • 2014 • Javascript, CSS)Chromium-updater(by Das Schwert • 2010 • AutoIt)chromium updater.py(by Curt Micol aka asenchi • 2009 • Python)
Thanks a lot for all developers!
I do not support these tools. Please, contact the developers for thanks, issue, help...
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5738 comments
Quick access: #read the latest commentNow, you can post anonymously remarks and suggestions about this site. Do not hesitate! ;)
Please, DO NOT report bugs by a review. Use the official issue tracker or chromium-discuss/dev topics:
• https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/list
• https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!forum/chromium-discuss
• https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/forum/#!forum/chromium-dev
Also, I prefer direct links. You are not on Twitter ;)
Thank you for your attention!
30 latest comments
If it works it will be pretty awesome, on the other hand I don't know if there are any platform-specific files in the profile folder. Furthermore, I don't know if all files are fully compatible between different builds; depending on the respective repositories used, the installed versions might not always be exactly the same, but at least more or less the same...
Hi. Here we go again , if you can update Ungoogled for Android like Bromite to 81.0.4044.83 . When you have time.
Thank you. :)
Thankxxx... for the quick update 32 and 64bit.
catalina 10.15.4 and xcode 11.4, how did you manage that?
I've read this :"using an hacking method to bypass Secure Preferences". https://www.adlice.com/google-chrome-secure-preferences/ but didn't understand anything. They say they've created a script but there is no link or anything. Is there any way to transfer data without using cloud syncing?
ungoogled-chromium can be configured with command-line switches to disable profile encryption to facilitate portability. Beware that this includes cookies and passwords. I'm not sure if it can strip existing profiles of the encryption -- I haven't tried -- so you may need to create a new profile anyways. I also don't think there are any less-customized Chromium projects that provide this option.
These are back to the current Windows SDK shipped with VS2019. v16.5.2 appears to have resolved the previous SDK issue.
Thank you for the update 32 and 64 bit
https://github.com/RobRich999/Chromium_Clang/releases/tag/v83.0.4102.0-r755616-win64-avx2
Maybe a percent or few by enabling AVX2 depending upon the specific workload. Media codecs, cryptography, and similar ideally should benefit at least a little. I also enable the compiler to use fused-multiply adds (FMA3) when possible regardless of source programming pragmas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FMA_instruction_set
Next up hopefully is getting PGO added to the mix. I already have it working in AVX test builds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profile-guided_optimization
@Jerry My AVX2 builds should be stable enough and routinely updated enough to add to the listings if desired. AVX2 builds require Intel Haswell or later processors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture)
I use Windows 10 Pro. Since version 83.0.4091.0, the colors of the youtube videos (for example) are not synchronized. Images are "torn".
This problem does not occur with versions of Marmaduke. However, it's perfect on Windows 10 family.
I don't understand.
Thank you for your job.
I suppose you could be a field trial for something breaking locally. Take a look at these flags and try some changes:
chrome://flags/#enable-skia-renderer
chrome://flags/#forced-colors
chrome://flags/#force-color-profile
chrome://flags/#color-provider-redirection
Start with disabling the Skia renderer, which was recently enabled.
Also make sure you have the latest graphics driver for your GPU installed
Thanks for these advices.
I use Windows 10 1909 professional version...
You made me discover the chromium commands, I am confused by Firefox ...
So I changed the parameters indicated one by one, but no improvement on the videos.
As I suspected my Windows 10 pro, I redid an installation starting from scratch.
Regarding the graphics driver, I used the latest version available but not WHQL (2016 driver). I have changed for the most recent WHQL version (2015 driver), but still the same problem.
I still do not understand...
Stop using snap and come bak to standard DEB packages/
PLEASE!
Hi. Does anyone know what the input setting for this flag is?
I'm trying to disable autoplay in YouTube and any other sites.
Thanks.
- subresource_filter_tool.exe
- subresource_indexing_tool.exe
- ruleset_converter.exe
subresource_filter_tools.7z
https://github.com/macchrome/winchrome/releases/download/v80.0.3987.163-r722274-Win64/subresource_filter_tools.7z
SHA1 40D264FF5753421979CFDBE70756978A02569690
BTW, with a dated GPU, you might find D3D9 to be more compatible than D3D11 in some situations.
chrome://flags/#use-angle
https://github.com/RobRich999/Chromium_Misc/releases/tag/v83.0.4103.0-r755690-win64-pgo
Thank you for all your work.
And all your Update
:)
No personal endorsement here, but the following extension does seem to work okay for YouTube. Make sure disable autoplay and disable preloading are both checked. It appears to do basically the same thing as "Document User Activation Required" did with the old auto-play browser flag.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/disable-html5-autoplay-re/cafckninonjkogajnihihlnnimmkndgf
First of all, thank you for your attention and advice.
I tested your 2 versions AVX2 and SSE2 compatible with my AMD Radeon HD 6670 video card.
The DLLs D3D9 and D3D11 being present in Windows and now that I have become a pro of the Chromium settings :-), I chose D3D9 among the possibilities of "# use-angle".
And the miracle happened !!!
Perfect video, you are a great chef ...
However, I wonder why this difference in operation with the versions offered by Marmaduke ...
In any case, a big thank you from France.
https://textslashplain.com/2017/10/18/chrome-field-trials/
----------------
FYI for anyone running older builds:
https://m.slashdot.org/story/369258
https://m.slashdot.org/story/369258
----------------
@Bersyl91 You can grab Chromium from Debian as a deb if desired. I like gdebi for installing single deb packages.
https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=chromium
https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=gdebi
Unless something has changed in recent times, Chromium from the Debian repository should run on Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, and similar.
Clang and LTO codegen at -03. LTO instruction import at 100. Profile-guided optimization using project-provided AFDO profile.
Chromium 84.0.4106.0 (Official Build) unstable (Linux 64-bit) - No Sync | WebRTC Enabled | No Widevine
Revision cba610b17c5d84dbb4b134baf7c654c7804956f3-refs/heads/master@{#756537}
Compiler clang (+lld_linker +thinlto +pgo/afdo +sse2 +compiler_optimizations +linker_optimizations)
https://github.com/RobRich999/Chromium_Misc/releases/tag/v84.0.4106.0-r756537-linux64-deb
Supporting an extension system will make the browser more complex with more things that can go wrong. When people want a custom experience, there's an app for everything in a single store. Other browsers don't have the incentive to reinforce the app store. They support extensions to build identity and serve the minority of users that must have extensions.
Might be, but even though Chromium might be a bit faster than Firefox (while the difference might be less relevant on mobile), Firefox with uBlock Origin + I don't care about cookies + clear all data on exit (included function) is so much superior to anything other Android browser offer. Additionally, it is somehow interesting that Kiwi integrated extension support as it is also running on Chromium while the latter does not support it directly.
This is not entirely accurate because Chromium depends on the UnRAR which does not carry a FSF- or OSI-approved license.
The UnRAR code is "open", but the license is proprietary. See "third_party/unrar/LICENSE" in the Chromium tarball.