These web browsers suck up all your data; Chrome and Safari are the worst
A newreport from cybersecurity firm Surfshark has raised red flags about the privacypractices of the world’s most popular mobile web browsers. The study revealsthat Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari—together accounting for 90% of globalmobile browser downloads—are also the most aggressive when it comes tocollecting user data.
Analysingstatistics sourced from AppMagic, Surfshark found that Google Chrome alonecollects 20 different types of data, making it the most invasive browserstudied. The data it gathers includes contact information, location, browsinghistory, and user-generated content. Uniquely, Chrome is also the only browserthat collects sensitive financial information such as payment methods, cardnumbers, and bank account details.
Surfsharkclarified that some of this financial data collection may be due to usersopting in for convenience features like auto-filling payment information. FollowingChrome, Microsoft’s Bing ranked second in data collection, gathering 12 typesof data. Pi Browser came in third with nine, while Safari and Firefox were tiedin fourth place, collecting eight data types each.
On theopposite end of the spectrum, Brave and Tor emerged as the mostprivacy-respecting browsers. Brave collects only minimal identifiers and usagedata, while Tor stands out by not collecting any user data at all. Thereport also highlighted that Pi Browser, Edge, and Bing collect the mosttracking data—information often sold to advertisers for targeted marketing. PiBrowser was particularly concerning, logging everything from browsing history andsearch terms to device IDs and ad engagement metrics.
In theU.S., Safari dominates mobile browser usage with a 50% share, while Chromefollows at 43%. The U.K. reflects similar trends. For usersconcerned about online privacy, Surfshark recommends switching to more securebrowsers and using VPNs to minimize data tracking while browsing.