Can Privacy-Forward, Community-Built ‘Zen Browser’ Compete with Chrome? 

Alternative Chrome browser “Zen”, based on Firefox is offering a clean, private, and open-source experience.

2025 has been filled with exciting tech advances, and the cherry on top is the new alternative Chrome browser “Zen”, based on Firefox and hosted on GitHub, for a clean, private, and open-source experience. 

What makes Zen different? Users are searching for solutions that value privacy and simplicity, and while chrome is the standard for the majority, Zen browser performance is fulfilling people’s needs. 

Is Private Browsing Really Private? 

From the very first release, Zen stands out, mainly due to its graphics- intensive and user-centric installation process, where you can choose from themes, background effects, and import data from your old browser. 

But the most notable difference is in the Zen browser privacy features, built into its foundation and not provided as add-ons.  

Unlike most web browsers, like Google’s Chrome, Zen uses a vertical sidebar tab, offering smoother browsing. It’s a big step from the traditional Chrome or Firefox edge towards giving users what Zen terms as a “calmer internet.” 

Zen also comes with productivity-boosting features, where users can create workspaces with custom layouts to meet the needs of tasks. On Zen browser you can open tabs side by side through its Split View – rare functionality even among popular browsers. 

If you’re wondering how to unlock private browsing, Zen unlocks more than a new window. It’s a part of an overall design to provide users with more control, not just the illusion of being private

Some users admit that Zen is a privacy shield browser, because of its transparency about funding and its open-source model. Zen doesn’t rely on ads or data collection, and that’s becoming more important in a world where data mining should be disable in private browsing by default. 

How to Install Zen Browser? 

Even though Zen is new, its easy-to-install approach makes it convenient, but for now, it’s desktop-only. There’s no mobile app yet, so if you’re looking for the best privacy browser for iOS, this isn’t quite there yet. 

Yet, it is known to be a competitive alternative to Chrome browser for desktops. It doesn’t use the usual Chromium engine, which powers most other browsers, including Chrome, Brave, and Edge. Instead, it runs on Mozilla’s Gecko engine known for speed, stability, and user privacy. 

To get started, visit Zen’s GitHub page and download the version for your system. Installation takes just a few minutes. And because it’s a lightweight web browser, it runs smoothly even on older machines. Zen alternative Chrome browser has been compared to Arc Browser for its visual design and customization.  

However, while Arc’s development has slowed, Zen browser performance continues to improve due to its active community and open-source contributors.  

Therefore, in a market dominated by one tech giant for years, Zen came as a refreshing alternative browser to Google Chrome, proving that privacy, control, and a sleek design matter to users, urging them to change their web browser and see how different browsing can feel. 


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