Battle What is your favorite mobile browser in 2026?

[LinuxFan58]

I convinced my wife to switch to:

• Firefox + uBo (Easy Mode) + (DOH) NextDNS - HaGeZi Multi Pro.

This is the perfect setup for her needs.

I ran a week of tests, which were particularly interesting in terms of system-wide Private DNS.

• ControlD-DNS OISD Basic is too permissive
• ControlD DNS - ads & trackers is too restrictive

In the end, we (including me) chose:

1. AdGuard-DNS.

Brave man, respect Sampe-san

My wife tolerance to technology is very low. When something does not work immediately she starts pressing on stuff. When the device can´t stand the barrage of input and stops or shows an error, her most favorite respons is ¨that stupid device is probably designed by a man who has never used himself, the !@#$% bugger". Convincing her to use something different (anything that is not her choice) is a near dead wish (which will be a real threat when the solution proposed would fail to withstand her barrage of near simultaneous inputs).

 

[lokamoka820]

I convinced my wife to switch to:

• Firefox + uBo (Easy Mode) + (DOH) NextDNS - HaGeZi Multi Pro.

This is the perfect setup for her needs.

I ran a week of tests, which were particularly interesting in terms of system-wide Private DNS.

• ControlD-DNS OISD Basic is too permissive
• ControlD DNS - ads & trackers is too restrictive

In the end, we (including me) chose:

1. AdGuard-DNS.

I'm testing the Vivaldi browser once more and was experimenting with adding filters to its built-in ad-blocker. I've read that many people suggest using the "HaGeZi Multi Pro" filter in Vivaldi; what makes it unique? And are there any specific filters you suggest improving it?

 

[rashmi]

I'm testing the Vivaldi browser once more and was experimenting with adding filters to its built-in ad-blocker. I've read that many people suggest using the "HaGeZi Multi Pro" filter in Vivaldi; what makes it unique? And are there any specific filters you suggest improving it?

I prefer Vivaldi on all devices.
On Windows, I use uBlock Origin Light and only enable the "Vivaldi Blocklist" filter in the Vivaldi ad blocker, which blocks annoyances like "Switch to Chrome" on the Chrome Web Store.
On Android and iPad, I use Vivaldi's default filters plus EasyList Cookie, Fanboy, and Peter Lowe. I also use @SeriousHoax's ad-blocking script through GitHub Actions, which includes the Hagezi Multi Pro filter, for Cloudflare Zero Trust DNS.

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

I'm testing the Vivaldi browser once more and was experimenting with adding filters to its built-in ad-blocker. I've read that many people suggest using the "HaGeZi Multi Pro" filter in Vivaldi; what makes it unique? And are there any specific filters you suggest improving it?

Read this Yokoffing configuration for NextDNS:

GitHub - yokoffing/NextDNS-Config: Setup guide for NextDNS, a DoH proxy with advanced capabilities

Obviously, I would recommend using HaGeZi Multi Pro at the DNS level, like this:

Free DNS Servers - Block Ads, Malware, & More | Control D

DOH in Vivaldi:

https://freedns.controld.com/x-hagezi-proplus

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

@lokamoka820

I could recommend the filter lists I added to my wife’s smartphone in uBo.
The Android version of uBo performs less efficiently than the desktop version, so it requires some additional filter lists, especially for blocking consent cookies. Of course, I’m not familiar with how Vivaldi’s built-in ad blocker works:

• uBlock filters – Ads
• uBlock filters – Privacy
• uBlock filters – Quick fixes
• uBlock filters – Unbreak

• AdGuard/uBO – URL Tracking Protection

• EasyList – Cookie Notices
• uBlock filters – Cookie Notices
• AdGuard – Cookie Notices

• EasyPrivacy (minified)
• AdGuard Base filter + EasyList (Optimized)

If the last two filter lists aren't available in Vivaldi, you can subscribe to them here:

FilterLists | Subscriptions for uBlock Origin, Adblock Plus, AdGuard, ...

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

I convinced my wife to switch to:

• Firefox + uBo (Easy Mode) + (DOH) NextDNS - HaGeZi Multi Pro.

This is the perfect setup for her needs.

I ran a week of tests, which were particularly interesting in terms of system-wide Private DNS.

• ControlD-DNS OISD Basic is too permissive
• ControlD DNS - ads & trackers is too restrictive

In the end, we (including me) chose:

1. AdGuard-DNS.

The setup I use:

Firefox + uBo (Hard Mode + 9 TLDs) + (DOH) Next DNS - HaGeZi Multi Ultimate

So compared to my wife, I have more dynamic rules and more rules in my filters.
It’s easy for all users on this forum to manage.

 

[lokamoka820]

On Windows, I use uBlock Origin Light and only enable the "Vivaldi Blocklist" filter in the Vivaldi ad blocker, which blocks annoyances like "Switch to Chrome" on the Chrome Web Store.

I haven't installed an ad blocker (yet), and I'm trying to rely as much as possible on the browser's built-in ad blocker. I use the default filters, but I've disabled the "Allow ads from our partners" option and replaced "EasyList" with "AdGurad Base Filter." Everything is working perfectly, and there are no ads so far, even on those annoying intrusive ads sites.

 

[TuxTalk]

Safari with Adblock pro.

 

[Marko :)]

System-wide Control D Hagezi Pro Plus + Brave for me.
Control D blocks everything it can on network-level; leftovers and cosmetic filtering is job for Brave.

I use this and it works really well which is why I set up same configuration on my parent's devices (they only use their phones). So far no complaints.

P.S. in order to increase efficiency, I also added Hagezi's Most Abused TLDs in Brave. Great protection from scams.

 

[lokamoka820]

Speaking of parents and their mobile devices, my parents primarily use YouTube and are annoyed by the ads. Is there a way to stop YouTube ads on iOS devices, or an ad-free YouTube alternative?

 

[Halp2001]

On Android, Brave has worked really well for me: it blocks ads and trackers without extra setup, loads pages faster, and saves battery and data. It also includes useful features like the Shred button to clear traces when closing tabs, background playback on YouTube, and the ability to block annoying video ads. With a few basic privacy tweaks (blocking third‑party cookies, strict HTTPS, secure DNS), it becomes a lightweight and reliable browser for everyday use.

 

[rashmi]

I haven't installed an ad blocker (yet), and I'm trying to rely as much as possible on the browser's built-in ad blocker. I use the default filters, but I've disabled the "Allow ads from our partners" option and replaced "EasyList" with "AdGurad Base Filter." Everything is working perfectly, and there are no ads so far, even on those annoying intrusive ads sites.

Vivaldi doesn't support all AdGuard Base Filter rules, but the AdGuard filter is more effective than EasyList. Overall, Vivaldi's ad-blocking feature is effective; however, you may encounter messages asking you to "disable your ad blocker" on certain websites.

 

[lokamoka820]

Vivaldi doesn't support all AdGuard Base Filter rules, but the AdGuard filter is more effective than EasyList. Overall, Vivaldi's ad-blocking feature is effective; however, you may encounter messages asking you to "disable your ad blocker" on certain websites.

I was thinking about this yesterday, why don't we disable the filters shared in uBO Light (like EasyList) instead of disabling them in the ad blocker in Vivaldi? Why? Because uBO Light's lists are updated only when the extension is updated (often weekly), while Vivaldi's built-in filters are updated when they are available.

 

[Marko :)]

Speaking of parents and their mobile devices, my parents primarily use YouTube and are annoyed by the ads. Is there a way to stop YouTube ads on iOS devices, or an ad-free YouTube alternative?

Yes, there is, but it's more complicated to set up than on Android. FMHY lists few alternative YouTube apps, but you could also install them Brave and say they can watch videos through the web browser.

 

[oldschool]

On Android, Brave has worked really well for me: it blocks ads and trackers without extra setup, loads pages faster, and saves battery and data. It also includes useful features like the Shred button to clear traces when closing tabs, background playback on YouTube, and the ability to block annoying video ads. With a few basic privacy tweaks (blocking third‑party cookies, strict HTTPS, secure DNS), it becomes a lightweight and reliable browser for everyday use.

On GOS it's probably the most favored 3rd party browsers for those not using Vanadium. Firefox isn't recommended by GOS developers.

 

[Halp2001]

On GOS it's probably the most favored 3rd party browsers for those not using Vanadium. Firefox isn't recommended by GOS developers.

Thanks for the insight, @oldschool! I don't use GOS myself (I'm on stock Android), so I wasn't aware of that, but it definitely reinforces the point. I previously tried using Firefox on mobile, but some extensions gave me issues. In the end, I switched to Brave for simplicity: it might not support extensions, but with its built-in Shields and a few privacy tweaks, it's more than enough for my daily use.

 

[SeriousHoax]

My mobile browser is dictated by which browser I use on my PC.
So I have been using Microsoft Edge + AdGuard for Android for a few years now.

Soon after this comment of mine, I actually got rid of AdGuard for Android and only using Microsoft Edge with AdGuard Adblocker and Violentmonkey extensions. So, because of the ability to use extensions, Edge on Android might be the most useful browser at the moment. Brave doesn't have extensions (or a userscript manager) and Firefox is slow.
I do see some ads on two of my sports score checking apps due to not using AdGuard for Android but they're not unusable as some other ads are blocked by my DNS.

 

[Marko :)]

Soon after this comment of mine, I actually got rid of AdGuard for Android and only using Microsoft Edge with AdGuard Adblocker and Violentmonkey extensions. So, because of the ability to use extensions, Edge on Android might be the most useful browser at the moment. Brave doesn't have extensions (or a userscript manager) and Firefox is slow.
I do see some ads on two of my sports score checking apps due to not using AdGuard for Android but they're not unusable as some other ads are blocked by my DNS.

Just keep in mind these extensions are designed for desktop versions of browsers and not for phones. That means your phone battery might drain more due to phone using more CPU for filtering.

That's why preferred method for ad blocking on devices is DNS + ad blocker with cosmetic filtering.

 

[SeriousHoax]

Just keep in mind these extensions are designed for desktop versions of browsers and not for phones. That means your phone battery might drain more due to phone using more CPU for filtering.

That's why preferred method for ad blocking on devices is DNS + ad blocker with cosmetic filtering.

Yeah, that is possible. Overall impact depends on how many hours a day someone uses their mobile browser. It also depends on the website. Something like chatgpt(.)com attempts a request every few seconds which is blocked by the AdGuard Tracking filter. So it should consume more power there.
But people usually spend more time on their social media apps than on a browser.
Edge also has AdBlock Plus built in, which is designed to be used on mobile and it could be enough for many people for basic adblocking with cosmetic filtering. Different people have different needs. Most of my friends for example won't use anything but Chrome; no matter how many ads they see. So I just set up DNS blocking on their phone.
Also, Chrome paired with DNS blocking is more battery-friendly than Brave.

 

[rashmi]

I was thinking about this yesterday, why don't we disable the filters shared in uBO Light (like EasyList) instead of disabling them in the ad blocker in Vivaldi? Why? Because uBO Light's lists are updated only when the extension is updated (often weekly), while Vivaldi's built-in filters are updated when they are available.

I believe uBOL is more efficient and blocks more effectively than Vivaldi; for instance, I sometimes see a new tab or page with ads or spam that opens, which Vivaldi blocks by showing that its filter has blocked it, whereas uBOL prevents the new tab or page from opening at all.