Battle What is your favorite mobile browser in 2026?

[Marko :)]

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.

That's true, different users have different needs. For instance, I barely use any social media and most of my phone usage is through the web browser.

Chrome paired with DNS blocking is more battery-friendly than Brave.

I tested this on my Poco X5 Pro. I used Chrome with DNS for a week and then Brave with DNS for a week—battery noticeably lasted longer with Brave. And you get cosmetic filtering as a bonus. The worst offender regarding ad blocking and battery life was Vivaldi. It sucked battery like a juice even when it wasn't being actively used. I only didn't test Edge because it's basically malware (spyware).

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.

uBOL is without a doubt better than Vivaldi's ad blocker. When I tested Vivaldi for Android, half of ads would simply pass through and none of the cookie notices would be blocked. I searched the web to see if it was me using various filters, but encountered people with same issues. The conclusion was Vivaldi's ad blocker was terrible. I don't know what caused these issues, but their ad blocker isn't half capable of uBO(L) or Brave's ad blocker. My journey with it was short-lived.

 

[rashmi]

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?

On iOS devices, YouTube alternatives are complex and not reliable. It's better to use Brave; create a shortcut for YouTube on the phone's home screen. You can also use Safari with uBOL, but I guess Brave is a better and more effective choice for YouTube ads.

 

[oldschool]

But people usually spend more time on their social media apps than on a browser.
Edge also has AdBlock Plus built in

Vanadium has no extension support but uses built-in Easy Privacy and Easy List and it works pretty well, at least good enough for my usage. I use the browser almost exclusively for access to various web services. I'm probably an exceptional mobile user in that I have a minimalist phone setup while relying primarily on my laptop.

 

[rashmi]

uBOL is without a doubt better than Vivaldi's ad blocker. When I tested Vivaldi for Android, half of ads would simply pass through and none of the cookie notices would be blocked. I searched the web to see if it was me using various filters, but encountered people with same issues. The conclusion was Vivaldi's ad blocker was terrible. I don't know what caused these issues, but their ad blocker isn't half capable of uBO(L) or Brave's ad blocker. My journey with it was short-lived.

I haven't noticed these issues with Vivaldi on Redmi Note 8 and Redmi 8A Dual phones. Yes, Brave's ad blocker is better than Vivaldi's.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Vanadium has no extension support but uses built-in Easy Privacy and Easy List and it works pretty well, at least good enough for my usage. I use the browser almost exclusively for access to various web services. I'm probably an exceptional mobile user in that I have a minimalist phone setup while relying primarily on my laptop.

Same here, in my case I use the phone for calls, texting and misc. puzzle type of games. Other than that, strictly my laptop(s). But when I do use the phone browser once a month LOL, it's with Brave.