Switch Your Browser
The easiest first step. 5 minutes to escape Google's tracking.
Why Your Browser Matters
Your browser is the single most important piece of software on your computer. Every website you visit, every search you make, every form you fill out — it all goes through your browser. If you're using Google Chrome, congratulations: you're running a program made by an advertising company whose entire business model is knowing everything about you.
Chrome isn't free because Google is generous. Chrome is free because you are the product. Every tab you open feeds Google's profile of you. Your browsing history, your bookmarks, your passwords, your autofill data — all of it flows back to Google's servers where it's used to sell ads targeted at you.
The good news? Switching your browser is the single easiest thing on this entire site. Five minutes and you've already built the first section of your tech fence.
Pick Your New Browser
You have three solid options. Pick one and move on — don't overthink it.
Firefox — The Balanced Choice
Mozilla Firefox is the most popular privacy-focused browser. It's open-source, backed by a nonprofit, and has a massive extension library. It's what PewDiePie uses alongside LibreWolf. Firefox works on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It syncs across devices with a Firefox account (encrypted, not sold to advertisers). For most people, this is the right answer.
LibreWolf — Firefox But Stricter
LibreWolf is a fork of Firefox with all telemetry removed and privacy settings cranked to maximum out of the box. No Mozilla telemetry, no Pocket integration, no sponsored shortcuts. It's Firefox for people who don't want to spend 20 minutes tweaking about:config settings. The downside is it doesn't auto-update as smoothly as Firefox, and you lose Firefox Sync by default.
Brave — The Easy Switch from Chrome
Brave is built on Chromium (the same engine as Chrome) so all your Chrome extensions work. It has a built-in ad blocker and tracker blocker. The interface will feel instantly familiar if you're coming from Chrome. The controversy: Brave has its own crypto token (BAT) and opt-in ads. Some privacy purists don't trust it. But it's still a massive upgrade from Chrome.
Step-by-Step Setup
Install Your New Browser
Go to firefox.com, librewolf.net, or brave.com and download the installer. Run it. That's it. Don't uninstall Chrome yet — you'll want it as a fallback for the first week while you adjust.
Import Your Data
When you first launch your new browser, it will offer to import bookmarks, passwords, and history from Chrome. Say yes. This takes about 30 seconds and means you're not starting from scratch. In Firefox, go to Settings → Import Data if you missed the prompt.
Change Your Default Search Engine
Go to your browser settings and change the default search engine from Google to DuckDuckGo. In Firefox: Settings → Search → Default Search Engine → DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo doesn't track your searches, doesn't build a profile on you, and doesn't filter results based on what it thinks you want to see.
If DuckDuckGo's results aren't good enough for a specific query, you can always prefix your search with !g to get Google results through DuckDuckGo (though Google will still see that search). Other bangs: !w for Wikipedia, !yt for YouTube, !r for Reddit.
Install uBlock Origin
This is non-negotiable. uBlock Origin is the best ad and tracker blocker available. It's free, open-source, and blocks ads, trackers, malware domains, and annoyances. Go to your browser's extension store and search for uBlock Origin (not "uBlock" — that's a different, inferior extension).
For Firefox: addons.mozilla.org → search "uBlock Origin" → Add to Firefox.
For Brave: Brave has a built-in blocker, but uBlock Origin is still better. Install it from the
Chrome Web Store.
Important note: Google is actively killing ad blockers in Chrome through Manifest V3. This is one of the biggest reasons to leave Chrome — uBlock Origin will eventually stop working properly there. Firefox has committed to supporting Manifest V2 extensions indefinitely.
Install Unhook for YouTube
This is the extension that PewDiePie highlighted in his "I Fixed YouTube" video. Unhook lets you selectively remove parts of the YouTube interface: the homepage feed, the recommended sidebar, Shorts, trending, comments — whatever you want. The idea is to turn YouTube from a slot machine into a tool you use intentionally.
Search for "Unhook - Remove YouTube Recommended" in your browser's extension store. After installing, open the extension settings and disable: Homepage Feed, Recommended Videos, Shorts, and Trending. You can still search for videos and visit channels directly — you just won't be ambushed by the algorithm anymore.
Consider Extra Privacy Extensions
These are optional but worth considering:
- Privacy Badger (by the EFF) — Learns to block invisible trackers as you browse. Works alongside uBlock Origin without conflicts.
- HTTPS Everywhere — Forces encrypted connections where possible. Note: Firefox now has this built-in (Settings → Privacy → HTTPS-Only Mode), so you may not need the extension.
- SponsorBlock — Auto-skips sponsored segments in YouTube videos. Community-powered and surprisingly accurate. PewDiePie recommends this one.
- ClearURLs — Strips tracking parameters from URLs. When you click a link from Google search results, there's usually a bunch of tracking garbage appended to the URL. This removes it.
Don't go overboard with extensions. Each one you add increases your browser's fingerprint (ironically making you more trackable in some ways). The core three — uBlock Origin, Unhook, and SponsorBlock — are enough for most people.
Set Your New Browser as Default
Make your new browser the system default so every link you click opens in it instead of Chrome. On Windows: Settings → Apps → Default Apps → Web browser. On macOS: System Preferences → General → Default web browser. On Linux, your desktop environment's settings will have this option.
After a week of using your new browser without issues, uninstall Chrome. If you need a Chromium-based browser as a fallback for that one weird site, keep Brave around for that purpose.
What You've Gained
In about five minutes of work, you've accomplished:
- Stopped feeding Google your entire browsing history
- Blocked ads and trackers on every website you visit
- Made your YouTube experience intentional instead of algorithmic
- Started using a search engine that doesn't profile you
- Protected yourself from Manifest V3 killing your ad blocker
This is the foundation. Everything else on this site builds on top of this. You went from "ignorant" to "savior of your own browsing experience" in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee.
Honest Downsides
We're not going to pretend this is all sunshine. Here's what might annoy you:
- Some websites break with strict privacy settings. Banking sites, government portals, and some e-commerce sites may not work properly. You'll occasionally need to disable uBlock Origin for a specific site (click the extension icon → click the power button to whitelist).
- Chrome extensions don't all work in Firefox. If you're switching to Firefox or LibreWolf, some Chrome-only extensions won't be available. Most popular ones have Firefox versions, but niche ones might not. Brave avoids this problem since it's Chromium-based.
- DuckDuckGo results aren't always as good as Google's. For most searches, they're fine. For very specific, localized, or time-sensitive queries, Google is still better. Use the !g bang when you need to.
- You lose Google's password sync ecosystem. If you were relying on Chrome's built-in password manager, you'll need an alternative. We recommend Vaultwarden (covered in the self-hosting guide) or Bitwarden's free cloud tier as a start.
- YouTube without recommendations feels empty at first. You'll open YouTube and see... nothing. That's the point. But it takes a few days to adjust to actually deciding what you want to watch instead of being fed content. Stick with it.