We’re living in times where our information is the new gold. Thus, it is not uncommon for companies to harvest information of users, mainly intended to inundate us with ads.
Apart from companies that want to push ads to us, there are dangerous bad actors out there who would like to serve us malware, potentially locking us out of our devices or making ransom demands. Using a browser that takes note of these behaviors and denies trackers, ad pushers, etc., thus, becomes crucial. This is where the “Hermit” browser by Chimbori comes in.
“Hermit” doesn’t have any ads. However, it does have a premium feature, where one can make a one-time payment of $8.00 or pay $1.99 for a given feature.
The “Hermit” browser isn’t a traditional browser in the true sense of the word. It also integrates the ability to create “Lite Apps” (in other words, create PWAs—Progressive Web Apps which take little to no space on your phone), making it especially vital for phones with limited internal storage.
Description and Features
BETTER THAN NATIVE APPS
- Lite Apps take up almost no space, best for low storage devices
- They don’t run in the background, which saves battery
- User Scripts: Run your own custom extension scripts!
- Content Blocker: Block ads, malware, misinformation, & targeted propaganda. Built-in & customizable: You can pick what to block.
BETTER THAN TRADITIONAL BROWSERS
COMPARE HERMIT WITH TRADITIONAL BROWSERS
- Each Lite App opens in its own permanent window, not a new browser tab each time
- Links clicked in other apps can be opened directly in Hermit Lite Apps
- Settings, permissions, themes & icons are saved separately for each Lite App
- Share links from other Android apps to your Lite Apps
SANDBOXES: MULTIPLE PROFILES / CONTAINERS
Hermit is the only Android browser with Sandboxes: Isolated Containers with Multiple Profiles.
- Sandboxes keep your web browsing isolated in separate containers
- Use multiple accounts, all active at the same time, in the same browser
- Keep work accounts and personal accounts separate
- Ideal for privacy-invasive social sites
- Use permanent Incognito Mode for sites that offer free content to new users
ADVANCED BROWSER FOR POWER USERS
It takes a bit of learning & understanding to use Hermit effectively — We’re here to help!
PRIVACY + NO ADS = PAID PREMIUM
Thanks for supporting the active development of a privacy-friendly app designed for power users like you!
- To continue investing in new features for many years, we charge money for our apps.
- Unlike other browser makers, we are not in the business of selling ads or your personal information.
- No advertisements, no personal data collection, no behavior tracking, no shady SDKs in any of our apps.
- Most features can be used for free!
ADVANCED BROWSER FEATURES
- USER SCRIPTS: Run your own custom extension scripts!
- READER MODE: Article extraction is done on-device to protect your privacy
- DARK MODE: Great for late night reading!
- FAST & PRIVATE: Browse fast by blocking advertisements and other harmful content that slows down your phone.
- MULTI WINDOW: Use two Lite Apps at once on supported devices
- DOUBLE BACK: Ever got stuck because the back button takes you to the same page? Try Hermit’s Double Back feature!
- BACKUP YOUR LITE APPS: Custom backup solution when moving between devices
- CUSTOM USER AGENT: Mobile, Desktop, or any other custom user agent
- ATOM/RSS FEED NOTIFICATIONS: Get notified when a web site publishes new content.
- WEB MONITORS: Monitor any specific part of any web page & notify you when it changes.
UNLIMITED CUSTOMIZATION
No other browser lets you customize so many settings!
- CUSTOM ICONS: Pick any icon for your Lite Apps, or create a custom monogram!
- CUSTOM THEMES: Create your own themes for any site
- TEXT ZOOM CONTROLS: Change and save text zoom settings individually for each Lite App
- DESKTOP MODE: Load desktop sites instead of mobile sites
- FULL SCREEN MODE: Focus on your content, no distractions
- CUSTOMIZABLE CONTENT BLOCKER: Block ads, malware, & misinformation. You pick what to block.
Free or paid:
- Free with in-app purchase
Accessibility and User Comments:
The app is accessible, although, when one taps on “Create Lite Apps” and one is using “Explore by touch,” you may hear “unlabeled button,” which is found in the middle of the phone near the top. This button, is the button that when tapped on, will show you your “created Lite” apps.
For some reason, as you “explore by touch,” it somehow bleeds onto the buttons on the right edge of the phone. You can still get the names of the buttons, but that bleeding from the above unlabeled button is noticeable.
If you’re a swiper, however, you won’t hear the bleeding from the unlabeled button above. The good news here, is that you can label the button.
Last Tested App version and Android version:
App version: 27.0.1, Android15
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