There is too much tracking happening on the web and it seems like everyone wants to know what you are doing. One way to combat this and be more anonymous is to use a VPN and private browser.

There are alternatives to Chrome on an Android phone and the device may have its own browser. Samsung provides one on its phones, but is it any better at preventing you from being tracked when browsing the web? Probably not.

There are many alternative web browsers and AVG Browser: Fast Browser + VPN & Ad Block is one option. AVG is part of Avast these days and the app looks identical to Avast Secure Browser: Fast VPN + Ad Block. It may be the same app, just different branding. I installed AVG Browser from the Google Play Store.

Less tracking

AVG Browser aims to reduce tracking using several techniques. For example, it sends the Do Not Track indicator to websites. Of course, sites can simply ignore it, so there is more. It can block tracking pixels and other methods that websites and advertisers try to track your online activities across the web. Connections to websites are https wherever possible, so you won't accidentally use an http connection.

There is also a VPN to create an encrypted and private connection to the web so anyone attempting to see where you are located or access other information about you is blocked. A VPN is useful when using public Wi-Fi hotspots, which cannot always be trusted.

The app is free and the VPN is limited to one place. This provides security and privacy, but it is not for people that want to access VPNs in other countries, perhaps to access local content. However, for a small annual fee, you can unlock 30+ VPN servers around the world. I used AVG Browser in free mode. If you want a full VPN service that offers thousands of servers and more features, check out the VPNs here.

Secure Mode

This is the standard mode for browsing the web and it is designed to offer a balance of security and privacy. Adverts and trackers on websites are blocked. Do Not Track is on. Secure DNS is used and https wherever possible. The default search is OneSearch. The VPN is optional can it can be on or off as you prefer.

Secure & Private Mode

This is where all security and privacy options are turned up to the max. In addition to everything in Standard Mode, all your browsing data and history are deleted when the browser is quit. It is basically incognito mode (this is a Chrome based browser). The VPN is always on in this mode.

Custom Mode

This enables you to customize the privacy and security settings. For example, you can choose whether the VPN is on or off, whether to block or allow adverts, and whether to keep or clear your browsing data on exit.

There are several DNS options like Cloudflare, Tenta Secure DNS, Open DNS and others. The default search engine can be selected from around a dozen, including DuckDuckGo, StartPage and OneSearch, which are much more private than Google.

Browser options and features

AVG Browser has all the usual features and tapping a button at the bottom of the screen opens a panel with buttons to view browsing history, open or edit bookmarks, create a new tab, share, refresh and so on.

There are also some unusual features, like Nuke this site. It appears to delete all data associated with the current website. A media vault is used to store downloads and they are organized into categories like images, videos, documents and so on.

The browser interface is unusual and it took a bit of getting used to, but after a while it makes sense and it becomes easy to use. It grew on me. I tried it with some websites that test browser privacy and it got good ratings and scores. I also ran a speed test with the VPN on and it did not slow down at all.

AVG Browser: Fast Browser + VPN & Ad Block (or the Avast version) is a good mobile browser if you are concerned about privacy and security on the web. It works well in free mode and extra features, including 30+ VPN servers and VPN in all apps, not just AVG Browser, are available for a fairly inexpensive annual subscription.