Lightning Browser - Web Browse

Anthony Restaino

About this app

Lightning is a simple, fast web browser that focuses on design, security, and efficiency. It uses material design, doesn't track you, give you lots of options to protect your privacy. It gets out of the way of the user. I built this browser because I wanted something better.

● Ad blocking - Blocking ads is a core feature of Lightning Browser, meant to improve the speed and security of your browsing experience.

● Design - Lightning's interface was carefully crafted so you can browse as efficiently as possible. Tabs and Bookmarks are all tucked neatly away in side drawers, only a swipe away, allowing maximum screen viewing with minimal interference from the browser's chrome. Dark Mode, Light Mode, Color Mode, Night Mode... Anyway, whatever you like, there's a mode for you.

● Speed - By utilizing the WebKit rendering engine that comes built into your Android device, Lightning can ensure a swift, lightweight experience.

● Privacy - Use Incognito Mode to browse without leaving a footprint, download Orbot and turn on TOR proxy support to mask your identify and location, use StartPage or DuckDuckGo for your search engine, or disable settings that you think leave you at risk. Whatever your concern, Lightning will try to help.

● Features - Full-screen, check. Inverted Rendering, check. All the search engines you want, check. Search Suggestions, Bookmarks, History, User Agents, Reading Mode, whatever you need, Lightning does it.

● Open-source - Just as Android open-source, so is Lightning. I believe that the best software is built when communities come together to engineer the best solution. Head over to the repository on GitHub to contribute or translate.

● Free - Check out the paid version for AdBlock and Unlimited Tabs. Free version is limited to ten tabs open at a time.

Permissions
● permission.INTERNET: Needed to access the internet for browsing
● permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: Needed for downloading files and backing up data
● permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: Needed for downloading files and restoring data
● permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION: Needed for sites that want your location (you can deny location access)
● permission.CAMERA: Used for WebRTC - disabled by default
● permission.RECORD_AUDIO: Used for WebRTC - disabled by default

Talk to me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RestainoAnthony

Fork me on GitHub: https://github.com/anthonycr/Lightning-Browser

Become a beta tester: https://plus.google.com/communities/108746004608718111703

Ratings and reviews

It doesn't work properly with Android 12. It very much needs to be updated. It's simple and easy to use. Has some security options that other minimalist browsers seem to lack. It would be nice to have a whitelist for sites so that, for example, cookies from sites you trust will not be deleted if you clear the cookies.

Best and fastest mobile browser I've used. There's a bug where entering text into the address bar is not supported once you enter a period. Taps on the keyboard end up clicking whatever is on the page under it instead. Please fix this, it is the only thing keeping this from fully replacing my other browsers.

Very good browser, I prefer it to Chrome because it doesn't force me to have political news on my homepage. Also it's very lightweight and fast. Only drawback is, when I close a tab by tapping on the (x) symbol at the top, the whole browser gets closed(although there are other open tabs).

What's new

- Made copy link action available in incognito mode.
- Fixed bug with bookmark and tab drawer transparency.
- Added feature to freeze old tabs until they are accessed if the app restarts.
- Added button to search suggestions layout that inserts the suggestion rather than searching for it.
- Added support for full sandboxed incognito mode on Android Pie (API 28) and up.
- Fixed bug with ad blocker.