How to use the Linux Chromium browser without Google

Love the Chromium web browser, but can’t stand that it connects to Google services? Do you wish you could use it without dealing with Google’s invasive technology? It turns out you can, with Ungoogled Chromium! It’s a version of the Chromium browser completely stripped of all Google-related technology! Here’s how to set it up on your Linux PC.

Ubuntu installation instructions

To install Ungoogled Chromium on Ubuntu Linux, you must use a third-party software repository. The app is not available in the Ubuntu main software repositories. To add the third-party software repository, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, use the echo command below to add the repo to your system.

sudo sh -c "echo 'deb https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/ungoogled_chromium/Ubuntu_Focal/ /' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/home:ungoogled_chromium.list"

After adding the Ungoogled Chromium software repository to your Linux PC, it is time to add the repo’s GPG key. To do that, enter the following commands.

wget -nv https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:ungoogled_chromium/Ubuntu_Focal/Release.key -O Release.key

sudo apt-key add - < Release.key

Once both the key and the repo are added to Ubuntu, run the update command. This command will refresh Ubuntu’s software sources, allowing the Ungoogled Chromium software repository to function.

sudo apt update

With Ubuntu’s software up to date, install Ungoogled Chromium on your Ubuntu PC with the apt install command below.

sudo apt install ungoogled-chromium

Debian installation instructions

Those looking to install Ungoogled Chromium on Debian Linux will need to enable a third-party software repository, as the Debian project does not officially support Ungoogled Chromium and does not make the app available in their software sources. To add the third-party repo to your system, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, execute the following echo command.

echo 'deb https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/ungoogled_chromium/Debian_Buster/ /' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/home:ungoogled_chromium.list

After adding the software repository to your system, it is time to download the GPG key to your Debian PC. Debian needs this key to access the Ungoogled Chromium repository, so this step is critical!

wget -nv https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:ungoogled_chromium/Debian_Buster/Release.key -O Release.key

sudo apt-key add - < Release.key

Once the Ungoogled Chromium software repository is added to your Linux PC, you must run the update command to enable the repository on your system.

sudo apt update

After your Debian PC’s software is up to date, it is time to install Ungoogled Chromium. Using the apt install command, get the app working on your system.

sudo apt install ungoogled-chromium

Arch Linux installation instructions

Ungoogled Chromium is available to all Arch Linux users via the Arch Linux User Repository. To start the installation, open up a terminal window and install the “Git” and “Base-devel” packages. They’re required to interact with the AUR.

sudo pacman -S git base-devel

After installing the “Git” and “Base-devel” packages on your computer, use the git clone command to download the Trizen AUR helper. This app will make installing Ungoogled Chromium very easy, as it takes care of all required dependencies and sets them up for you, rather than having to do it by hand.

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git

Move into the “trizen” folder with CD and install the app on your Arch Linux system with makepkg.

cd trizen 

makepkg -sri

Once Trizen is set up on your Arch Linux PC, you’ll be able to install the Ungoogled Chromium browser with the trizen -S command below.

trizen -S ungoogled-chromium-git

Alternatively, if you do not like to use the AUR, you can install a pre-compiled package with the commands below. However, keep in mind that these pre-compiled packages are not as up to date as the AUR ones.

wget https://github.com/Myl0g/ungoogled-chromium-binaries/releases/download/81.0.4044.138-1/ungoogled-chromium-81.0.4044.138-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz

sudo pacman -U ungoogled-chromium-81.0.4044.138-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz

Fedora installation instructions

Ungoogled Chromium is available to all Fedora Linux users via the RPM Fusion software repositories. To start the installation, follow this guide on how to set up RPM Fusion. Then, when RPM Fusion is working on your Linux PC, enter the dnf install command below to get Ungoogled Chromium.

sudo dnf install chromium-browser-privacy

OpenSUSE Linux installation instructions

It is possible to get Ungoogled Chromium working on OpenSUSE. However, the app is not packaged for the operating system, so you will need to install the portable release. For whatever reason, the developers host Ungoogled Chromium on the OpenSUSE Build Service but do not make a SUSE release available.

To get the portable version of Ungoogled Chromium, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T. Then, use the wget command to grab the latest release.

wget https://github.com/laamalif/ungoogled-chromium-binaries/releases/download/80.0.3987.149-2/ungoogled-chromium_80.0.3987.149-2_linux.tar.xz

After downloading the latest TarXZ release of Ungoogled Chromium from the web, you must extract it. Using the following tar command, decompress Ungoogled Chromium.

tar xvf ungoogled-chromium_80.0.3987.149-2_linux.tar.xz

Once the Ungoogled Chromium archive is extracted, use the CD command to move the terminal window into the ungoogled-chromium_80.0.3987.149-2.1_linux directory.

cd ungoogled-chromium_80.0.3987.149-2.1_linux

inside of the ungoogled-chromium_80.0.3987.149-2.1_linux folder, use the ./chrome command to launch the browser.

./chrome

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