Every Web Browser Explained in 20 Minutes

0:00 Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer was once the king of web browsers, the default choice on almost every Windows PC. If you use the internet in the early 2000s, you didn't really choose a browser. You just opened Internet Explorer and hoped for the best. Open your PC, click the blue E, and you're online. No setup, no choices. For most people in the late '90s and 2000s, that was the internet. Not because it was great, [music] but because it came with Windows and nobody really knew that there was an alternative. Launched by Microsoft in 1995, it quickly dominated the market by being bundled [music] with Windows, reaching over 95% market share at its peak. That dominance was so extreme the US Department of Justice sued Microsoft, arguing that bundling IE

0:45 with Windows was anti-competitive. Microsoft fought it, partially lost, and kept bundling it anyway. It wasn't winning on innovation, it was winning on convenience. But that dominance became the problem. Once Microsoft had the market, they slowed down. Updates became rare, innovation stalled, and Internet Explorer started falling behind while the web [music] kept evolving. Then in 2008, Chrome showed up, faster, cleaner, and actually modern. Compared to that, Internet Explorer felt outdated overnight. Pages were slower, bugs were common, and security issues didn't help either. >> [music] >> It didn't take long for Internet Explorer to turn into a meme, the browser you open to download another browser. By the time Microsoft tried to fix it, the damage was already done.

1:31 Users had moved on. Developers had moved on. And Internet Explorer never recovered. Microsoft officially killed Internet Explorer on June 15th, 2022. After 27 years, the browser that once owned the internet was quietly redirected into Microsoft Edge. I actually tried opening it that week just to see what would happen. It literally just opened Edge instead. In the end, Microsoft didn't just lose the browser war. They had to completely start over. Chrome. Google Chrome didn't just enter the browser market, it reset [music] it. Launched in 2008, Chrome showed up at the perfect time, when Internet Explorer was slow, outdated, [music] and honestly a little painful to use. Chrome felt completely different. It was fast, clean, and simple. No clutter, no random

2:18 toolbars you didn't remember installing, just a search bar and your tabs. It felt like the browser finally caught up to the internet. This is what killed Internet Explorer. Speed was the biggest factor. Pages loaded quickly, tabs ran separately so one crash [music] didn't take everything down with it, and the whole experience felt smooth. At a time when browsers would freeze for no reason, Chrome actually worked consistently, which was a pretty low bar, but still. Then came integration. You sign in with your Google account and suddenly everything syncs, bookmarks, passwords, history. [music] It just follows you everywhere. If you were already using Gmail, YouTube, or Google Docs, Chrome felt [music] like it was built specifically for you, because, well, it kind of was. And then Android happened. Chrome became the default

3:04 browser on billions of devices. At that point, it didn't just win, it took over. When your browser comes pre-installed on most phones on the planet, you don't really need to convince people to switch. But here's the trade-off. Chrome isn't just a browser, it's also part of Google's data machine. The same company that runs ads on half the internet also runs the browser you use to access it. Not a coincidence. It's also famous for eating RAM. Open a few tabs and everything's fine. Open 20 tabs and your laptop starts struggling. Open 50 tabs and at that point Chrome isn't a browser anymore, it's a benchmark test for your RAM. Then there's control. In June 2025, Chrome fully enforced Manifest V3, a change to how browser extensions work. In plain terms, it capped how many

3:51 blocking rules ad blockers can use and limited how they intercept web requests. Popular ad blockers like uBlock Origin got significantly weaker overnight. For a lot of users, that was the moment Chrome stopped feeling like their browser. So, yes, Chrome won because it was fast, simple, and everywhere. But it came with a trade-off, convenience in exchange for some privacy and control. The most important move though wasn't what you could see, it was under the hood. Google open-sourced Chrome's engine, called Chromium, and that decision didn't just build Chrome, it changed the entire browser industry, including what Microsoft did next. Edge. Microsoft Edge is what happens when you lose a war and decide to start over properly. >> [music] >> After Internet Explorer failed,

4:37 Microsoft tried again with the first version of Edge in 2015. >> [music] >> It looked modern, it was faster, but it had one big problem, it still wasn't Chrome. Websites didn't always work properly, extensions were limited, [music] and most people didn't see a reason to switch. So history started repeating itself. Then Microsoft made a very smart move. Instead of fighting Chrome, they joined [music] it. Edge was rebuilt on Chromium, the same engine behind Chrome. That instantly fixed compatibility issues. Websites worked perfectly, extensions from the Chrome Web Store worked, and performance improved overnight. It was basically Chrome, but wearing a Microsoft outfit. And the irony is hard to miss. The company that once held 95% of the browser market, the one that got sued for being too dominant, is now running

5:24 on their biggest competitors' engine. But Edge didn't just copy Chrome, it added its own features. Things like vertical tabs, built-in [music] PDF tools, collections for organizing content, and strong performance optimizations. It also tends to use less RAM than Chrome, which [music] is a nice bonus if your laptop was already struggling. There's also deep integration with Windows. Edge is built into the system, optimized for it, and Microsoft really wants you to use it. Like [music] really wants you to use it. You'll see prompts, reminders, maybe even a few emotional messages asking you to just [music] give it a try. Try setting Chrome as your default and count how many times Edge asks you to reconsider. The browser is genuinely good, the desperation is what hurts it. There's also Copilot, Microsoft's AI

6:10 assistant, now baked into Edge whether you asked for it or not. Sidebar suggestions, AI [music] summaries, chat prompts, it's everywhere. Some people find it useful, others feel like their browser is constantly trying to start a conversation they didn't sign up for. Of course, there's a trade-off here, too. Edge is still tied to Microsoft's ecosystem, and like Chrome, [music] it collects data, just in a different flavor. The funny part, after losing to Chrome, Microsoft ended up building one of the best browsers using Chrome's own engine. Safari. Safari is Apple's browser, and it follows the same philosophy as everything else Apple makes, tight integration, strong performance, and very much their way or the highway. Launched in 2003, Safari became the default browser across macOS,

6:56 iPhones, and iPads. And just like Internet Explorer and Chrome before it, being the default matters a lot. Millions of people use Safari every day simply because it's already there. Open your iPhone, tap the [music] compass icon, and you're online. And here's the part most people don't realize. On iPhones and iPads, Safari isn't just the default, it's the only browser engine. Every browser you download from the App Store, Chrome, Firefox, Brave, all of them, it's just a skin on top of Safari's WebKit engine underneath. Apple doesn't allow competing engines on iOS. So when you think you're using Chrome on your iPhone, you're actually using Safari with a Google logo. Where Safari really stands out is efficiency. It's heavily optimized for Apple hardware,

7:41 >> [music] >> which means better battery life and smoother performance compared to most other browsers on MacBooks and iPhones. While Chrome might drain your battery like it's in a hurry, Safari's more relaxed. It's trying to make sure your laptop survives the day. Apple also leans hard into privacy. Features like intelligent tracking prevention block cross-site tracking by default. And Safari generally collects less user data compared to browsers tied to advertising ecosystems. It's one of the main reasons privacy-focused users prefer it. But there are trade-offs. Safari can feel limited. Extension support is smaller, updates to web technologies can be slower, and some websites are still better optimized for Chrome. If you've ever opened a site and something just felt [music] slightly off, Safari might

8:27 be the reason. It's also very locked into the Apple ecosystem. It works best if you're using Apple devices. Outside of that, it's not really an option. Apple doesn't even try to compete on Windows or Android. Safari isn't trying to win the whole web, it's trying to keep Apple users inside Apple's world. Firefox. Firefox is the last major browser that isn't built on Chromium or WebKit. >> [music] >> And that matters more than most people realize. If Firefox disappeared, nearly every significant browser would run on Google's engine, giving one company way too much say over how the web works. >> [music] >> Launched by Mozilla in 2004, Firefox quickly became the independent alternative to Internet Explorer, >> [music] >> giving users freedom, customization, and privacy. It's open source, which means

9:14 anyone can inspect, modify, or contribute to the code. Extensions are basically a playground. You can tweak themes, tab behavior, or block every tracker in sight. Privacy is baked in with enhanced tracking protection, Facebook container, and strict cookie controls. Firefox has had its highs and lows. In 2010, it had around 30% market share. Today, it's under 3%. Quick question, which browser are you actually using right now? Drop it in the comments. >> [music] >> And if you're learning something new about the browser you open every day, hit the like button. It genuinely helps the channel. Competition from Chrome, Edge, and Safari has been brutal. [music] Mozilla itself hasn't been without controversy, either. Former CEO Mitchell Baker's compensation hit $6.9 million in

10:00 2022, even as Firefox's market share kept shrinking. She stepped down in early 2024, but [music] the optics left a mark. Add in AI partnerships and questions about organizational direction, and some long-time supporters started wondering whether the mission had drifted. Even so, Firefox still matters. For anyone who cares about keeping the web open and independent, it's essential. It's quirky, a little stubborn, and refuses to follow the crowd. >> [music] >> The internet's a rebel with a cause. Opera GX. Opera. Opera GX is built for gamers. It runs on Chromium like most browsers, but [music] what it adds on top is genuinely different from just slapping a gaming skin on Chrome. RAM and CPU limiters make sure the browser doesn't eat your PC mid-match, while a

10:47 built-in news hub keeps you up-to-date on game [music] releases. The design leans hard into the gaming aesthetic, with customizable colors, animated backgrounds, and sound effects that make using it feel like part of your rig. >> [music] >> It's flashy, but also practical. A browser built to coexist with resource-heavy games. Regular Opera, meanwhile, is less flashy, but still innovative. It introduced features like built-in VPNs, ad blockers, battery savers, pop-out video, and messaging integrations years before they were mainstream. Opera likes to experiment first, even if only a small slice of users ever notices. There's an important ownership note. Opera was acquired by a Chinese consortium in 2016, and that includes GX.

11:32 >> [music] >> What this means for your data is debated, and users should be aware. It's not inherently unsafe, but the information is worth knowing. Opera and Opera GX aren't for everyone, but they carve out a unique space in the browser world. For gamers and power users who want extra control and flair, they're genuinely different from the Chrome crowd. Brave. Brave is the browser for people who hate ads almost as much as they love privacy. It was founded by Brendan Eich, the same person who created JavaScript and co-founded Mozilla. When the guy who helped build Firefox decides the browser market still isn't doing privacy right and starts over, that tells you something. Launched in 2016, it's built around speed, blocking trackers, and giving users more control over what they see online, all

12:19 by default. No fiddling required. It automatically blocks ads, trackers, and third-party cookies, which not only protects your privacy, but also makes web pages load faster. Brave even takes it a step further with its own optional reward system. If you want, you can opt into privacy-respecting ads and earn cryptocurrency called BAT for viewing them. Some people see that as hypocritical, some see it as a reasonable trade. Worth naming rather than pretending it doesn't exist. Security and privacy are baked in. HTTPS everywhere is built in. Fingerprinting protections are on by default, and Brave doesn't silently sell your browsing data to anyone. It's the browser equivalent of having a bouncer at the door who checks everyone's ID and sends advertisers home. Performance is solid,

13:04 too. Pages are fast, RAM usage is reasonable, and unlike some other privacy-focused browsers, Brave rarely feels sluggish. The trade-off? Some websites throw a tantrum when ads are blocked, and if you want to join the Brave reward system, you'll need to wrap your head around cryptocurrency. In short, if someone wants to switch away from Chrome today with zero setup, Brave is the most friction-free option. Tor Browser. Let's get this out of the way. Yes, Tor can access .onion sites. Yes, that includes the dark web, and yes, some of what's on there is illegal. That's not what this section is about. Tor's actual purpose is anonymous browsing. It's built on Firefox, but designed to route your traffic through the Tor network, bouncing your connection across multiple volunteer-run

13:49 servers to anonymize your location and activity. The people who need it most aren't criminals. They're journalists in authoritarian countries, political activists, whistleblowers, and anyone who genuinely needs their identity protected online. The main goal is privacy and anonymity. Tor makes it very hard for websites, advertisers, or even ISPs to track what you're doing online. For the rest of us, it's a way to surf without feeling like every click is being watched. It also lets you access .onion sites, which aren't all illegal marketplaces. A lot of it is just private forums, encrypted communication tools, and websites that prioritize anonymity. But yes, some corners are exactly what you're imagining. The trade-offs are obvious. Tor is slower than mainstream browsers because [music]

14:35 your traffic takes a much longer, more encrypted route. Some websites block Tor users entirely, and running multimedia-heavy content or videos can feel like wading through molasses. Tor isn't a daily driver. It's a tool for when privacy actually matters. LibreWolf. LibreWolf is Firefox, but with every compromise stripped out. Where Firefox still sends telemetry data back to Mozilla and ships with some tracking-adjacent defaults for usability, LibreWolf removes all of it. No data sent to Mozilla, no experiments, no sponsored content, no phoning home, period. It's fully open source, privacy-focused, and comes preconfigured to block trackers, telemetry, and annoying data collection by default. It's built for people who want serious privacy without needing to tweak a

15:22 million settings. LibreWolf disables telemetry fingerprinting [music] and automatic updates that might compromise privacy, giving you more control over your digital footprint right out of the box. Extensions are fully supported, so you can customize your experience just like Firefox, but without worrying that the base browser is quietly phoning home. >> [music] >> Performance is generally solid. It runs about as fast as Firefox, though you might notice a slight difference on older hardware since some optimization features are disabled to protect privacy. [music] The trade-offs? You lose some convenience features like easy syncing across devices or certain built-in services that Firefox provides. Some websites break because the privacy settings are aggressive, and updates come slightly after Firefox's. LibreWolf isn't about hand-holding. It's about

16:08 serious users who want control. Think of LibreWolf as the end of the privacy browser spectrum. Beyond this, you're in Tor territory, >> [music] >> and that's a different kind of tool entirely. DuckDuckGo Browser. Most people know DuckDuckGo as a search engine, but they've built a whole browser around the same principle. Privacy first, no tracking allowed. Unlike most modern browsers, DuckDuckGo doesn't run on Chromium. On Mac and iOS, it uses WebKit, while Windows and Android have a custom setup. [music] A meaningful choice that keeps things lighter and simpler. Every feature exists to [music] keep you from being tracked. Duck Player blocks YouTube's ad targeting. Fire button wipes all browsing data in one tap. Email protection strips trackers from incoming emails. It's basically a browser that

16:53 keeps your digital footprint tiny and tidy without making you think about it. Compared to Brave, the difference is philosophy. Brave gives you more control and more features, letting you fine-tune your privacy like a cockpit pilot. DuckDuckGo [music] gives you less friction and a simpler experience. It's the set-it-and-forget-it approach. Both aim to protect you, just in different ways. Different privacy philosophies for different users. Stepping back, this is the perfect place to close the story. You started with Internet Explorer, a browser so dominant Microsoft didn't bother improving it, [music] and you're ending with a search engine that got so fed up with how browsers handle privacy that it built its own. The history of the browser market is basically that story on repeat. Someone gets complacent, someone else gets frustrated, and a new browser comes

17:39 along to shake things up. Honorable mention number one. Samsung Internet. Samsung Internet is the default browser on Galaxy devices, quietly powering over a billion downloads on Google Play. It holds around 3 to 4% of the mobile market, making it the third largest mobile browser after Chrome and Safari. Not huge, but far from invisible. It's built on Chromium, so under the hood it behaves a lot like Chrome, but Samsung adds its own touches. A built-in ad blocker, dark mode, secret mode, and anti-tracking features. All of this makes browsing smoother and a little more private without the user having to think about it. Most people don't even realize they're using it. It's just the internet app on their Samsung phone. Rarely chosen intentionally, but reliable enough that Samsung keeps it around and updating. Think of it like

18:25 the quiet, dependable kid in class who doesn't seek attention, but gets things done consistently. Honorable mention number two. Arc Browser. Arc Browser launched in 2023 from The Browser Company and immediately made waves by reimagining what a browser could look like. Forget the standard tabs and address bar. Arc introduced spaces, a vertical sidebar, boosts for custom site styling, split-screen bookmarks, and [music] little Arc, pop-up link previews. It felt less like a browser and more like an operating system for the web. Built on Chromium under the hood, Arc didn't just tweak the interface. It dared to challenge the entire concept [music] of what a browser should be. Productivity enthusiasts quickly formed a cult following, praising its innovative tools for managing tabs, projects, and workflows

19:11 in a completely new way. The catch? [music] In 2025, The Browser Company paused feature development to focus on a new, simpler browser called Dia. CEO Josh Miller was blunt about [music] why. Arc was simply too different, with too many new things to learn, for too little reward. >> [music] >> Arc is now in maintenance mode, receiving only security and stability updates. Arc is the browser that dared to rethink everything, and then its creators walked off the stage before the final act. And that's every web browser, from Internet Explorer's 95% dominance to DuckDuckGo building a whole new browser because nobody else would protect your privacy properly. Each Each exists because someone looked at the status quo and decided they could do better. Sometimes they were right. Which browser are you using right now? And is

19:58 there one you secretly miss? Drop it in the comments. If this helped clear up the confusion, hit subscribe. We break down confusing tech every week [music] so you actually understand what you're using instead of just guessing. Now, here's the thing. You just spent this whole video figuring out which browser actually fits you, but the same confusion is happening with AI. Everyone's using ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, [music] but almost nobody knows why they pick one over the other. Sound familiar? That's the exact same thing that happened with browsers. So, let's fix that, too. Click the video on screen. Every AI model explained the same way.