Ghostery Private Browser Reviews

by Maryxm

This browser is supposed to be private, but even in the private/incognito mode, it stores tons of tracking cookies. I have to clear the data every day.
Also, I would give it zero stars if I could, because if you try to browse a website and have GhosteryPrivateBrowser on your device, it automatically sends you to GhosteryPrivateBrowser . It is so frustrating. I know I have GhosteryPrivateBrowser Ghostery, I am not senile. I may have a reason to use a browser. Safari gives you the option whether you want to do to GhosteryPrivateBrowser or stay in the browser, which is very helpful.
Zero stars for Ghostery.

by Mloescher

I’ve used Ghostery for many years, and while it’s had a few problems, it’s been the best available. This new update might as well be chrome. I can no longer choose which trackers to block and worst of all, it doesn’t prevent the little video windows from displaying on the page. Some sites insist on having a video display at the top of the page and it turns into a pop up that scrolls with you as you go down the page. Ghostery no longer blocks that and it’s REALLY annoying.

by Woolyfork

....I just installed the “new” Ghostery and it seems to have deleted ALL of the my bookmark folders! Over the years of using GhosteryPrivateBrowser, I’ve created different folders within GhosteryPrivateBrowser for the different catagories of bookmarks I’ve saved. For example, when saving a bookmark/favorite webpage that deals with “iPhones”, I create a folder called “Apple” and save all Apple related bookmarks to that folder and so on. Unfortunately, after installing this new version of Ghostery, GhosteryPrivateBrowser deleted all of my bookmark folders and dumped all my bookmarks together under the “favorites” tab and now my bookmarks are no longer organized the way they use to be! What a mess!! Furthermore the ability to create new bookmark folders has been removed from GhosteryPrivateBrowser entirely! AAARGH!!! The excellent minimalistic design of the previous version of Ghostery has been replaced by this new over the top version which is riddled with painfully bright colors and features I never wanted. Why the developers of GhosteryPrivateBrowser thought it was a good idea to remove the bookmark folder feature is beyond me. I will not be updating GhosteryPrivateBrowser on the rest of my iOS devices.👎👎😢

by Anneg6314

It does block ads and trackers, but does not remember which ones to block. Every time I open a web page it shows all of the trackers with the green button so I have to slide the button for each one to block it, then reload the page, but some of the trackers still show a green button and it takes two or three tries to get it to block those trackers. Also, the back button does not work so I have to retype the web address to go back to the home page. Ghostery works great on the desktop but GhosteryPrivateBrowser is terrible.

by Gabriel444444

This is almost a fantastic browser. Instead it's so infuriating I am constantly on the verge of just deleting it. Why the hell can't I long-press a link and be given the explicit option of opening it in a new tab or a new background tab? Safari can do it. Firefox can do it. DuckDuckGo can do it. Brave can open in a new tab plus provides an option to open in a private tab. I refuse to use Chrome because of privacy concerns and plenty of acceptable alternatives but I bet it can do it too. This is basic functionality and if there is an option to enable this in settings I can't find it.

Ghostery simply provides an option to "open" which is no different than tapping the link rendering it superfluous and could be removed with no loss of functionality for the user. To make matters worse, this browser does actually open links in new tabs, but in a seemingly random and opaque manner. I frequently end up shocked to discover numerous tabs have been opened while clicking links during the course of normal browsing without me being aware of it.

This unexpected and bizarre behavior plus the apparent lack of an option to intentionally open links in a new tab almost ruins what is otherwise a great browser.

by Angelch17

It is a quick little browser. Very minimalistic in look, feel and operation and features.
The main issues I have with it so far(1 days use) are:
1. It appears to block ads but it constantly shows that there are new items blocked and the indication badge won't disappear after looking at the notifications.
2. It crashes often for me usually after typing something into a value box, just as I minimize the keyboard, then upon restart it opens to a totally different tab than it crashed on.
3. I continually get a Cannot Connect error when doing a refresh that is internal to the page, then it won't allow me to go back or anything, I am forced to shut it down manually.
4. It will lock up while using a drop down menu that is supposed to open a small window for you to enter data into.
5. The tabs are not user friendly.

These are just the main issues that have been annoying enough for me to stop using GhosteryPrivateBrowser and look for an alternative.
It is like the title says. Quick, but painful to use.

by HardcoreMathUser

Does what it’s built to do well, but there is room for improvement.

Sometimes the UI doesn’t respond taps meant to open and close tabs. Tapping the URL line to select all is similarly awkward. Tapping and holding a link to get the pop up options (like open in new tab) often results in the current tab just navigating to the tapped link. Occasional crashes. And I WISH there was an option to block all trackers immediately and forever instead of swatting at them one at a time! Seems like a no-brainer. PLEASE ADD THIS!

Otherwise great job!

by Lgdoo

I hate the dark background. Is there a way to change it back to light? Also now when I’m searching images I can’t swipe to view the next one. I have to click the X, but when viewing them collectively the images are very grainy. It’s terrible and super inefficient for viewers. I love GhosteryPrivateBrowser/browser and have been using for years but I have to say I’m not happy with the latest changes.

by Prince Sora

Let me start by saying I just start using the browser and so far I’m liking it. I was using the dolphins browser before however as it hasn’t been updated and with updating to iOS 12 it kept crashing so I was looking for alternatives. The reason I’m rating 3 stars is because I still think their a bit of room for improvement. For instance in the settings I noticed you have the option to toggle a password/touch ID for logins which is great however I was hoping for that feature to activate when first launching/resuming the application such as in Dolphin Browser (maybe I’m comparing to much). Just a suggestion for a future update :).

by G-adis

I haven’t had many problems using GhosteryPrivateBrowser so far, but there’s some stuff that I’d still like to see that was present before the update.

1) make it easier to access bookmarks / favorites, put a button to look through them on the main toolbar or something. If these links are favorites, people would want to be able to access them immediately and with only one click needed to be able to open them

2) the organization of the tabs feels cluttered, for both going through the private and regular tabs. I liked the pre-update tab setup of being able to see all the tabs at once, which made it much easier to visualize and to toggle through them, I’d like to see that brought back. Maybe being able to see all regular tabs at once, with a different window for all the private tabs as well

3) have the option to remove the “offers” section. I think a lot of people don’t want to see this, and it’s annoying having this more present than the bookmarks / favorites

by Cautious_user

The Ghostery browser used to closely match the functionality of the Ghostery desktop browser extension. The current version looks and behaves exactly like their patent company’s now discontinued browser, Cliqz. Gone are the Ghostery features I depended on, like seeing the number of blocked trackers at the top of each page, being able to see which trackers were blocked, and changing the blocking behavior of for each tracker. The new Ghostery (and old Cliqz) may very well block the same trackers but it only gives you a summary by category of the trackers blocked and you cannot change the behavior. This is a big downgrade for people who used Ghostery because of the features it used to have. I hope they will integrate those features into this Cliqz/Ghostery codebase.

by Darkrage000

It’s a great browser, and blocks a crap ton of ads.
However, it seems to be tied into the Firefox api. If I have Firefox open an open ghostery, ghostery can’t find my open tabs. Close both and reopen ghostery alone, it finds my tabs.

It seems to double load pages. If I open a website and then click a link into the site, I have to go back several time to get to the previous page.

by Bobhusuda

GhosteryPrivateBrowser has done a remarkable job replacing the bland safari browser of my iphone, and carries most of the same functionality as well as some added novel features. I only wish there was support for 3dtouch within GhosteryPrivateBrowser , for links/images as well as tabs, to function similar to safari. With this added functionality GhosteryPrivateBrowser would be perfect!

by Merman_93

I love my iPad version, where I do 90% of my browsing. I was recently without my iPad so downloaded the iphone app to check some details in “iffy” emails, but had difficulty finding settings.

GhosteryPrivateBrowser support link here at Apple store leads to an “oops that page unavailable”.

I’m deleting app on iPhone for sure, but hate to on iPad,... but this bad link to support may cause me to trash it to.

by Transcendentalaccidentalism

Based on my experience with Ghostery as a desktop add-on for Firefox, I would trust this over any that are currently available. If you’ve never had the scary pleasure of using Ghostery as an add-on for OSX, then I suggest you do before using it in iOS.

Going through the list of companies whom you’ve never heard of that are heavily influential in the way our lives are shaped these days can be the difference between believing what you are told and finding out for yourself.

This browser might take a minute to get used to, but for good reason. It’s super lightweight and doesn’t have anything it doesn’t need. If you can’t figure out where the forward and backward buttons are then maybe you’re so used to other ubiquitous clutter that you can’t see them without it.

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by Spacypinup

I love this browser but it has a couple flaws like everything. Like I can’t figure out How to export my bookmarks… Is really the only big flaw. Otherwise it would also be nice to be able to organize my bookmarks into folders or something. It would also be awesome to be able change the homepage background colors. Maybe making it so you can Customize the buttons/controls would be incredible! No joke If it had a notepad that could open in a mini sub screen that you could move around and see it while you use everything els normally. it would be the perfect browser. And I download every browser I can find on GhosteryPrivateBrowser Store. So far this is still the best! Honestly most of that is just me being picky and liking customizing and notes too much lol. But this browser is already the best browser to search something in multiple search engines! I love the fact you can add any search engine you want! Its easy to use. definitely the fastest browser on my phone. By far the best at tracking food delivery orders from websites like doordash and postmates that most browsers won’t load. It also doesn't hurt that the ghost is cute

by LocBox

You acquired the Cliqz browser which is cool, but please get rid of that same offers section on the new tab page..I hated it in the cliqz browser as well. it throws off the browsers privacy appeal for me..I just want bookmarks history favorites + new tab. Also a dark theme and the ability to change the background image on the new tab page from the rainbowish colors now..ty

Update 10/4: Please remove the Offers section it's killing the look and design. Add a Darkmode please. This is The King of Privacy Browsers.

by LeighHaydn

No tracking on searches. Government did not even try to confiscate info from them because there is no info saved. It isn't Google, which will unload all your info to govt, but then you might consider it is private.
And they are working to better it all the time.
Plus I can find out how many tracers were foiled along with how many ads were NOT showing up. They are doing a great job. I use Apple equipment and Safari isn’t anywhere near GhosteryPrivateBrowser for privacy.

by EXoDuS!

I knew a few years ago about the negativity that was surrounding this browser, but now with a new owner and a very informative person on Reddit ( a spokesperson/employee? ) who was clarifying a lot of the negative stigma regarding the old owner and the now new owner, so I checked it out again, and it looks good! HOWEVER, two things: I agree, would like to see which trackers were blocked like back in the old days , and the other being a question....do you guys block FINGERPRINTING, like on Brave? Hope to hear from you guys.

By the way, sometimes clearing the history doesn’t clear it until a second or third try...

by Wheat Williams

Ghostery's tracker-blocking system is the best way to take back control of your browsing, and here it is integrated into its own web browser for iOS. I do not use Safari much now that I have the Ghostery web browser.

The new Reader View mode added in version 2.0, with its ability to select text size and choose between a san-serif and serif font, is a very welcome addition.

2.0 now provides detailed information about trackers and ad blocking, giving the user an easy interface for trusting the site (suspending blocking) or turning individual trackers on and off on a per-site basis. Ghostery for iOS now has a level of control like the Ghostery plug-ins for desktop browsers on Mac and Windows.

by NemoIhateBacon

I wanted to thank the developers at Ghostery! You are trying to solve our lack of privacy problem. You should have a higher rating then 4.0. People that are posting rating, please give the developers time. I am really happy with the browser!