Browsa
Privacy Policy
Last updated 3 November 2026
Browsa doesn't collect your personal data. It has no accounts, no analytics and no advertising, and we can't see what you browse. Your browsing data stays on your device.
Browsa is a web browser for iPhone, made by Joshua Orr. Like any browser, it has to contact other services to work. This policy describes what stays on your device, what leaves it, and how to control that. Browsa is open source, so you can check all of this in the code.
What we collect
Nothing that identifies you. We don't run servers that receive your browsing, your searches or anything you type. The app contains no analytics, advertising or crash-reporting code from us or anyone else.
If you choose to share diagnostics with app developers in your device's settings, Apple may give us anonymous crash reports and usage statistics. Apple handles this under its own privacy policy, and you can turn it off in Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements.
What stays on your device
- Your spaces, tabs, favourites, saved pages and settings, including any Brave Search API key you enter
- Your browsing history, which suggestions use to rank results
- Thumbnails of your tabs
- Files you download, which you can see in the Files app
- Cookies and other data that websites store, and your answers when a site asks for a permission
We never receive any of this. It's included in your device's backups if you back up to iCloud or a computer, under the terms you set up with Apple.
What leaves your device, and who receives it
These are the only services Browsa contacts on its own, plus the websites you visit.
| Goes to | What they receive | When | Your control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Websites you visit | The same as any browser: your IP address, your request, and whatever you enter or the site stores | When you open a page | Blocking and private tabs, below |
| Your search engine: Google, DuckDuckGo or Brave | Your search | When you search | Choose the engine in Settings. Google is the default. |
| Search suggestions: your search engine, plus DuckDuckGo if your engine is Google, plus Wikipedia | What you type in the address field, as you type it, including web addresses, along with your IP address. Wikipedia also receives your device's language. | While you type in the address field, in private tabs too | On by default. Turn off Search suggestions in Settings, and only your device is used. |
| DuckDuckGo's icon service | The domain name of a site whose icon is being shown, such as example.com, and your IP address. Not the full address of the page. | When a tab, favourite or saved page shows its icon, in private tabs too | Always on |
| rules.browsa.app, hosted by Cloudflare | A request for the current ad and tracker blocking rules, with your IP address and the app's standard user agent. No account or device identifier, and nothing about the sites you visit. | At most every 4 days, or when you tap Update in Settings | Turn off Block ads and trackers in Settings |
Each of these services handles what it receives under its own privacy policy, linked above. We don't receive it, and we don't have an arrangement with any of them to share it. We don't sell data, and we don't track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Blocking and link cleaning
Ad and tracker blocking, declining cookie banners and removing tracking parameters from links all happen on your device. The blocking rules are downloaded, but what they match against is never sent anywhere. You can turn each feature off in Settings, and turn blockers off for a single site.
Declining a cookie banner tells that website you reject its optional cookies, using the site's own banner.
Private tabs
Pages in private tabs aren't added to your history, don't get saved thumbnails and aren't restored when the app reopens. Their cookies and site storage are discarded when the last private tab closes.
Private tabs don't hide you from websites, your network or your internet provider. As the table shows, search suggestions and site icons still work in them, so turn off Search suggestions if you don't want what you type in a private tab sent to those services.
Camera, microphone, location and motion
Browsa only uses these so that a website can, after you allow it. You're asked before a site gets access, by Browsa or by iOS, and Browsa remembers its answers on your device. Browsa itself doesn't record, read or store your camera, microphone, location or motion data. What a site does with it is covered by that site's policy. You can also turn access off for Browsa in your device's Settings.
Keeping and deleting your data
Your data stays on your device until you remove it. Tab thumbnails are deleted when their tabs are gone. You can clear your history in Browsa's Settings and delete downloads in the Files app. Deleting the app deletes everything it stored, including cookies and site data, apart from any copies in your existing device backups. We hold no copy of your data, so there's nothing for us to delete or give you.
Children
Browsa isn't directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect anything from anyone, of any age. It gives access to the open web, and it has no parental controls of its own.
This website
browsa.app is a static site hosted by Cloudflare. It sets no cookies and has no analytics. Cloudflare processes your IP address to deliver the pages and protect the site from abuse.
Changes to this policy
If the app's behaviour changes, this page changes with it, and the date at the top is updated. The full history is on GitHub.
Contact
Questions or requests about privacy: hello@orriginal.me.