Lean Browser vs Dark Mode for browser
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lean Browser
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Lean Browser is the browser that forgets. Open a page, read, leave — and what you did is wiped: tabs, cookies, cache, history. No account, no AI, no suggestions, no data collected. FORGETS, YOUR WAY • Browsing data is kept only for the session and wiped on your schedule: right away, after 1 minute up to 1 day in the background, or when the app closes (except a file you choose to open in another app: stored briefly on the device, then deleted) • Tap the flame to forget now: the page turns to dust, then an "All forgotten" card lists, with icons and counting numbers, pages viewed, tabs closed, cookies deleted, site data erased and trackers blocked (zero lines hidden). Share it as a square or portrait image or a short video: numbers only, never a site • Panic gestures: shake the phone, put it face down, or swipe down on the address bar. Try them in the welcome tour (the swipe can be turned off) • Up to 5 tabs, each with its own separate storage, and self-destruct timers of 1, 5 or 15 minutes. Drag a tab to reorder it, swipe the address bar to slide to the next tab, touch and hold the tab count for New tab, Close tab and Forget now • Lock Screen countdown before the wipe, Face ID lock when you come back. The unlock screen has Forget now: wipe the session without unlocking, without showing a single page • Forget now without opening the app: from the Lock Screen countdown, Control Center, the Action button, Siri or a Home Screen widget PRIVATE BY DEFAULT • Ads and trackers blocked with a built-in list of about 55,000 domains (EasyList/EasyPrivacy). See the count and the blocked trackers for each page, or turn blocking off for one site that breaks • Cookie banners of common consent platforms rejected for you, even when Reject is one screen deeper. Never accepted • Third-party cookies and pop-ups blocked; tracking parameters (utm, fbclid…) removed from links, and tracking redirects (Google, Facebook, Reddit…) unwrapped so links open straight at the real page • HTTPS first (or HTTPS-Only), Global Privacy Control signal • Video autoplay blocked by default: videos start only when you tap play • Plain explanations for refused certificates, no way around them • Camera and microphone for video calls only when you say yes, per site, and never your location • Asks before every download; warns about password requests, profiles and app installers BROWSE WITHOUT THE NOISE • Reader mode: pick a typeface and a light, sepia or dark background, see the estimated reading time, and have the article read aloud with a voice that matches its language, all on the device • While reading aloud: choose the speed, skip a paragraph back or ahead; the paragraph being read is highlighted. Lock Screen and Control Center controls never show the title • Print in reader mode: just the article, black on white • Dark pages: show web pages dark for night reading (off by default) • Scroll down and the bottom bar shrinks to a thin line; one tap brings it back • Scan a QR code, or show the page's QR code • Touch and hold an image to open it in a new tab, copy or share its link, or download it; a link, to open it in a background tab • Select text and search it with the engine you chose: DuckDuckGo (default), Mojeek, Qwant, Ecosia and more • "Search in Lean" from Siri, Shortcuts and Spotlight; share a link or any text to Lean from other apps • Picture in Picture for web videos, Print, "Open URL in Lean" for Shortcuts and the Action button • Address bar at the bottom, no suggestions, no autocorrect • Quick panel: turn off JavaScript, images or video for every page, and a peek guard that blurs the page until you touch the screen • "What I forgot today", a widget and Home Screen shortcuts for a fresh session TRANSPARENT No analytics, no account, no calls to any Lean server. Only your choices in Settings and a few small counters are saved on the device. Lean doesn't promise perfect safety — only trust the sites you trust. Vietnamese and English, with VoiceOver support.
Dark Mode for browser
Enhance your browsing experience by automatically applying a dark theme to all websites. You can easily toggle this feature on or off, and choose to apply it to a single page or all pages.
- Automatic dark mode for all websites
- Toggle dark mode on/off
- Apply to single page
- Apply to all pages
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Automatically added dark mood to every website you visit Shipley tap on turn on allow only one page Allow for all page
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Dark Mode for browser at fortnightly against Lean Browser's every 44 months. Dark Mode for browser also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Lean Browser ships an update every 44 months, Dark Mode for browser fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lean Browser | Dark Mode for browser |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 3.9 (64 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 64 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 44 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tran Cong Minh | Samsuddin Ahmed Sohag |
In-app purchases
Lean Browser
No in-app purchases
Dark Mode for browser
No in-app purchases





