Bare vs Private Browser
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bare
This browser automatically blocks ads and trackers with no setup required. It offers a reader mode, private tabs, and customizable news feeds. All features are free, with an optional tipping feature.
- Automatic ad and tracker blocking
- Reader mode with customizable text and backgrounds
- Private tabs
- Customizable news feed
- Site-specific blocking exceptions
- Desktop mode per site
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Bare is a web browser with ad and tracker blocking built in and switched on from the first launch. Nothing to configure, nothing to buy first. WHAT IT BLOCKS Five filter lists ship inside the app — about 163,000 rules covering ads, trackers, regional ads, cookie notices and page annoyances. They refresh in the background every day. If an update fails, the previous rules stay in use, so you are never left unprotected without being told. Blocking applies to pages you open in Bare. It does not reach into other apps, and your connection still goes straight to the site. WHEN A SITE BREAKS Tap the shield in the address bar and blocking is off for that site. Tap it again to turn it back on. Every site you have switched it off for is listed in Settings, so you can find them again months later. WHAT IT COLLECTS Anonymous counts of how the app is used, with a switch in Settings that stops them. Never a page you visited, a search you typed, or a page title. No account, no ad ID, no crash reporting. Your history stays on this device and is never synced. Bookmarks sync through your own iCloud, which we cannot see. READING Reader mode strips a page down to the article, with four text sizes and a light, sepia or dark background. Pages with no dark mode of their own can be forced dark, per site. Text size is remembered per site too. THE REST OF A BROWSER Tabs with no limit. Private tabs that leave nothing behind when you close them. Five search engines. Find on page. Downloads that show up in the Files app. Desktop mode per site. Swipe from the edge to go back and forward. NEWS ON THE START PAGE Headlines in the language the app is set to. All 35 languages have their own publishers, 159 feeds altogether. A phone set to Danish gets Danish papers. The requests go out from your phone. Nothing passes through a server of ours. Tap a headline and it opens in a tab like any other link. Turn it off in Settings and the requests stop. 35 LANGUAGES Bare follows your phone's language. Settings has a list if you want a different one, and the change takes effect while you are still looking at the screen. You do not have to restart anything. Menus, error messages, the news, all of it. FREE, ALL OF IT Every feature, every filter list, every update. No paid tier, no account, nothing held back. There is a tip in Settings if you want to leave one, and it unlocks nothing. This app contains no ads and never will.
Private Browser
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Private Browser is a fast, ad-free way to use the web on iPhone. It blocks ads and trackers before they load, keeps your browsing to yourself, and puts a lock on the whole app. No account. No profile. Nothing sold. BLOCK ADS AND TRACKERS • Over 135,000 filter rules from EasyList and EasyPrivacy, applied before a page starts loading • Pages load faster and use less data, because the ads never arrive • Cookie banners hidden automatically • A live counter shows exactly what was blocked on the page you are reading • Turn protection off for one site you trust, without turning it off everywhere PRIVATE TABS THAT REALLY ARE PRIVATE • Private tabs use a separate, temporary store — nothing is written to disk • Close the last private tab and the whole session is destroyed, not just hidden • Normal tabs keep history only for as long as you want it; clear any part of it in one tap LOCK THE APP, NOT JUST THE SCREEN • Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode to open the app • The page is covered the moment you switch apps, so nothing shows in the app switcher • Files you download are stored with iOS file protection and stay unreadable while the device is locked BUILT FOR READING, NOT FOR ADS • Reader mode strips a page down to the article • Dark mode for any website, not just the ones that support it • Toolbars get out of the way as you scroll and come straight back • Tabs, bookmarks, reading list and downloads, all where you expect them SEARCH THE WAY YOU PREFER • Choose from DuckDuckGo, Google, Bing, Brave, Startpage, Ecosia, Yahoo or Baidu • HTTPS-Only mode, so an insecure page never loads by accident • Encrypted DNS guidance built in • QR scanner, downloads manager and full backup SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE Every screen is translated into 36 languages, including Arabic and Hebrew with full right-to-left layout. PRIVATE BROWSER PRO Private Browser Pro removes every upgrade prompt, includes each new feature as it arrives, and comes with priority email support. Choose a weekly or yearly subscription, or buy Lifetime once and own it outright with no subscription at all. The price for your country, the renewal date, and the length of any free trial offered are always shown in the app before you confirm. Nothing is charged until you do, and a free trial is free. A subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your Apple Account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of that period. You can manage or cancel a subscription at any time in Settings on your device. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/privacy-policy-004/home Support: https://sites.google.com/view/eteamhelp
Screenshots
Verdict
Bare and Private Browser are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Bare sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Private Browser sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bare ships an update every 8 days, Private Browser every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bare | Private Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | 岚烜 吴 | MD. NASAR UDDIN REDOY |
In-app purchases
Bare
- Small tip$0.99
- Medium tip$29.99
- Large tip$59.99
Private Browser
- Private Browser Pro (Weekly)$9.997 Days
- Private Browser Pro (Yearly)3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Private Browser Pro Lifetime$149.99








