# Orion Browser by Kagi Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/orion-browser/ 127 people recommended Orion Browser by Kagi in Hacker News comments, 55 had mixed feelings and 151 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. People who said how long they have used it report a median of 1 year, among 25 people. It was recommended in 12 of 12 months, in 66 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. A WebKit browser recommended for running Chrome and Firefox extensions like uBlock Origin on iPhone and Mac, with no telemetry, but critics cite bugs and its closed source. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. Claude agents reviewed it against the quotes on 2 Nov 2026. ## What people warn about - Closed source erodes trust (7 comments in the sample): "Love to see it. I've been a paying Kagi member for three years (!), and for now I trust them more than Google…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46563379)) "It's a shame this isn't open source, since Linux users are disproportionately likely to scratch their own itches." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46554196)) "the open source option is almost always my choice, especially for something as important as a browser" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46554920)) - Bugs and broken websites (5 comments in the sample): "I've been using Orion with Kagi for search. Every once in a while I hit a site that won't work on Orion" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48557460)) "There are just too many features that Safari supports perfectly, that Orion either doesn't support at all, or has flakey support for." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48981424)) "I tried to live on the desktop browser, however, and eventually had to declare it unusable and switch back to Firefox." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49943170)) - Telemetry promises hard to verify (3 comments in the sample): "Unless it meaningfully closes the loop on not sending data to fingerprint with, I'm not sure "zero telemetry" is really a selling point at all" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46052342)) "It may not phone home now, but it can do it tomorrow, or it can in be enabled and immediately disabled in some minor releases." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46048754)) "If data sharing is a bug, and not fundamentally disallowed by the architecture, then it’s going to happen again later." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46291390)) - Memory leaks and system freezes (2 comments in the sample): "Orion's implementation just silently kills your extension threads when the memory manager wants the space then never restarts them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49324120)) "An infinite-loop counter in Orion.app shouldn't cause my entire machine to freeze, down to being unable to force quit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49651769)) ## Why people recommend it - Desktop extensions work on iOS (5 comments in the sample): "Ad-blocking and chrome/firefox extensions from the beginning, convenient vertical tabs, mature level of ui customization." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46563559)) "The best feature is being able to use Firefox extensions and thus uBlock Origin and sponsorblock on iOS." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48971596)) "I love using sponsorblock and several other add-ons from both Mazzella in chrome in Orion on my phone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46052300)) - No telemetry or forced accounts (4 comments in the sample): "I daily drive Orion as even though Kagi is for profit, they have managed to keep trash out of their free version." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45927925)) "It runs on WebKit, is really light on battery usage, doesn't come bundled with crypto stuff or AI agents" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48359580)) "The fact that there is Orion+ is enough to warrant no need to have tracking or 'enshittification" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46051274)) - Built-in ad blocking (1 comment in the sample): "It comes with adblocking out of the box, and is a reliable way to watch YouTube ad free on iOS." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49944250)) - Fast and light on battery (1 comment in the sample): "I've been using Orion for the last 6 years and checking Safari every month, cant say Safari ever felt faster than Orion." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48987743)) ## Other web browsers people recommend - [Firefox](https://hackerapproved.com/p/firefox/): 1028 recommend, 359 mixed, 1139 criticize - [Brave](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brave-browser/): 310 recommend, 61 mixed, 215 criticize - [Google Chrome](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-chrome/): 242 recommend, 170 mixed, 998 criticize - [Safari](https://hackerapproved.com/p/safari/): 178 recommend, 80 mixed, 522 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Orion Browser by Kagi", https://hackerapproved.com/p/orion-browser/ (127 recommend, 55 mixed, 151 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.