Elixir Browser: a Chromium for Android that keeps Chrome extensions

What it is: a Chromium fork, not a skin

Elixir is a Chromium-based browser with full extension support for Android, inspired by Kiwi Browser, with the stated focus on extension compatibility, unique interface improvements and refining inefficient behaviours. The project is explicit about its provenance in a way that matters for trust. There is no affiliation with the developers or the team behind Kiwi Browser, Elixir is an independent fork built directly from the official Chromium source code, and no code or binaries from other browsers such as Kiwi have been reused. That distinction is worth holding on to, because a fork of a fork of Chromium is exactly the kind of thing where you want to know which upstream you are actually tracking. The releases make the tracking visible, since the tags carry the Chromium version alongside the app version, with v1.1.6-150.0.7871.63 as the most recent on 2026-07-31, preceded by v1.1.5 and v1.1.4 on the same Chromium build days earlier.

The features that separate it from plain Chromium on Android

The feature list has four parts, and the first is the one that made the project interesting. Extension support means you can install and use the same extensions as desktop Chrome directly from the Chrome Web Store, which is the gap that Chromium-based Android browsers have traditionally left open. The interface work includes an always-on tab bar option, a bottom toolbar option, removal of unnecessary interface elements, a Google Translate button in the main menu, and a custom speed dial implementation. Gestures are customisable, with various actions freely mapped to gestures. The behavioural changes are the subtlest and arguably the most valuable, with the back gesture closing the tab when there is no remaining back history instead of returning to the home or new tab page, a change that turns a mis-tap into an obvious action rather than a surprise.

Removing the Google parts, and keeping the useful ones

Most Google-dependent features have been removed to block unnecessary communications, but high-utility features such as Google Translate and Search Suggestions remain available as optional toggles so the user can decide. The project is careful about the framing of this in its history document, saying the removals are less about privacy activism and more a result of aggressive optimisation for a lightweight experience, and that some features have been retained because removing them could break core browsing functionality, with those scheduled for removal in future updates subject to rigorous testing. That is an honest description of the engineering position. Blocking a component is easy, but a Chromium fork has to keep the browser working, so the line between a redundant network call and a load-bearing one is drawn by testing rather than by taste. The privacy claim in the feature list is that multiple data transmissions found in the original Chromium are blocked, and the project also carries a PRIVACY_POLICY.md at the repository root.

You can see exactly what was changed, and that is unusual

The most useful document in the repository is MODIFIED_FILES.md, and the project describes it in strong terms. The names of all modified and newly added files are listed in its Modified Files section, and any file not on that list is vanilla Chromium. That is a genuinely good practice for a closed-source browser fork, because it turns a trust problem into a bounded one. You do not have to take the fork on faith, you have to check a list. The project also keeps a CHANGELOG.md and a Japanese-language CHANGELOG.ja.md, plus a Japanese README.ja.md alongside the English one, and the interface changes are described in the documentation directory. The development history and planned features are in the same place, and the author notes that since this began as a personal replacement for Kiwi, the selection of features reflects personal preferences rather than a survey of the market.

Where to get it, and what the release page holds

All releases and APK versions are available from the project's Releases page on GitHub, and that is the only distribution channel the documentation points at. There is no package manager entry, no system image and no script, so the install is a download of an APK, and the practical question is which of the recent builds to take. The three most recent releases all sit on the same Chromium version, 150.0.7871.63, with v1.1.4 and v1.1.5 published on 2026-07-27 and v1.1.6 on 2026-07-31. That pattern suggests a rebuild or repackaging within the same upstream, and since the CHANGELOG records what changed in each, it is worth reading the last few entries before picking one rather than taking the newest automatically. The last push to the repository was on 2026-07-31, the same day as the newest tag, so the tree and the published build are aligned.

Long-term support means following Chromium, on a best-effort basis

The long-term development claim in the feature list is stated in careful terms. The project periodically tracks the latest Chromium releases and provides maintenance on a best-effort basis. That is the honest description of what a solo maintainer can promise about rebasing on a browser that ships every few weeks, and the release tags show the mechanism, with the Chromium version in the tag so you can see which upstream a given build carries. The support section is candid about the scale of the work, saying that modifying and maintaining Chromium is an incredibly grueling task and that it is quite a struggle for a solo developer. The project is developed solely by one individual, is completely non-profit, and the author states a solemn oath that the app will never include affiliates, personal data collection, or paid content for monetization, while still asking for sponsorship through GitHub Sponsors or Buy Me A Coffee.

The source is not published, and the author explains why

The most consequential fact about this project is in its own Q and A. When asked why it is not open source, the answer is that the author aims to make it open source in the future, that at the moment all code comments are written in Japanese and need translating into English before publishing, and that the priority is on updates with no bandwidth for code management yet, so the plan is to proceed slowly. There is also a commitment that the code will not be taken to the grave, and that everything will be released if the project is ever shut down. The trade-off is straightforward. You get a browser that ships new Chromium versions and APK releases regularly, and you cannot read the modifications. The modified files list narrows what you cannot read, but it does not replace reading the diff, so a user who cares about what the fork does to the browser has to take the author's word for the contents of those files.

Stability, requirements, and the password manager question

The project answers the practical questions directly. On stability, the author says they personally use Elixir as their main browser every day and are satisfied with its stability, while noting the experience may vary, that as a solo project updates may occasionally contain critical bugs, crashes or broken features, that bugs which do not occur on the author's own devices are often overlooked, and that it should be used with the understanding that it is a work-in-progress and at your own risk. On requirements, it follows the base Chromium specifications, with Android 10 or newer on ARM64 needed and no 32-bit version available, and compatibility not guaranteed since only the author's own devices are tested. On the password manager, there is none built in, and it uses the one specified in your Android system settings, with the caveat that warnings may appear on non-major browsers depending on the Android version, though password input itself works, and the author's own recommendation is the standalone Bitwarden app rather than the extension, with passkeys confirmed to work.

Editorial conclusion

Elixir Browser fits an Android user who wants the full Chrome Web Store on a phone and prefers a lighter browser with a customisable tab bar, bottom toolbar and gestures, and who is comfortable tracking a solo project that ships a new APK per Chromium release. It does not fit anyone who needs to audit the code, because the project is not open source yet, with the author saying the comments are in Japanese and need translating before publication, and it does not fit a user on 32-bit Android or below Android 10. Before you make it your main browser, read MODIFIED_FILES.md to see exactly which files depart from upstream Chromium, check the CHANGELOG for what changed in the build matching your Chromium version, and treat the extension catalogue as unvetted, since a browser without a Google account also has no way to vouch for what an installed extension does.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. README
3. Releases
4. SF-FLAM/ElixirBrowser on GitHub