Ecosia, the search engine that uses a percentage of its search ad revenue to support tree-planting projects, has released a new cross-platform browser on Earth Day.
In an effort to provide users with a more environmentally friendly option than Google Chrome or Apple Safari, the company describes its browser as the “greenest browser on Earth.”
The browser is based on Google’s open-source Chromium browser project. Thus, there are a few differences between the new browser and Google’s Chrome browser.
Ecosia views that as a positive thing because people may be more inclined to switch if they have a comparable experience.
It also allows users to customize the landing page to their preference by removing elements like the top sites or the climate result widget.
Ecosia’s solar farms will supply clean energy for the new browser. According to the manufacturer, each browser user will produce 25Wh of green energy each day while they browse — that will last three hours on a lightbulb.
While this might not seem like much, if the 20 million users of Ecosia’s current search engine start using the browser, the savings will mount up.
Ecosia also claims that its browser has been speed-optimized. It says that compared to the majority of standard browsers, the page loads up to three times faster. This is because of an integrated ad blocker that lowers user data and energy consumption.
Ecosia is also launching an affiliate shopping program with this new browser. Under the sponsored links section, users will see links to retailers like Amazon, eBay, and Decathlon.
The company, says it’ll use all affiliate sales earnings to support similar green ventures and plant trees.
You can download the Ecosia browser from its website for Mac and Windows desktop and through the Android and iOS app stores for mobile devices.