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QQ Browser: Here’s what you need to know

Check all the available information before installing the QQ Browser

3 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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There are all sorts of browsers on the market, and while Chrome and Firefox dominate the western market, QQ Browser has gained massive popularity in China.

So, what is the QQ Browser, how does it work, and what features does it have? So, today we’re going to try to answer all these questions.

Is QQ spyware?

Is QQ spyware?

It is known that Tencent has been caught spying on users’ web browsing history with QQ Messenger.

Yes, you heard correctly, QQ Messenger, a popular Chinese instant messaging app by Tencent, was caught scraping web browser history with their desktop client.

So, you can say it is spyware if you want to put it like that. However, facts speak for themselves, and many have stopped using the QQ browser immediately.

What is QQ Browser, and should I use it?

What is QQ Browser, and should I use it?

1. What is QQ Browser?

QQ Browser was first released in November 2000 by Tencent and was called Tencent Explorer. What makes thisbrowserunique is the fact that it uses two engines, WebKit and Trident.

QQ Browser is available on all major platforms, including macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, and Linux.

The browser is available for download from the official website, but you might have minor difficulties navigating it since it is in Chinese.

⇒Download QQ Browser

2. Is QQ Browser safe?

According to users, both Windows and Android versions of QQ Browser seem to transmit your data to the QQ without encryption or by using weak encryption.

The Android version sends the user’s IMEI, IMSI, nearby Wi-Fi access points, visited URLs, Android ID, and search queries.

The Windows version sends the list of visited websites, hard drive serial number, MAC address, and machine hostname to QQ servers.

In addition, the software updating process has vulnerabilities on Android and Windows versions that can be exploited easily.

3. What are good QQ Browser alternatives?

QQ Browser has privacy issues, and if you want a good alternative, we recommendOpera One.

Thebrowseris available on all desktop and mobile platforms and allows you to sync your data across platforms easily.

As forprivacy, trackingprotection will block tracking scripts and cookies and make your web pages load faster.OperaOne also has a free VPN with unlimited bandwidth for an extra layer ofprivacy

In addition, there’s a built-in ad blocker, so you won’t have to deal with ads anymore.

Opera One comes with a built-in AI and a modular AI-ready design for other AI technologies intergration. Thebrowseris based onChromium, and it should work with Chrome extensions without problems.

Overall,OperaOne is a greatbrowserthat protects yourprivacy, so consider it.

Opera One

Can I trust QQ?

To answer this, we’re going to say that the popular QQ web browser has significant security flaws that could leak personal user data.

This can include web and search history and other personal data you might want to hold on to. Again, it’s your decision, but we’d recommend you choose another browser.

There are different browser versions, so you can get a QQ Browser for PC if you are a Windows user.

People that rely on mobile devices can find QQ Browser for Android, and other versions of QQ Browser mobile, so keep that in mind.

QQ Browser offers decent features, but you might want to consider using a differentweb browser due to various privacy concerns.

More about the topics:browser,security

Milan Stanojevic

Windows Toubleshooting Expert

Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.

Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.

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Milan Stanojevic

Windows Toubleshooting Expert

Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s specialized in Windows errors & software issues.