X Browser -Light & Super fast

Review by eFreeware

Mobile browsers tend to grow until they feel like a second operating system. Updates add panels, feeds and background services, and a phone that was quick two years ago starts to feel its age. X Browser, from developer byteman.su, takes the opposite approach: it is built to stay small, start quickly and ask for as little from your device as possible.

The pitch is straightforward. The developer describes a browser around one megabyte in size that uses minimal resources, with ad blocking, video saving, user scripts and autofill built in. It is free, carries no ads of its own and offers no in-app purchases, so there is nothing to buy inside it. With more than 50 million installs and a 4.4 average across roughly 100,000 ratings, it has clearly found an audience since its release in September 2018.

What interests me is the combination of a small footprint with features that usually push you toward a heavier browser or a separate app. If you have an older phone, limited storage, or you simply dislike how much of your device a browser can occupy, this is the kind of app worth understanding before you install it.

Ad blocking that goes beyond a single list

The feature the developer leads with is ad blocking. It is described as removing 80 percent of malicious ads, which is the sort of figure I treat as a target rather than a guarantee. What matters more to me is the mechanism: the browser accepts imported and subscribed third-party blocking rules. That means the blocking setup can be shaped by the rules you choose.

In practice, that flexibility is what separates a serious blocking setup from a token one. Filter lists are maintained by communities that track new ad domains and tracking scripts, and being able to subscribe to them keeps a browser useful long after release. One that lets you add rules can be refreshed whenever you like.

The trade-off is that rules are your responsibility. Subscribing to several lists can slow page loading or break sites, so it pays to start with one and add more only if you notice gaps. The developer does not claim the blocker removes everything, and no blocker does; the 80 percent figure is best read as a realistic scope for malicious advertising rather than a promise of a clean page every time.

Saving videos and running user scripts

Video sniffing is the second headline feature. The browser detects video on a page and lets you save it, which is handy for clips you want to keep for offline viewing without hunting for a separate downloader. It is the kind of tool that proves useful the first time a video you need is on a site that offers no download button.

More unusual is built-in support for GreaseMonkey and Tampermonkey user scripts. These are small pieces of code that modify how a page behaves: hiding elements, adding keyboard shortcuts, changing layouts, automating repetitive clicks. Support for them inside a mobile browser is uncommon, and it is the feature that would push me toward X Browser over a mainstream alternative if I already relied on scripts on desktop.

Both features assume a certain comfort level. Saving video raises questions about what you are entitled to keep, and user scripts require you to find, trust and install code from elsewhere. Neither is difficult, but both reward a user who reads before clicking. For someone who just wants to browse news and email, these are extras rather than reasons to switch.

Privacy choices, autofill and customization

The developer makes a point of privacy and security: very few permissions requested, no background residency and no push services. That combination matters on Android. A browser that stays out of the way is a quieter neighbor.

Autofill handles the forms you fill in constantly, storing a username, password or address and entering it for you. It is a convenience feature, so I would treat it as suitable for routine sites and think twice before storing credentials you consider sensitive.

Customization is broad: appearance, gestures and shortcuts can all be adjusted. Gesture control is the one I would expect to matter most day to day, since swiping to switch tabs or trigger an action is faster than reaching for a menu. The recent changelog also mentions a fix for the home page sometimes shifting between four and five columns.

What the browser asks of you

The requirements here are modest and mostly practical. X Browser is free, shows no ads of its own and has no in-app purchases, so nothing in the app is gated behind payment. It has been updated as recently as September 2026, with fixes covering video casting stability, playback in Eye Comfort mode and casting on Android 17 devices.

The cost is in attention rather than money. Ad blocking works best when you subscribe to rules and keep them current. User scripts have to be sourced and maintained by you. Video saving works on what the browser can detect, so site compatibility is an ongoing effort rather than a solved problem.

I would also set expectations about scale. This is a browser built around speed and a small footprint. If your browsing life is tied to a larger platform, that is worth considering. That is a deliberate trade, and it is the one the developer has chosen.

Getting the most from a minimal browser

Start with the blocking setup. Subscribe to one reputable rule list, browse normally for a few days, and only add more if you keep seeing the same unwanted content. Layering lists from the start is the quickest way to make pages load slowly and wonder why, when the cause is your own configuration rather than the browser.

Then decide how much you want to customize. The gesture and shortcut options are worth ten minutes of your time early on, because habits formed in the first week tend to stick. If you use scripts, keep a short list of the ones you actually rely on and remove the rest; each one adds a small amount of unpredictability to every page it touches.

Finally, treat autofill as a convenience for low-stakes forms and keep your most important credentials out of it. Used that way, the feature saves real time without turning a lightweight browser into a single point of failure. The whole appeal of an app this small is that it stays out of the way, and these habits keep it that way.

A small browser for people who want control

X Browser is a good fit if you want a browser that stays small, opens quickly and gives you levers to pull.

It suits tinkerers, people with limited storage, and anyone who has grown tired of browsers that behave like platforms. It is less suited to someone who would rather not think about filter lists and scripts at all.

For everyone else, the price of entry is zero and the demands are modest: a little setup, a willingness to maintain your own blocking rules, and an acceptance that a minimal browser trades some conveniences for speed and control. On that basis, it is an easy app to try and a hard one to regret.

What's new in version 5.6.4

1. Fixed an issue where the home page layout would sometimes change from 4 columns to 5 columns. 2. Optimized video casting stability, and fixed an issue where casting was unavailable on Android 17 devices. 3. Fixed an issue where videos on some websites could not be played in Eye Comfort mode. 4. Optimized autofill, and fixed an issue where autofill failed in certain cases. 5. Applied a blur effect to the background when the password/fingerprint dialog pops up.