Samsung Internet Browser 17.0 Released: Anti-Tracking and Usability Improvements

Samsung Electronics released Samsung Internet 17.0, the company’s official mobile browser, on May 4, 2022. The new version of Samsung’s browser automatically blocks Internet tracking and improves usability in several significant ways.

Samsung Internet Browser is the default mobile browser on Samsung devices. It is also available on the Google Play store for non-Samsung devices. The new update is not yet available on Google Play or the Galaxy Store at the time of writing, but Samsung announced that users would start seeing update notifications once it is released.

Samsung Internet Browser users can check the version that is installed by selecting Menu > Settings > About Samsung Internet. The installed version is displayed and an update check is performed.

Samsung Internet 17.0 enhancements

The new version of Samsung’s mobile browser comes with improved anti-tracking functionality. The privacy feature is enabled by default for Samsung customers in several dozen countries, including the United States, South Korea, many European countries, including Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, and Iceland.

The previous version of Samsung’s Internet browser supported the anti-tracking feature, but had it disabled by default. Users can go to Menu > Settings > Browsing Privacy Panel > Smart Anti Tracking to enable or disable the privacy feature in that browser.

Samsung did not provide details regarding the improvements of the anti-tracking feature in the new version, only that it was improved in the new version of the browser.

The built-in privacy panel can now be accessed through the browser’s quick access panel. A tap on the input opens the dashboard, revealing the number of trackers locked. Users can also change privacy settings directly on the page.

Samsung notes in the launch announcement that its browser now supports external security keys for two-factor authentication; this is an alternative to SMS or app based verification options.

user experience

Samsung Internet Browser 17.0 introduces support for tab groups. Users can open the browser tab view to drag and drop tabs on each other to create tab groups. Tab groups consist of multiple sites, which improves organization, especially for users, who have many tabs open in the browser.

Samsung notes that the search experience has been improved for local data. Bookmark, history, and saved page searches can process searches with common typos to return results to the user. Phonetic matching is also now supported, and Samsung’s translation service supports an additional five languages, bringing the total to 26.

closing words

Samsung’s Internet browser has a considerable market share in mobile devices, thanks to its integration into Samsung devices. It is based on Chromium, the same font used by Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and other browsers.

Now you: Do you use the Samsung browser on your mobile devices?

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