This built-in Aloha Browser feature made me realize what Chrome has been missing all along

Published Aug 8, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT Akshay Bhalla was the former game guides editor for Screen Rant and the technology editor at MensXP. He has previously written about smartphones, apps, streaming, gadgets and games for print, digital, and TV media outlets. When he isn’t writing about tech, he can often be found playing JRPGs, listening to music or playing with his three dogs. I was never satisfied with Google Chrome as my default browser on my phone, so I started using Aloha two years ago. It was the best decision I made, and after using the Aloha browser daily, going back to Google Chrome will be impossible. Initially, I was turned off by not being able to block ads and pop-ups. However, after I switched to Aloha, its built-in Virtual Private Network (VPN) service won me over. Aloha’s built-in VPN system is the clear star here Chrome has a lot of catching up to do Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police My main motivation for switching to a different browser may have been to block ads, but I used Aloha’s VPN feature more than anything. I like to watch a lot of anime, catch up on baseball, and watch content when I’m not gaming or writing. But watching content of your choice can be extremely challenging if it isn’t available on the major streaming platforms in my region. That’s when I started to use Aloha’s VPN feature as a last resort. Aloha browser offers VPN services for free to all users without data limits, and it works on par with other services like Surfshark or NordVPN. What’s neat is that it doesn’t require any additional setup and can be turned on by simply tapping the shield/bolt button next to the address bar. Premium users can access 80+ locations and apply device-wide VPN protection. The one thing that caught my eye was that the VPN only activates for the browser, meaning it doesn’t affect other apps on the phone. Browser-only VPN protection is handy for me as it lets me access other apps that might not work on VPN connections. Financial apps like banking and payments are notorious for blocking access when using a VPN connection. Aloha lets me mitigate that. Since I’m a premium user, I can use the phone-wide VPN connection for other apps or when I’m traveling to a country that blocks certain apps. Compared to Chrome, Aloha’s VPN feature alone wins me over, and I haven’t even mentioned the other advantages the app offers. Earlier, if I wanted to use a VPN with Chrome, I would need to install a system-wide VPN app that would render other important apps useless. That would be the beginning of my problems, as I would have to deal with an extra app running in the background, battery drain, and hampering data speeds that ruined the overall experience. On top of Aloha’s VPN feature, I appreciate its efforts to protect my privacy. It’s a bonus that I wasn’t aware of until recently. Aloha has an uncompromising policy of not storing logs and aggressive ad-blocking, which is the opposite of Google and Chrome’s business models. For once, I can browse freely and do more with the Aloha browser without worrying about being tracked or being served ads just because I looked up a product. Aloha browser goes a few steps further than Chrome Outshining in more ways than one Credit: Lucas Gouveia / Android Police | Aloha Browser Having an in-built VPN service is only the start for the Aloha browser, as its true potential is unlocked when used in tandem with other features. To my surprise, Aloha has a feature that I never thought I would rely on daily: built-in media downloading and video playback. While Chrome does the basics on Android, Aloha lets me download audio and video files from most websites to watch later. One pain point that most VPN users complain about is download speeds. But Aloha has smart load balancing and multi-threading download options, which make downloading smooth, and I don’t have to worry about slow speeds. I download multiple video and audio files in one go at a fairly fast speed so I can watch them later without interruptions or buffering. It’s a feature I use on the go or when I’m stuck in traffic. I highly recommend turning on the multi-threading option if you want to download content quickly while using Aloha’s VPN service. If you’re wondering how to turn on multi-threading downloads in Aloha, here’s how: Tap File Manager in the bottom menu. Tap the Gear Settings option. Turn on Parallel Downloads. Choose the number of threads in the Downloading Threads section. Using a higher number of threads for downloads could result in rapid battery drain. Using the native media downloader in tandem with the VPN lets me download all sorts of videos and audio. I can even consume VR content within the browser. What’s neat is that Aloha lets me play audio and videos in the background, so I can use it for audiobooks and podcasts. The media player is also feature-rich, as it supports gesture controls and supports multiple file formats. If you’ve used the VLC player on Android before, you will feel right at home in Aloha. There are tons of other quality-of-life features in Aloha that you won’t find in Chrome. For example, there’s a speed dial feature I can use to access my favorite websites with just one tap. Or if I have a file I want to share with another device, I can transfer files locally between devices using the “Wi-Fi Sharing” feature. When you consider everything Aloha has to offer and the features that I love using every day, Chrome cannot even hold a candle to it. Switching to Aloha was the best decision I made The Aloha browser is a versatile and handy browser that lets me do everything I need for daily web browsing, media consumption, privacy, and then some. I use the browser across all my devices and prefer it over the Brave browser because it offers more value and flexibility. Unless there’s another browser that can match up or offer better value than Aloha’s feature stack, I may never have to switch again.