Latest version of Helium lets you pick a password manager right during browser setup

The latest version of Helium has one notable user-facing change, and that’s the ability to install a password manager of your choice during setup. The rest of the update is largely bug fixes, so there aren’t many user-facing changes.

Information about the v0.15.1 update was posted on GitHub, and you can view a screenshot of the changelog below.

However, when I checked for the update, the latest version was v0.15.1.1. This suggests that a minor update came out after the previous release, though it’s likely not very noteworthy since there’s no available changelog.

The developer of the Helium browser, @uwukko, posted about the password manager installation on X. He explained how it promotes user choice and browser independence, without locking you in to proprietary password managers. Many browsers like Chrome aggressively push their first-party password managers, and Helium doesn’t do that. You can view the post below, which includes a video demo of the feature in action.

This password manager selection screen during setup is the major user-facing change. The rest of them are minor refinements to improve the experience. The important ones are:

1. Chromium engine update to v151.0.7922.71, which brings all the Chromium security improvements.
2. Helium’s custom patches have been cleaned up.
3. The update adjusts the list of Chromium flags that Helium disables. This is for improved privacy and to remove Google services.
4. Side panel width: The side panel can be made narrower than before, which would give you more space for webpages.
5. Vertical tabs mute button: Earlier, there was a bug where the mute button had incorrect click detection. You no longer have to click the “wrong” spot, since it’ll respond properly now.

All in all, this update carries forward Helium’s trend of giving the user options. For example, one of the previous updates also expanded the search engine choice.

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