Privacy and Blocking
What the browser does not do
Lightning contacts the sites you visit. It has no other conversations.
- No account and no sync. There is nothing to sign in to.
- No assistant. There are no AI features.
- No usage reports. Nothing about how you use it is sent anywhere, and crashes are not uploaded.
- No automatic updates. The browser changes when you install a newer version.
- No background services. Chromium's own, such as safe-browsing lookups and variation experiments, are switched off.
The one exception is something you ask for: Update under Settings ▸ Ads and trackers fetches fresh filter lists from easylist.to.
Ads and trackers
Blocking is on by default. It uses two widely used public lists, EasyList and EasyPrivacy, which come with the installation.
- A request the lists name is never sent.
- Page elements the lists hide, such as empty ad boxes, are hidden.
- The page you navigate to is never blocked, only what it loads.
The shield in the address bar shows how many requests were blocked on the current page. Click it for Turn off for this site if a site misbehaves; the page reloads without blocking, and the same button turns it back on.
Settings ▸ Ads and trackers turns blocking off everywhere, shows how old the lists are, updates them, and lists the sites where you turned it off.
Some filters are not applied: a small share of the lists' rules use features only dedicated blocker extensions support. Most ads and trackers are caught; a few sites will show more than they would under a full blocker extension.
Incognito windows
Ctrl+Shift+N opens one, in its own dark violet colours so you can tell it apart. What you do in it is not written to history, and its cookies and site data are forgotten when the window closes. Downloads and bookmarks you make are kept.
Incognito hides your browsing from other people who use this computer. It does not hide it from the sites you visit or from your network.
The sandbox
Pages run in Chromium's sandbox, as in Chrome: the part of the browser that runs a page's code has almost no access to your files or the rest of the system. A flaw in the engine is therefore much harder to turn into harm.
The sandbox limits damage; it does not replace updates. Install new versions when they come out.
Permissions
When a site asks to use the camera, microphone, your location, notifications and the like, a bar above the page asks Allow or Block. Your answer is remembered for that site, so it is not asked again.
To change an answer, click the icon at the start of the address bar on the site, or open Settings ▸ Site permissions, which lists every site with something remembered. Each permission can be set to Allow, Block or Ask, which forgets it so the site asks again; Forget clears everything for a site. Sharing your screen is asked every time. In an incognito window, answers are remembered only until the browser closes.
Certificates
A secure (https) site proves who it is with a certificate. When a certificate can't be trusted - it has expired, it is for a different site, the site signed it itself, or it comes from an issuer your computer does not trust - Lightning does not load the site. It says what is wrong instead, with Go back to leave.
If you know why the certificate is not trusted, for example on a device on your own network, Details shows the certificate and offers to continue to the site. That choice lasts for that site and that certificate until the browser closes, and the address bar shows a red warning while it does. To take it back sooner, click the warning and choose Stop trusting it.
Where your data is
Everything is in one folder, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Methodox\Lightning:
| File or folder | Holds |
|---|---|
Lightning.db |
History and bookmarks |
passwords.kdbx |
Sign-ins, addresses and cards |
settings.json |
Your settings |
Chromium |
Cookies, site data and the cache |
Blocking |
Filter lists you updated |
lightning.log |
A log of problems, useful when reporting one |
Uninstalling the browser leaves this folder alone. Delete it yourself to remove everything.
To keep a separate set of data, start the browser with --profile and a folder: "Methodox Lightning.exe" --profile D:\Work\LightningProfile.