Questions, answered.

Fruit Bat is a desktop web browser from Fruit Bat Labs. It blocks ads and trackers out of the box (Lime Blocker), opens Tor windows when you need to stay anonymous (Vampire Bat), and comes with Echo, an AI helper that runs on your own computer.

Windows, macOS (Apple silicon and Intel) and Linux (AppImage and .deb).

Soon. Fruit Bat is in testing now. When it's ready, the download will be on fruitbat.app.

It's built on Electron, which uses Chromium, the open-source engine behind Chrome, Edge and Brave. So sites work the way they do in Chrome, without a Google account or Google's own additions.

Yes. The welcome screen offers to import bookmarks from Chrome, Edge, Brave and other Chromium browsers. Passwords can be saved as you sign in; each one is encrypted with your computer's keychain.

Many do. You can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store and Edge Add-ons. Fruit Bat also has its own add-ons, like Colony Catcher and Chirp.

Ads, trackers and cookie pop-ups, on every site, from the first page. Its filter lists update themselves every few days, and an update only replaces the old lists if it actually works.

Click the lime in the toolbar › Pause Lime Blocker, then reload the page. Pausing applies everywhere, so click Turn Lime Blocker on when you're done. Switching it off for just one site isn't possible yet.

Yes. Right-click the page › Hide element…, point at it and click. It stays hidden on that site.

Normal windows say "Fruit Bat" next to Chrome in the browser's name, like Edge and Opera do. You can turn that off in Settings › Privacy & Security. Private and Vampire Bat windows never say.

The main ones: checking for Fruit Bat updates, updating Lime Blocker's filter lists, and downloading Widevine from Google for protected videos (you can turn that off). Echo's AI is only downloaded when you click, and then runs offline.

Windows that forget everything when you close them: history, cookies, logins and downloads list. Press Ctrl+Shift+P. Your internet provider and the sites you visit can still see your connection; for that, use a Vampire Bat window.

A private window whose traffic only goes through Tor. Sites see a Tor relay's address instead of yours, and your internet provider can't see which sites you visit. Open one with Alt+Shift+N.

No, it's built in. The first Vampire Bat window takes about 5–30 seconds to connect.

Yes. A site that offers an .onion address shows a .onion available button, and .onion links in normal windows open in Vampire Bat.

Settings › Vampire Bat has built-in bridges (Snowflake and obfs4), or you can paste your own bridge lines.

It covers the basics (Tor routing, HTTPS-only, stricter blocking, no Widevine, no wallet), but Tor Browser has years of extra hardening against fingerprinting. If your safety depends on staying anonymous, use Tor Browser.

Summarize a page, explain or translate it, compare tabs, and find a page in your history from a description ("that article about bats from last week"). Open it with Ctrl+Shift+E.

No. Echo's AI runs on your computer. Nothing you ask, and no page you ask about, is sent anywhere.

A one-time 2.8 GB download (Google DeepMind's Gemma model) and at least 6 GB of memory, 8 GB or more recommended. It only downloads when you click Download Echo's AI.

It can suggest Roost commands, like closing duplicate tabs, and runs them only after you say yes.

A command line for your browser. Press Ctrl+` and type help. Tidy a hundred tabs in one line, or write scripts that automate a site. Full docs at docs.roostlang.org.

No. Roost Basic reads like plain commands (tabs --dupes | close). If you know JavaScript, Roost Script will feel familiar.

A .roost file opens in Roost first, checked line by line, and asks before it runs. Scripts from files only get a safe set of commands; anything risky is refused until you save it as your own.

Yes. Fruit Bat downloads Google's Widevine copy protection the first time it opens, the same way Chrome does. Check it in Settings › Privacy & Security › Protected content, which has a Test playback button.

Open Settings › Privacy & Security › Protected content:

• Downloading: wait a minute and reload.
• Restart Fruit Bat (Linux, first time): restart and try again.
• Off: switch it on.
• Ready: pause Lime Blocker (the lime in the toolbar), reload, and see if it plays.

Widevine's licence requests identify your device, which would undo what Tor is for. Use a normal window for streaming.

Yes. Select text and press Ctrl+Shift+U, or right-click › Read aloud. Reader view (F9) strips the clutter first.

Fruit Bat's own private search at search.fruitbat.app, and the default search engine. Until its own results are ready, it sends your searches to DuckDuckGo.

Yes. Settings › Search lets you pick DuckDuckGo, Startpage or Google, or add your own with an address like https://example.com/?q=%s.

Yes. Pick Address bar + search bar in Settings › General (or on the welcome screen). Ctrl+K jumps to it.

Yes, on Windows, Mac and the Linux AppImage. It checks a few times a day and downloads in the background; a green Restart to update button appears when it's ready. The Linux .deb is updated by downloading the new version.

Yes: Settings › Language and updates › Update automatically. The same section has Check for updates.

Yes. Choose Beta in Settings › Language and updates to get new versions before everyone else.

An experimental crypto wallet built into the browser. It's off until you turn it on, and never available in Vampire Bat windows. Treat it as a test feature: don't keep more in it than you can afford to lose.

A built-in torrent downloader. Open a .torrent file or magnet link and it downloads in Fruit Bat. It's off in private and Vampire Bat windows.

Yes. Pick Vertical tabs in Settings › General. Tabs can be grouped and organized in the sidebar.