Built by Parents, for Parents

Hedgehog Browser was built by parents who wanted to protect their children online. We were frustrated by the lack of truly safe browsers - ones that children couldn't bypass or disable.

We looked at parental control software and "kid-safe" browsers, but none of them worked properly. Children could find ways around the restrictions, and the browsers themselves were often outdated.

So we built Hedgehog - a modern browser that blocks inappropriate content, TikTok, YouTube, and other addictive platforms, with protection that children simply cannot disable. Our own children use it, and we're confident in its protection.

Hedgehog is built on Chromium, the same open-source browser engine that powers Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and many others.

This means you get excellent website compatibility and performance, with all the extras we've built on top - ad blocking, VPN, data compression, and privacy features that the big browsers won't give you.

While Hedgehog is built on open-source Chromium, our additions - particularly the ad blocking - are closed source. The reason is simple: it would break the ad blocking.

If our ad blocking code was public, Google, YouTube, and every advertising network would study it and find ways around it within days. The cat-and-mouse game would become impossible to win.

Keeping our code closed means we can stay ahead. When ad networks change their tactics, we can update our blocking without giving them a roadmap. It's not about secrecy for its own sake - it's about keeping the browser working the way you expect it to.

Hedgehog is entirely self-funded and based in the UK. There's no venture capital, no private equity, no investors pushing us to monetise your data or cram in more ads.

We answer to ourselves and our users - that's it. This is why we can promise to never sell your data and actually mean it.

If we ever raise capital in the future, it will be on terms that protect what Hedgehog stands for. But for now, we're happy building something we believe in, at our own pace.

We'll be honest with you: occasionally you'll hit a website that doesn't work quite right in Hedgehog. When that happens, try switching off the VPN, ad blocking, and data optimisation options - this usually resolves the issue.

No browser is perfect, but because we use Hedgehog ourselves every day, compatibility problems get fixed quickly. If something's broken, we want it fixed as much as you do. We're always happy to investigate problem websites - just let us know via the contact page and we'll look into it.