Apple’s Safari browser now has more than a billion users, or nearly 20% of all Internet users.

These numbers are from Atlas VPN (opens in a new tab) who conducted a study to identify the most used Internet browsers. Although Safari has achieved a monumental goal, it doesn’t even come close to Google Chrome’s colossal numbers.

Atlas VPN pulled data from GlobalStates and InternetWorldStats, and according to their figures, Google Chrome has over 3.3 billion users worldwide. This means Chrome takes a bit longer 64% of the total browser market. After Safari, there is Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Samsung Internet.

• Microsoft Edge is in third place with over 212 million users and just over 4% of the market.
• Firefox is fourth with more than 179 million users and about 3% of users
• Fifth is Samsung Internet with nearly 150 million users or 2.85 percent.

Security and availability

Atlas VPN attributes the popularity of most top browsers to their wide availability and security features. Chrome is a bit different. Atlas VPN claims Chrome’s “app player design” is a big draw. Google has many widely used apps like YouTube, Maps, and Drive which many people use frequently. These apps, Atlas VPN claims, lead people to try out Google’s other services and eventually download Chrome.

The success of Safari is linked to the fact that it is instantly available on all iPhones and Macs. According to the study, what prolongs this success are the security features of the browser. Namely, its Intelligent smudge prevention function which prevents bad actors from tracking people across websites.

Microsoft Edge and Samsung Internet are similar to Safari minus the security features. Edge is the default on all Microsoft devices, plus there was this time period it was hard to change default browser, which has led to an increase in users, according to Atlas. And Samsung’s proprietary browser is on all of its mobile devices, so the app has been widely adopted.

Firefox’s popularity is tied to its security features. The the browser has tons of extensions that protect people various forms of malware. He also has the Secure Shell network protocol, which provides secure communication between devices and is one of the few browsers that support it.

Analysis: The next potential Safari update

From June 6 to June 10, Apple will hold its big developer conference WWDC 2022. People are expecting to see the next iteration of iOS, macOS and Apple’s new chip. It will be interesting to see what security changes Apple makes to its software and how it will affect Safari.

2021 may not have been a good year for Apple in terms of security. Expect to see Apple do more on this front.