Avast Secure Browser is a Chromium-based web browser with privacy and security controls collected in its Security and Privacy Center. It opens ordinary websites, installs compatible browser extensions, saves bookmarks, and can synchronize selected browser data. Avast Secure Browser differs from adding one blocker to another browser because its modes, cleaning controls, and optional Bank Mode share one settings surface.
Modes change storage
Default Mode keeps normal browsing history and site data while running the selected protection controls. Private Mode starts a separate session and deletes its browsing data and history when the private window closes. That deletion does not make activity invisible to a website, Internet provider, workplace network, or account signed into the page.
Private Mode also blocks screenshots inside its session. A user who needs to keep a receipt, download, or transaction reference should save it deliberately before closing. Files downloaded to the computer remain outside the private history cleanup, so another person with local access can still find them.
Avast Secure Browser can clear data through Privacy Cleaner. The time range and selected categories matter. Removing cookies signs many sites out, while removing saved form data can erase entries the user expected to reuse. The cleanup cannot be undone after confirmation.
Bank Mode needs antivirus
Bank Mode opens a separate virtual desktop for payment and banking sessions. It isolates that desktop from third-party screenshot attempts, keystroke logging, and injected scripts on the ordinary Windows desktop. Avast Secure Browser cannot start this mode by itself: Avast Antivirus or Avast One must also be installed and running on the same Windows computer.
A user can switch back to the standard desktop without ending Bank Mode. The protected desktop continues running in the background until it is closed from its own taskbar. Leaving a bank signed in there can therefore keep a session alive after the visible window seems to have disappeared.
Bank Mode can pin another program to its taskbar, but adding an untrusted program weakens the reason for isolating the session. The companion antivirus, browser extensions, and Bank Mode components also need updates. When Bank Mode refuses to open, Avast’s repair steps include updating extensions and repairing the installed antivirus product.
Blocking has levels
AdBlock applies filter lists according to the chosen blocking level. A stricter level can remove more advertising and tracking requests, but it can also hide a site’s consent controls, video player, checkout element, or sign-in dependency. A broken page may need a site exception rather than a global reduction in protection.
Web Shield and the browser’s optional VPN controls have separate roles. A shield examines risky web traffic and pages, while a VPN changes the network path and visible public address. Turning on one does not mean the other runs, and neither makes a signed-in account anonymous to its service.
Sync follows the account
Avast Sync can carry selected browser information between signed-in installations. Signing out of the Avast account removes the session identifier used to verify synchronization and can leave Sync paused or showing an error. Signing back in restores the relationship only after verification succeeds.
Synchronization is not a substitute for an independent bookmark export or password recovery plan. A deletion that synchronizes can reach other linked devices. Before clearing a large set of data, check which categories belong to Sync and whether another copy exists outside the account.
Security still needs judgment
Avast Secure Browser can reduce several browser risks, but it cannot decide whether a payment request, extension, or downloaded program is legitimate. A protected session can still submit credentials to a convincing fraudulent domain if the user ignores the address.
Extension permissions deserve the same review as they do in another Chromium browser. An extension allowed to read and change all site data gains broad access inside normal browsing. Keeping only necessary extensions reduces the number of components that can observe pages or alter their behavior.
