Comet’s Privacy Glow-Up: Perplexity’s AI Browser Gets Smarter About Staying Quiet

• Comet launches new Privacy Snapshot widget for users
• Comet Assistant settings moved for better user control
• Privacy features include ad blocking and local data storage

In the endless arms race between privacy and convenience, Perplexity’s AI-powered browser Comet is rolling out a fresh batch of updates aimed at giving users tighter control over who sees what—and when.

Unveiled on October 31, 2025, the latest privacy features land somewhere between sensible and surgical. The headliner is a new Privacy Snapshot widget planted right on the homepage. One click and you’ve got a dashboard view of what’s being tracked, what’s being blocked, and how Comet’s quietly working in the background to keep your browsing data yours.

“With a single click on the widget, you can see exactly how Comet is protecting you and adjust any setting to match your preferences,” the company’s security team wrote in a blog post that reads less like corporate cheerleading and more like a nudge to paranoid power users.

Browsing, but make it discreet

The browser also reorganizes its Comet Assistant settings for easier access. Users can now flip the assistant on or off, block it from running on specific sites, or peek under the hood to see how their inputs are being used. It's the kind of granular control that could make incognito mode look like a blunt instrument.

Then there’s the baseline stuff that’s becoming table stakes for privacy-centric browsers: built-in ad and tracker blocking, Safe Browsing protection, auto-clearing of personal queries after 30 days, and a local-first design ethos that keeps as much data as possible on-device.

Comet’s built-in password manager and regular security updates round out a set of features that would feel right at home in a VPN-pilled Reddit thread—but with a bit more polish.

A quiet rethink of “AI browser”

While Google’s Chrome continues its identity crisis and Microsoft’s Edge keeps pitching its AI assistant as a productivity sidekick, Comet is doubling down on a different vision: one where AI enhances the browser without siphoning off every keystroke to some distant cloud server.

That’s not to say Comet doesn’t collect data. But its bet is clear: if it’s transparent about what it’s doing—and makes opting out as easy as opting in—users won’t mind the machine learning magic that makes the whole experience feel a little sharper.

This update won’t start a browser war, but it could nudge Comet closer to relevance in a crowded market where privacy is the currency and user trust is bleeding interest.

So yes, it’s a widget. But maybe it’s also a quiet vote for a version of the web where AI doesn’t mean you surrender control—it just means you know where the controls are.