What Is Remote Browser Isolation (RBI)?
Remote browser isolation (RBI) is a cybersecurity technology that safeguards users from web-based threats by isolating browsing activity from the local endpoint. Instead of processing web content directly on a user’s device, RBI executes it on a remote, secure server. The system then transmits a safe rendering of the webpage to the user’s device. This approach ensures that potential threats, such as malware and malicious scripts, never access the local environment.
RBI is an effective security measure against phishing attacks, malicious ads, and infected websites, by ensuring threats cannot exploit browser vulnerabilities to infect devices. However, it introduces many challenges such as high latency, high bandwidth consumption, and compatibility issues, which ultimately reduce user productivity compared to traditional browser solutions.
We will discuss RBI technology, its pros and cons, and several modern technologies that are replacing it in organizations seeking to secure browser environments.
This is part of a series of articles about browser security.
In this article:
- How Does Remote Browser Isolation Technology Work?
- RBI Rendering Modes
- Remote Browser Isolation Use Cases
- Challenges of Remote Browser Isolation
- Modern Technology Alternatives to RBI
How Does Remote Browser Isolation Technology Work?
Remote browser isolation works by executing all web content in a remote environment—either on a cloud-based server or within a secure data center—rather than on the user’s local machine.
When a user requests a webpage, the RBI solution fetches the content, renders it remotely, and then sends a sanitized version to the user’s browser. This content can be transmitted in several formats, typically as a visual stream (pixel-based rendering), a DOM reconstruction (safe document object model), or through secure interaction mirroring.
Some RBI solutions also support file sanitization, where downloaded documents are cleaned or converted to safe formats (like PDF) before reaching the user. Additionally, policies can be enforced to block uploads, downloads, or interactions with unknown or risky domains.
RBI Rendering Modes
RBI solutions typically use one of the following techniques to render browser content.
Pixel Rendering
Pixel rendering—also known as “visual streaming” or “media-based rendering”—involves sending a real-time video stream of the browser session from the remote server to the user’s device. The user interacts with this video stream through their local browser, with mouse movements and keystrokes relayed back to the remote browser.
This method provides strong isolation because no actual web code or content ever reaches the endpoint. It neutralizes the risk of script-based or code-execution attacks. However, it may introduce higher latency and resource consumption, especially under heavy workloads or poor network conditions.
DOM-Based Rendering
DOM-based rendering reconstructs and transmits a sanitized version of the web page’s document object model (DOM) to the user’s browser. The RBI engine parses the original content remotely, strips out potentially malicious elements (like JavaScript or active content), and sends a secure, read-only copy of the site.
This approach offers a more interactive and responsive experience compared to pixel rendering. It preserves website functionality like text selection, form submission, and even limited scripting under strict controls. However, it involves more complex threat detection and transformation logic, which can vary in effectiveness across different content types.
Streaming Media
In scenarios involving dynamic or rich media content, such as video or audio streams, RBI platforms often use dedicated media streaming. This isolates media playback by relaying the stream through the RBI environment, ensuring that embedded media players or third-party scripts do not directly interface with the endpoint.
Media streaming provides a balance between usability and isolation for media-rich applications. It prevents content from leveraging browser vulnerabilities while preserving the media experience for end users.
Remote Browser Isolation Use Cases
Secure Access for Unmanaged Devices
Organizations often need to provide access to corporate resources from unmanaged or bring-your-own-device (BYOD) endpoints. These devices can pose a significant security risk due to the lack of enterprise-grade controls. RBI enables secure browsing by creating an isolated environment for web sessions, preventing any interaction between potentially compromised endpoints and internal systems.
With RBI, users on unmanaged devices can access web apps, intranet portals, or SaaS platforms without the risk of introducing malware or data leakage. It enforces a read-only mode, disables uploads/downloads, and ensures that sensitive content remains protected, even on devices outside the company’s security perimeter.
Third-Party Access Monitoring
Third-party vendors, contractors, or partners often require temporary or limited access to internal systems or tools. These external users typically fall outside the enterprise’s direct control and may use inadequately secured devices. RBI mitigates this risk by isolating their web sessions from the core environment.
Administrators can enforce fine-grained access policies, such as blocking copy/paste, file transfers, or site interactions deemed high-risk. Additionally, all activity within the isolated session can be logged and monitored for auditing and compliance.
Protection Against Phishing and Malware
Phishing websites and malware-laden pages are common attack vectors that exploit browser vulnerabilities. RBI acts as a buffer between the user and the web, neutralizing threats before they reach the endpoint. Since the user never directly loads the original web content, malicious scripts and payloads are contained in the remote environment.
RBI can dynamically isolate unknown or suspicious URLs, including links in emails or chat messages. Even if a user clicks on a phishing link, the site opens in a remote session with interaction controls, preventing credential theft or malware execution.
Challenges of Remote Browser Isolation
High Latency
One of the main drawbacks of RBI, especially in pixel rendering mode, is increased latency. Because content is rendered remotely and then transmitted to the user as a video stream or reconstructed page, every interaction requires round-trip communication with the server. This can lead to noticeable delays in page load times and user input responsiveness.
Latency is particularly problematic for users in geographically distant locations from the RBI infrastructure or in environments with limited network performance. It can degrade the user experience, making it unsuitable for tasks requiring real-time interaction or rapid navigation.
High Bandwidth Consumption
RBI solutions—especially those using visual streaming—consume significantly more bandwidth compared to traditional web browsing. Transmitting high-resolution video streams or continuously updating page visuals can strain network resources, particularly in environments with multiple concurrent users.
This bandwidth demand can lead to performance bottlenecks on corporate networks or increase operational costs for cloud-hosted RBI services. Organizations must carefully assess network capacity and scalability before wide deployment to avoid unintended service degradation.
Compatibility Issues
RBI platforms can struggle with complex or interactive websites that rely heavily on dynamic JavaScript, custom plugins, or non-standard rendering methods. Some web applications may not function properly in a sanitized or isolated environment, leading to broken layouts, missing features, or reduced usability.
In addition, DOM reconstruction can inadvertently strip necessary scripts or introduce rendering discrepancies. Pixel-based isolation, while secure, may hinder tasks like file uploads, form autofill, or drag-and-drop, impacting user productivity. Ensuring consistent compatibility across diverse web applications remains a key challenge in RBI adoption.
Modern Technology Alternatives to RBI
Remote browser isolation is widely considered to be a legacy technology. Here are newer technologies that can be used to help secure browsers.
1. Security-Augmented Browsers
Security-augmented browsers enhance traditional browsers through extensions or enterprise configurations that introduce advanced security capabilities. These may include phishing protection, script-blocking, content filtering, and endpoint telemetry reporting. Often, they integrate with existing endpoint protection platforms (EPP) or extended detection and response (XDR) tools.
These browsers provide a low-friction security model that’s easier to deploy and manage across large organizations. While they don’t offer the same level of isolation as RBI, they improve browser security with minimal impact on performance or compatibility. They are best suited for organizations seeking incremental security improvements without overhauling their entire browsing infrastructure.
2. Dedicated Enterprise Browsers
Dedicated enterprise browsers are purpose-built browsers designed specifically for corporate environments. They often come with built-in security features such as data loss prevention (DLP), policy enforcement, session logging, and integration with identity and access management (IAM) systems. These browsers isolate corporate data from personal use while providing granular control over browsing behavior.
By embedding security controls directly into the browser, enterprises can enforce consistent security policies regardless of the user’s device or location. Some solutions also include virtual containers or sandboxing to prevent local code execution. Unlike RBI, dedicated enterprise browsers don’t require remote rendering or high bandwidth, offering a faster user experience while still preventing exposure to malicious web content.
3. SASE
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a cloud-delivered framework that combines network security functions—such as secure web gateways (SWG), cloud access security brokers (CASB), and zero trust network access (ZTNA)—with wide-area networking (WAN) capabilities. By integrating these into a single service model, SASE ensures secure, policy-driven access to the internet, cloud services, and internal applications from any location or device.
Unlike RBI, which focuses solely on isolating browser activity, SASE delivers end-to-end network and security policy enforcement. It evaluates the identity of users, the context of access requests, and the sensitivity of resources before granting access. This makes it suitable for securing both web and non-web traffic. Additionally, SASE platforms scale better across distributed workforces and offer deep packet inspection and malware detection.
How Seraphic Security Redefines Remote Browser Isolation
Seraphic Security represents the next evolution of RBI, addressing the limitations and complexity that have hindered traditional RBI solutions in enterprise environments. While conventional RBI platforms often struggle with performance issues, user experience compromises, and deployment challenges, Seraphic delivers a hyper-secure browsing environment that maintains native browser functionality without sacrificing security efficacy. The platform leverages advanced containerization and streaming technologies to ensure that all web content processing occurs in isolated cloud environments, while users experience seamless, responsive browsing identical to local browser performance.
Traditional RBI solutions frequently create friction between security and productivity, forcing organizations to choose between comprehensive protection and user satisfaction. Seraphic eliminates this trade-off through intelligent optimization that preserves interactive web application functionality, supports complex multimedia content, and maintains compatibility with business-critical SaaS platforms. The solution’s architecture ensures that even sophisticated web applications requiring real-time interaction, file uploads, or multimedia streaming operate flawlessly within the isolated environment, removing the adoption barriers that have limited RBI effectiveness in many enterprises.
Key advantages of Seraphic’s modern RBI approach include:
- Zero-latency streaming: Advanced compression and optimization technologies deliver responsive browsing experiences that match local browser performance, eliminating the lag and delays associated with traditional RBI solutions.
- Universal web compatibility: Supports all web technologies, browser plugins, and interactive applications without requiring allowlists, exceptions, or compatibility modes that can create security gaps.
- Transparent deployment: Requires no endpoint software, browser modifications, or user training, enabling rapid rollout across distributed workforces and mixed device environments.
- Granular policy enforcement: Provides fine-grained control over web interactions, file transfers, and data handling while maintaining complete isolation from corporate networks and endpoints.
- Scalable cloud architecture: Delivers consistent protection and performance regardless of user location, device type, or network conditions, supporting modern hybrid work environments without infrastructure constraints.
Learn more about Seraphic here.
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