LayerX vs. Island

Achieving Browser Security Without the Overhead

What is the key difference between LayerX and Island?

Island

Island is an enterprise browser that requires organizations to replace users’ existing browsers with a proprietary Chromium-based alternative. This forces behavior change, fragments usage, and creates visibility gaps the moment users step outside the Island browser.

VS

LayerX

LayerX takes a fundamentally different approach: it is a browser-native security platform that works with the browsers users already use. It delivers full visibility, data protection, and GenAI security without replacing the browser, disrupting workflows, or creating blind spots.

What are the main drawbacks of Island?

Forces full browser replacement

Island requires users to abandon Chrome, Edge, or Safari in favor of a proprietary browser. This creates resistance, slows adoption, and introduces ongoing friction for both users and IT teams.

Easy to bypass and blind to real usage

The moment users access SaaS or GenAI tools in a non-Island browser, visibility is lost. Shadow AI, personal accounts, and non-SSO activity remain completely unmonitored.

Disrupts productivity and AI workflows

Island breaks native integrations with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and modern AI tools by isolating work into a non-native environment, reducing efficiency and user satisfaction.

IT Team Frustration

Running and maintaining a separate enterprise browser adds deployment, patching, and support complexity, while delivering slower time-to-value and higher total cost.

Difficult to achieve full deployment

Set last-mile user guardrails on any user activity, and applyHigh implementation overhead and pushback from users make it difficult to get buy-in from users to use the Island browser. This leads to user pushback and support tickets, making it difficult to achieve full deployment of the solution across the organization. granular enforcement controls

What are the main advantages of LayerX vs. Island?

Preserves the native browser experience

LayerX works directly inside existing browsers, securing activity without changing how users work or forcing retraining.

Full visibility across browsers and identities

LayerX protects both work and personal accounts, across managed and unmanaged browsers, eliminating the blind spots Island creates.

Purpose-built for modern SaaS and GenAI security

LayerX enforces real-time DLP, identity-aware controls, and AI prompt protection across all web activity, not just inside a single browser.

Fast deployment with minimal IT overhead

LayerX deploys in minutes as a lightweight extension, with no agents, no browser replacement, and immediate security value.

Easy to achieve full deployment

LayerX works inside users’ existing browsers, eliminating resistance, retraining, and workflow changes. This enables fast rollout, high user adoption, and IT teams avoid pushback and support tickets, making full deployment fast and realistic.

"LayerX Provides all the visibility and enforcement we need for last-mile user interactions with AI, SaaS & Web applications"

Jay DePaul ,
Chief Cybersecurity & Technology Risk Officer

How do LayerX and Island compare to each other?

Capability
Island
LayerX
Browser Model
Island Requires a proprietary enterprise browser
Works with existing browsers (Chrome, Edge, etc.)
User Experience
Island Forced browser switch and user friction
Native, unchanged workflows
Visibility Coverage
Island Only inside the Island browser
All browsers, all identities, work + personal
SaaS & GenAI DLP
Island Limited to Island-controlled sessions
Real-time, content-aware protection everywhere
Shadow AI & SaaS
Island Invisible outside Island
Fully visible and governed
Deployment & IT Overhead
Island Heavy lifecycle management
Lightweight, zero-touch deployment
Time to Value
Island Slow, dependent on full adoption
Immediate
Vendor Lock-In
Island High
None

Island secures only what happens inside its browser.

LayerX secures how people actually work.

Ready to secure the browser without replacing it?