Old man alert. Nerd alert. EXTREME snoozefest alert. You've been warned, continue reading at your own peril!
originally posted in /c/technology but was removed quickly, presumably because it's not considered a tech article or news. This is probably the better fit anyhow
For those who aren't familiar with the Brave browser, its history and controversies, or Gecko engine vs. Chromium engine (and loosely, Webkit), it's probably worth reading up on first. I'm writing this with the assumption that you know all of this stuff, because otherwise this post would be an even longer novel than it already is.
Brave recently released a paid version of their browser called Brave Origin which strips out a bunch of "features" like web3, AI, crypto, telemetry, etc.
It has a dedicated installer separate from the normal browser, except on mobile where the features can be batch disabled after verifying your license. You can also do it that way on the desktop version if you want to. Apparently a standalone android Origin app may be in the works, and the licensing system does seem to be relatively privacy preserving and not overly restrictive.
It's pretty damn expensive (except for Linux where it's free). And I must say that I feel like an outlier, because I strongly approve of this release and the direction I'm seeing the company take.
Let me state these right now:
- Brave's controversies are real and they were completely unacceptable and they are a permanent mark on their reputation. It's no wonder many distrust them.
- I'm fully aware that this still indirectly utilizes Google's work, and that Google creates open source projects, pumps a ton of money into them, gets a ton of contributers on board, and then starts introducing proprietary blobs which handicaps competition while effectively squeezing free work and investment out of others.
- I love FOSS with all my heart.
- I could add a bunch of disclaimers but I'll address them if I see something in the comments.
In a perfect world I would hate Brave's decision. In our current reality I think it's about the best move they could've made as a for-profit company outside of just creating their own browser engine. But there's a reason there are so few options for engines right now, and it's because it's really fucking complex to make one and it takes a fuckload of time, money, and resources. When somebody develops a genuine engine contender, I'll need to circle back.
Many of us use Firefox (or FF fork) with extensions. Many use ungoogled Chromium or other Chromoum forks. Obviously totally fine.
But there's a few issues with the current browser space, as I see them.
First is that the reality is, much of the web now treats Chrome (rather, the Chromium engine) as a first-class citizen. Some sites run significantly faster or more reliably on Chromium. Some sites require Chromium to fully function. For example, want to use the GrapheneOS web installer? You need a Chromium-based browser. Chromium has lots of features under the hood that the modern web utilizes. If this has never been a consideration for you, then this particular point is moot.
Second is that data harvesting and tracking is becoming wayyy more advanced than even some techies might know about - and let's be real, it's becoming pretty fucking exhausting to keep up with the growing pile of bullshit being thrown our way. It's also becoming harder and harder to stop. In both Gecko and Chromium you can, to varying degrees, install extensions, use browser forks, adjust settings, etc. to prevent much or even all of this. But the absolutely unfathomable amount of money being poured into violating your privacy needs hard, sustained, expensive work to fight in meaningful and new ways. One recent example I read about is brave implementing a new GPU anti-fingerprinting measure which is something I hadn't even considered before.
Third is that the Internet of today is just straight-up busted. Yes there are super cool projects in the works such as I2P that are trying to change that. But they're not reaching mass adoption any time soon. Most people can't even bother trying to leave for places like Lemmy and that's much less friction than I2P. I absolutely am not defeatist, and I fight this shit like the plague it is, but we also need to live our lives.
Fourth is that the way we use the internet varies. There's a lot of things we could do to make sure we're always maximally protected, but usually we find a balance. Stuff we daily drive, stuff we use when there's a specific need, stuff we're forced to use. If you're hardcore enough to do things to the max at all times then you don't even need to read this - you can browse in Mullvad Browser with (or without) a VPN or the Tor Browser, and supplement with OS and hardware privacy measures, etc... and you're likely better protected for it. But for me, and I suspect for many others, in typical daily use we want the right balance of speed, usability, privacy, and security.
Those "features" that brave bundles in are really shitty. But the mass market time and time again shows they'll put up with a lot of bullshit. And for most people you can just manually toggle the majority of these things off in the main browser for free, and it doesn't take more than a few minutes. These features, like it or not, pull in a lot more money than what most non-profits get when solely relying on donations. Hell, one of the huge things keeping Firefox propped up is their search engine deal with Google, not the donations.
Brave, like it or not, does provide some pretty compelling value in other places. First and foremost it's good to see people seeking out alternatives to Chrome for literally any reason. But they are admittedly super on-top of their Ad-blocking, anti-fingerprinting, other privacy features (like the shred tab button), and update cadence. They're the closest thing to a well-funded Chrome competitor that, unfortunately for our reality, runs on Chromium.
I get that it feels wrong to pay to remove features from your browser. But you know what, I'm sick of the micro transaction ad filled privacy invading bulls hit joke of an economy the internet has accepted at large. If it were up to me I would bring back freeware and shareware. Brave is the modern day WinRAR in an alternate universe where 7zip wasn't invented yet and the built in unzip still didn't support other formats.
I'm going to continue using my Gecko based browsers as I always have. But for when I want or need something from Chromium, I think Brave Origin is my new go-to. For me that's when I need certain hardware integration or I'm on a specific site, and chromium in my experience works very well with Android. One other thing I learned which to me is a definite plus, is that it was developed by the Ex-Ceo of Mozilla and creator of JavaScript (that was cool to learn, and that's one guy btw, not two).
For those who think this I'm suspiciously positive about Brave, I get it. I literally thought of brave as spyware until I read about Brave Origin. I think it's a sincere effort to correct course in a way that let's them operate at the level they need to maintain their product. For most people reading this who feel like trying Brave, they should just spend 5 minutes adjusting the browser settings. If you're clinically insane like me, and you actually resonated with this post, then maybe try it. And if you wanna buy it and chargeback or find a torrent or whatever, I don't really care.
I suppose this post is solely about Brave if we lived in a vacuum. But actually I think it's about sharing a mindset which I think can help the internet improve just a little bit, Brave or not.
Finally, let me end on a tangent about Alphabet Inc., mostly Google. That company is full of very smart sociopaths people who grabbed the internet by its collective ballsack, and while it may have felt good for a minute, they started squeezing them until you forgot what it feels like to have your balls flapping in the wind again. They made AOSP and then fucked us. They made Chromium and then fucked us. They did the heavy lifting for RCS and then fucked us. Google fucking sucks. And RIP to the word 'googol', you were robbed.
Honourable Webkit mention for Orion browser, and also their search engine Kagi which I fucking ADORE!
Tl;dr Brave Origin is alright, maybe try it, or don't.
