this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023

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Privacy

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Please, do not use Brave. (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by eya@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I have seen many people in this community either talking about switching to Brave, or people who are actively using Brave. I would like to remind people that Brave browser (and by extension their search engine) is not privacy-centric whatsoever.

Brave was already ousted as spyware in the past and the company has made many decisions that are questionable at best. For example, Brave made a cryptocurrency which they then added to a rewards program that is built into the browser to encourage you to enable ads that are controlled by Brave.

Edit: Please be aware that the spyware article on Brave (and the rest of the browsers on the site) is outdated and may not reflect the browser as it is today.

After creating this cryptocurrency and rewards program, they started inserting affiliate codes into URL's. Prior to this they had faked fundraising for popular social media creators.

Do these decisions seem like ones a company that cares about their users (and by extension their privacy) would make? I'd say the answer is a very clear no.

One last thing, Brave illegally promoted an eToro affiliate program making a fortune from its users who will likely lose their money.

Edit: To the people commenting saying how Brave has a good out-of-the-box experience compared to other browsers, yes, it does. However, this is not a warning for your average person, this is a warning for people who actively care about their privacy and don't mind configuring their browser to maximize said privacy.

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[–] millions@universeodon.com 18 points 2 years ago

@eya I made sure I’d never use brave when I found out that the ceo is a massive homophobe

[–] Pantherina@feddit.de 17 points 2 years ago (5 children)

I dont use Brave and will never use it. But this sounds not logical.

Their ad system and affiliate URLs are not anti-privacy per-se. Its not as easy.

I will not use it as its

99% controlled by Google
dependend on Google Addon store
bad UI
bad OS integration
not Arkenfox

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[–] HughJanus@lemmy.ml 15 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Just disable the ads, crypto and telemetry and suddenly none of those things are a problem anymore, just like Firefox.

[–] ilikekeyboards@lemmy.world 14 points 2 years ago (14 children)

It still uses chromium and it's susceptible to the Google's Web integrity protocols. An website using the new protocols can refuse to load on your browser if you don't accept the ads. Why is it so difficult to comprehend?

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[–] veniasilente@lemm.ee 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Even worse for privacy, it uses the Chrome engine.

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[–] ZeroTHM@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (27 children)

What should I use on android?

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[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Honestly, even the crypto part of Brave was a cool idea. Back when it was in beta, I was sending various websites and GitHub users 'tips', and they were able to cash out. It was genuinely supposed to be a new way to monetize the web (they later made the tips automatic based on how long you spent on each webpage), but, yeah.. Too many people didn't see the vision, and they got too much hate, so I'm pretty sure that whole program is axed now.

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[–] WarlordSdocy@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (13 children)

I used to use Firefox but have been using Brave cause I was getting tired of having to open Edge every time there would be an addon or tool that was Chrome exclusive. So unless there's other options for privacy focused chromium browsers I'm just gonna stick with brave.

[–] eya@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

What addons are you using that are Chromium exclusive? Also, Ungoogled Chromium exists.

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[–] Ozzy@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Firefox + Startpage is really cool. I like how their searched don't include the search parameters in the url + the built in proxy

[–] fl42v@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Startpage is "cool" as long as you're not using a proxy/VPN, and otherwise they tell you to GTFO (without an opportunity to complete a capcha or smth). Even more, they can tell you the very same thing if you're sharing a connection with lots of ppl (e.g. a dorm or a public WiFi, probably). Finally, (heard it from surveillance report, but didn't care to check myself since I've stopped using them 'cause of proxies long before) they don't interact with journalists, and there's not much known about their parent company

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