[Info] Brave Browser Turn Out To Be The Most Private Browser From The Study

[Henri Cartier]

A privacy expert who compared the popular browsers came to the conclusion that Brave Browser is by far the most private browsers of all.

Trinity College Dublin’s chair of computer systems, Dr. Douglas Leigth, authored a study comparing Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge and Yandex in terms of how much personal data they share with backend servers. Brave’s default configuration was by far the best of the bunch.

“Used ‘out of the box’ with its default settings Brave is by far the most private of the browsers studied. We did not find any use of identifiers allowing tracking of IP address over time, and no sharing of the details of web pages visited with backend servers.”

Out of 6 browsers that were placed under the study, Brave is the only browser that doesn’t share personally identifiable information. Brave was followed by runners-up Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, which all have “identifiers linked to the browser instance.” These types of identifiers, the study states, persist across browser restarts. Crucially, however, those identifiers are removed after a fresh browser installs.

Edge and Yandex came in dead last, as both browsers have persistent hardware identifiers that cannot be revoked, even by reinstalling the browser.

“Both send identifiers that are linked to the device hardware and so persist across fresh browser installs <>. Edge sends the hardware UUID of the device to Microsoft <>. Similarly, Yandex transmits a hash of the hardware serial number and MAC address to back end servers. As far as we can tell this behavior cannot be disabled by users.”

Read the detailed Study by Dr. Douglas Leigth here - https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Doug.Leith/pubs/browser_privacy.pdf

Conclusion: Brave Browser is the best browser out of all the browsers in terms of protecting personal information.

[Disclaimer]: I am not related to Brave Browser.


Source: Privacy Study: Brave Browser Smacks Down Chrome, Firefox & Safari

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[pooya87]

it is a shame that all that effort they put into making the browser more privacy oriented is nullified when they ask the users who want to use the main feature of this wallet which is using cryptocurrencies and tokens to submit their KYC in order to be able to cash out their coins.

[Yogee]

Wow Chrome is a runner up. They used to be heavily criticised for gathering and selling user data. What happened?

[o_e_l_e_o]

The quote OP shared explains why this study categorically does not show that Brave is the most private browser:

“Used ‘out of the box’ with its default settings Brave is by far the most private of the browsers studied.”

"Out of the box". Brave does not have the customization options or configurability that Firefox does. Spend an hour tweaking Firefox and installing the right extensions, and it is far and away more private than Brave is.

The report goes on to list some of the problems with Firefox. It says the search auto complete feature on Google is a privacy risk. I agree, which is why I have it disabled and don't use Google. It says Firefox sends telemetry. Good thing I've turned that off too.

Brave is fundamentally an ad company. Brave browser is ultimately designed to track what you do to serve you with ads. It has the power to inject whatever ads Brave deem acceptable in to your browser. This is a massive security risk. They also have deals to allow trackers from the worst offending sites like Facebook and Twitter. None of this can be disabled like it could be on Firefox.

Brave is better than Chrome (but so is literally anything), but it's nowhere near hardened Firefox.

[AOL]

it is a shame that all that effort they put into making the browser more privacy oriented is nullified when they ask the users who want to use the main feature of this wallet which is using cryptocurrencies and tokens to submit their KYC in order to be able to cash out their coins.

This is true. KYC is a BIG hindrance in BAT earning. I guess, that is why this project is being forked. Dissenter browser is forking it to pay user through Bitcoin and Crypto Powered Development Project is forking it to pay user through CPD Token. AFAIK, neither would require KYC. Ultimately, all of them, including Brave, are forking Google's Chromium, which has even been forked by Microsoft for their Edge browser.

[bitmover]

There are many different websites which consider firefox the most private one.
It is free, no catches (like kyc from brave, bat token etc), and privacy oriented. Just download privacy addons and you are good to go.

It is a better browser.

[LeGaulois]

Too bad they compared only 6 browsers while there are other browsers focusing on privacy like Iridium, SRWare, ungoogled-chromium. If they did perhaps Brave wouldn't be on the top.
Not even talking about some browsers for GNU/Linux OS which are too focusing on privacy for a decade now.
Features on modern browsers exist for years in others (built-in VPN, fingerprint, tracking, telemetry, and so on)

[20kevin20]

I installed the browser only once a few months ago just 'cause I was curious about it, but once I found out that KYC is a requirement to earn BAT I said no thanks and uninstalled it straight away. It's the biggest turnoff for me. I understand the regulation-friendly purpose of this KYC implementation in the browser, but giving away my identity for a few bucks per month is a silly move that makes no sense to me.

My identity isn't worth the reward of $10 a month (took this figure from this website).

[hatshepsut93]

Tor browser is the most private browser, since it comes with the TOR network and it's also configured for privacy by default, though you still should use additional extensions that block advanced tracking techniques like canvas fingerprinting. On mobile platforms Firefox Focus is a very good privacy browser, since it wipes all stored data between sessions or on demand.

[nelson4lov]

Too bad they compared only 6 browsers while there are other browsers focusing on privacy like Iridium, SRWare, ungoogled-chromium. If they did perhaps Brave wouldn't be on the top.
Not even talking about some browsers for GNU/Linux OS which are too focusing on privacy for a decade now.
Features on modern browsers exist for years in others (built-in VPN, fingerprint, tracking, telemetry, and so on)

I think the test was conducted using operating systems used by the regular everyday users like windows and MacOS since majority of Linux users are power users. On that note, Brave browser is actually at the top of the privacy browser list. I've tried out Brave Browser on my mobile device and the experience was lit 🔥. It's like an updated version of Google Chrome.  I'm still setting up my Linux distribution so Imyet to get a privacy focused browser.

[o_e_l_e_o]

It's like an updated version of Google Chrome.

You don't see the problem with that statement? Google Chrome is spyware. It tracks everything you do. Google records every page you visit, every search you make, every picture or video you look at, everything you type, all your usernames and passwords, reads your emails, tracks your location, etc., etc., etc. Any browser which uses Chromium, as Brave does, is based on this spyware. Sure, they can go through all the code and remove most of the telemetry, tracking, phoning home, and so on, but they and you can never be sure they have removed it all, and the browser is still built upon spyware. Brave or Ungoogled Chromium are probably the best you will get to privacy when using a Chromium based browser, but they are both inferior to using a Firefox based browser.

[Lucius]

If only Brave remove Brave Reward/BAT from their browser, Brave Browser would be browser perfect for lazy/technology illiterate who care about their privacy.

But BAT is only option in Brave browser, and few months ago this option was available only in few countries, but now I see they include more countries. However, the number of active campaigns in these countries is very small, and therefore the profits coming from the BAT tokens. For those who are not from Tier 1 countries, the profits are almost insignificant, no matter how much you surf.


Source


I use Firefox for years, then I switch to Chrome, now I am back to Firefox, but very often I use two browsers at the same time, and second option is for now Brave. It is not bad browser, but I never like it too much, although this is probably a matter of habit. I would recommend to everyone to try more different browsers until they find the one that works best for them. Sometimes it's not that the browser is bad in the sense that it is slow or is crashing/freezing, but it should be borne in mind that old hardware just can't keep up with the requirements of new software.

[bitrot]

Great browser.  Fast and private.  You need to scan and upload your government id to use all the features... er...

I suppose thats a good thing for BAT though as cynical me thinks everyone will just dump their "free" coins on exchanges if its too easy.