The next major version of the privacy-focused Brave browser will start blocking annoyances like "open in app" prompts and will feature better protections against pool-party attacks.
Obtrusive "open in app" pop-ups aim to take visitors to a space where browsers' privacy protections features do not apply, allowing the app author to freely gather extensive user data.
Brave will now block this annoyance starting version 1.49 for Windows and Android (already available on iOS since v1.44), allowing users to browse the web without unexpected interruptions.
"Brave will hide "open in app" annoyances by enabling the "Fanboy's Mobile Notifications List," maintained in part by folks working at Brave," the software developer informs.
Users can disable the feature from the settings menu by deactivating the "Fanboy's Mobile Notifications List" under the custom and regional filters.
Brave version 1.49 will also add protections against "pool-party" attacks that aim to persistently track users by abusing characteristics in the implementation of browser features.
A pool-party attack can help attackers to track their targets' browsing behavior across website. They require limited shared resources, or "pools," to create side channels that allow tracking and circumvent privacy protections in browsers.
Pool-party attacks are powerful, pervasive, and practical. Unfortunately, they appear to impact all modern web browsers, including Brave.
Although Brave had updated its defenses against these attacks in version 1.35, its engineers have found that sites now employ alternative ways that can bypass existing protections.
Another feature planned for version 1.49 is partial support for procedural cosmetic filters, which are used to specify which page elements should be hidden when blocking ads.
For starters, Brave supports two of the most popular procedural cosmetic filters, but there are plans to add more in future releases.
Finally, Brave version 1.50 for Android will introduce more screen attribute-based fingerprinting protections to prevent sites from profiling and tracking users based on their device screen size.
Brave will now prevent trackers from accessing screen size and browser position and will report slightly different randomized values to each site for each browser session, making persistent tracking impossible.
Comments
wackoinWaco - 1 year ago
This is why I use Brave all of the time. You will NEVER see Goolgoe post anything that promotes user privacy in Chrome because USERS ARE THE VICTIMS
SoftwareEngineer248 - 1 year ago
Agreed - Chrome has two main purposes:
1) Make sure Google is the default search engine
2) Make sure Google can track users so Google can increase ad relevance. Google wants to increase advertisement relevance because users are more likely to click on more relevant ads. The problem with all of this tracking is the data can be misused (i.e. it can be used to target people with unpopular religious, political, or cultural beliefs).
Echo64 - 1 year ago
I know there's some 3rd party apps/extensions that will do this on Safari, but it's nice to have it built right in to the browser.
TanyaC - 1 year ago
Brave was such a good idea and could have been great, So correct me if I'm wrong; It still requires you to be entrenched in the least trustworthy ecosystem around - Googles ecosystem. Like having a google play account, access to their store to get updates. etc.
wackoinWaco - 1 year ago
@TanyaC
While Goolgoe Play is the primary site for downloading apps, there is also F-Droid which lacks Goolgoe app protection, but let me give you a first hand experience with Goolgoe Play.
I downloaded an app there - Anti Spy Pro: Android Booster. After a few weeks I had an online experience that made me look into all of the permissions. It was terrible, and I understood why I had the online experience that I did. I deleted it immediately.
F-Droid is Open Source where anyone can inspect the apps there. Goolgoe doesn't care.
Besides, I went into my Goolgoe account and paused everything - Activity, location, history etc. I also have location turned off on all of my devices.
So I have Goolgoe Play on my mobile phone, but I don't believe I'm part of the "ecosystem". I also have uBlock Origin among other extensions in my browser.
NoneRain - 1 year ago
If Google services are running in bg all the time, you're "part of their ecosystem".
Also, if you have Google Maps or such, they may collect your localization, even if GPS is off, to "improve their services".
The thing is: are you ready to remove practicality in favor of some privacy? Cuz there's no "total privacy" on the internet. If you have accounts, and use services, you're already trading some privacy.