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Brave: Solving internet issues Google doesn’t want you to know exist

Brave: Solving internet issues Google doesn’t want you to know exist
Russell Kidson

Russell Kidson

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Brave browser has long been the champion of data-conscious individuals who want to protect the little rights they have on the internet – this writer included. The fact that I personally use Brave for my daily browsing means that I was overjoyed when I learned that Brave is actively trying to protect users from yet more threats and annoyances. 

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The annoyance in question is the cookie acceptance policy that nearly every website demands you react to. The most ridiculous is the case where this pop-up that asks whether you want to just accept the fact that a website tracks your every move or whether you want to take the time to accept and deny options individually and read through their cookie policy takes up the entire page.  Given how much of an annoyance these are, Brave is working on a way to let users block not just the cookies but also the cookie acceptance pop-ups with one click. Brave’s one-click principle already works so well and blocks pretty much everything you don’t want to see on browser pages. 

Brave isn’t doing this unprovoked, though. The company takes issue with Google’s latest proposed changes to its Chrome browser. While these changes have enough industry jargon to put regulators at ease, there is something inherently sinister about what Google intends to do. Some of these changes include a plan to merge websites into singular files under the new WebBundles standard and the browser’s proposed switch to the Chrome Manifest V3 API

Brave: Solving internet issues Google doesn’t want you

Brave issued a statement in response to the proposed Chrome changes. Here is an excerpt from that statement that perfectly outlines the company’s dedication to user safety. ‘The Web is built to be open. On the one hand, that’s great: It means privacy-protecting Web tools like Brave can act on behalf of users, and protect them from Web abuses and annoyances. On the other hand, cookie banners highlight how much worse the Web will get if Google (and others) succeed in weakening users’ ability to block such annoyances.’

This isn’t the first time that Brave is warning of the dangers of these new policies and changes that Google and other companies want to make to their browsers. Essentially Brave has been warning about the fact that companies are actively seeking to diminish the control you have over your web safety since its inception. 

Brave has already submitted its concerns about Google’s proposed changes to the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and it’ll be interesting to see how this turns out. I support Brave because it lets me browse the internet while upholding my right to do so safely and without giving up my personal information or privacy.

Russell Kidson

Russell Kidson

I hail from the awe-inspiring beauty of South Africa. Born and raised in Pretoria, I've always had a deep interest in local history, particularly conflicts, architecture, and our country's rich past of being a plaything for European aristocracy. 'Tis an attempt at humor. My interest in history has since translated into hours at a time researching everything from the many reasons the Titanic sank (really, it's a wonder she ever left Belfast) to why Minecraft is such a feat of human technological accomplishment. I am an avid video gamer (Sims 4 definitely counts as video gaming, I checked) and particularly enjoy playing the part of a relatively benign overlord in Minecraft. I enjoy the diverse experiences gaming offers the player. Within the space of a few hours, a player can go from having a career as an interior decorator in Sims, to training as an archer under Niruin in Skyrim. I believe video games have so much more to teach humanity about community, kindness, and loyalty, and I enjoy the opportunity to bring concepts of the like into literary pieces.

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