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 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year 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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[–] PlatypusXray@feddit.de 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh no, a shady, unknown neocities site is telling me to not trust my browser! Yes, I can use Firefox, uBlock and uMatrix, except on iOS, where I can’t do that, and that is where Brave does a good job. I am really tired of those „Brave baaad“ posts. Look guys, unless you are using Linux you might want to direct your attention at the huge, morally flexible company that does collect your data, no matter what browser you choose.

[–] eya@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

a shady, unknown neocities site is telling me to not trust my browser

Spyware Watchdog has been a resource for checking browser's for a very long time. It's not longer maintained, which is why I said "in the past".

uMatrix

The fact you even bring up this dead extension...

except on iOS, where I can’t do that

You can use AdGuard and Safari, but if you're on iOS you've already given up any semblance of privacy in the first place.

[–] PlatypusXray@feddit.de 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Oh, yes, because Android is so trustworthy, right? Google would never turn evil, after all. But I suppose you are sharing your wisdom from the coziness of a Windows desktop.

[–] eya@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There are plenty of open-sourced android OS'.

GrapheneOS, LineageOS, CalyxOS, ect. You have options, unlike with an iPhone.

[–] fiercekitten@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You have options if you have a Google-branded phone. If you have something like a 2021 Sony Xperia, your options /might/ include LineageOS, else you’re stuck with buggy unofficial builds. Ask me how I know.

You only get options in Android land if the phone is/was popular.

[–] eya@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 year ago

I am aware of this, the mobile market is severely lacking in the privacy department in general.

[–] PlatypusXray@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

So you would agree that bitching about the browser while using a stock OS is kinda pathetic?

[–] ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So if you can't use a private OS is better to just send your data to many third-parties as possible? I don't follow your reasoning.

[–] PlatypusXray@feddit.de 3 points 1 year ago

Actually, giving many parties a bit of your data is indeed still better than giving all of it to one. That, however, is not the point: As far as privacy is concerned, i cannot see any facts that would lead me to believe that Brave is any worse than Chrome, Safari or Edge.

[–] eya@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I admit to using Windows, however I don't use stock Windows. The version of Windows I use has made the telemetry and such as minimized as possible. The only reason I haven't switched to Linux is because I still rely on some programs that don't have great Linux alternatives. Just because you are running an OS that isn't the most privacy-centric doesn't mean you shouldn't care about privacy at all.

[–] PlatypusXray@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That is true but Windows is a privacy nightmare. You may be able to mitigate the problem but it’s still windows. When your house is on fire and you tell people to please not use candles, you are technically correct because of course we don’t want more fire but does it really matter?

[–] eya@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's more like when your house is on fire and you tell people not to throw gasoline on it. Adding even more privacy risks doesn't make sense.

Edit: typo

[–] TigrisMorte@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

So you would agree you've not a leg to stand on and are flailing?

[–] Quik@infosec.pub 6 points 1 year ago

You’re right that default Android found on nearly all smartphones today is not that much better than iOS. There is the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) however, which means the base of Android is free and open source and therefore allows for lore privacy focused versions of Android to exist such as LineageOS, Graphene OS, Calyx OS or /e/ OS. This isn’t possible at all with Apple’s iOS and one can therefore even claim it to be worse than Android in that sense.