this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2023

65 points (92.2% liked)

Privacy

41933 readers

1382 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
Don't promote proprietary software
Try to keep things on topic
If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
Be nice :)

Related communities

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS

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

113 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

(page 3) 19 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] HKayn@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 years ago

How about we just let users use what they want? I don't use Brave, but it has some legitimate anti-fingerprinting tech.

[–] gasull@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 years ago

If you need a Chromium derivative, then Brave is probably the best choice. It's open-source, and includes ad blocking. Just don't use its crypto token.

I prefer Firefox over Brave, but sometimes I might need a Chromium derivative for a particular site.

[–] trailing9@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Why are there daily posts against Brave but not against other browsers? Is Google more trustworthy than Brave?

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] PlatypusXray@feddit.de -1 points 2 years ago (2 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.

load more comments (2 replies)

[–] Designate6361@lemmy.ml -2 points 2 years ago

Or just use Edge cause Microsoft is already syphoning your data so you might as well go the whole hog and use Edge

[–] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml -2 points 2 years ago (8 children)

All you need to know is the Brave guy is a pedophile who is 100% using your ad revenue to buy csam.

load more comments (8 replies)

[–] Omega_Jimes@lemmy.ca -2 points 2 years ago

If people want to use Brave, or Windows, or install screen doors on their submarines who am I to complain?

The fact is for a lot of people, Brave offers a superior out of box experience compared to firefox or almost any other browser. In terms of ad blocking, speed and ease of use, it's pretty much second to none. The fact that you install it and go is really appealing and how easy they make the slider to adjust the aggressiveness of the script blocking is great ui that my dad mother could use.

Yes, the company isn't very good, it's headed by a guy with a questionable history and has a poor track record when it comes to monetization strategy. I stopped using Brave this year, but for ages it was my goto because I could just install it and have an improved web experience.

[–] DigitalJacobin@lemmy.ml -4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

There are many, many good reasons to not use Brave. Being spyware is not one of those.

Boycott Brave for real reasons like their CEO and owner being a raging anti-gay reactionary or because of their cryptocurrency bs.

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments