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.
What are the better solutions for iOS users?
As I stated in a previous post, if you are using an iPhone you’ve basically given up on having privacy. For ad blockers you could use AdGuard and Safari, it’s better than nothing. You could also use something like Mullvad VPN, it has DNS ad blocking.
That’s the most ridiculous statement I’ve seen today. iOS has infinitely better privacy than Android lawl
An iPhone is a give-up on privacy because you don’t get alternatives. If you don’t like your stock OS on an Android phone you can just switch OS (for example GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, ect.). If you don’t like the normal YouTube app you can just sideload a different one. You don’t get this kind of freedom with an iPhone. A prime example of this is when, during the Hong Kong Riots where Apple pulled an app that assisted protesters.
Stock for stock, yes.
The difference is iOS is iOS, and there is only one. Whereas Android is open source and comes in thousands of flavors. You cannot install another OS on your Apple devices. You get what Apple gives you, and nothing more or different because that’s the way they like it. They want control over your devices.
Some flavors of Android are Graphene or Calyx OS which are not only better and more usable than iOS but also 10x more secure and private.
As I stated in a previous post, I am using AdGuard on safari. And since I’ve basically given up on privacy, I also use Brave at times.
Someone mentioned Firefox Focus.
Not on iOS. Every browser on iOS is effectively just a skin for safari. There is no true Firefox for iPhone, or chrome for that matter.
If you’re using an iPhone, you willingly surrendered your freedom of choice. This is what you paid for.
Something unique about the Brave browser is that it allows me to use filter lists to block ads. I can insert my own custom lists too which is cool.
I haven’t found another browser that allows this on iOS (other than safari with extensions).
Doesn’t Firefox support extensions on iOS? I’m on Android and I’m currently using uBlock Origin and Dark Reader. I also use Lemmy through it, seems to work quite well.
Nope, no extensions for Firefox on iOS unfortunately.
Firefox focus blocks ads on YouTube.
Safari with Wipr does not.
I know because I have them both. I use them for different things.
Won’t be the case for much longer if the EU gets their way, I’m glad to say.
Firefox focus doesn’t seem to save open windows, it’s a purely incognito browser. & you can only have one page open at a time.
You’re right about the first part; it’s an incognito, tracker & ad blocking browser that clears your history and everything every time you close it… but if you long press on a link, you can open it in a new tab. Multiple, even. There’s just no option I’ve found to open a blank new tab and navigate to a website that way. So I totally understand why you’d think that!
(I hope this doesn’t come off as pedantic or rude or anything. That’s definitely not my intention here - I just want people to be able to make informed decisions with correct information, ya feel?)
Focus does indeed block YT ads!
Even safari with Wipr does not. Though it is amazing for everything else.
Don’t use iOS.
I mean, that’s it. That’s your only option. On iOS, Safari is the only real choice you have.
I chose an iPhone because I didn’t want to use googles play store. Now I know there are options around that but most users (including myself at least for now) are not willing to learn how to do that and set it up.
FYI to you or anyone who doesn’t know: If you are browsing the internet on an iOS or iPadOS device you are forced to use the Webkit rendering engine. Chrome, Safari, Brave, Firefox. All of them use Webkit to display web pages because you won’t get an app on the App store if you use anything else. The EU is forcing Apple to allow other browsing tech through the app submission process, so we will see alternatives in the future.
I read a couple months back Mozilla got some internal builds with their engine for iOS. This is the #1 reason why I don’t have an iPhone. I’d probably get one next time I am looking if this happens. That or maybe Ubuntu touch or something gets more mature.
Firefox focus blocks YouTube ads.
Orion by Kagi. It is, afaik, are the only browser that isn’t just a re-skin of Safari.
It’s not something the average person can or will do, but if you’re so inclined you can run Pi-Hole or AdGuard Home and have all your iOS devices go through it.
I even set up a VPN for when I’m away from home that I can connect to and get routed through my home internet connection which gives me ad blocking on the go.
Or if you want a simpler answer, look into using the AdGuard app on your iOS device.
Thanks I didn’t know you could do this with pi-hole. I’m currently testing out AdGuard but it seems you have to turn it on every time you open a new yt vid
PiHole cannot block YT ads.
PiHole does not block YouTube ads.
I haven’t used Pi-Hole in a long time to know that, but I don’t seem to have any issue with them using AdGuard Home.
AdGuard may work! PiHole has never blocked YT ads tho :c
Sideloading either Yatee or uYou+
Or use Piped as a PWA
I haven’t tried it but there’s also Kagi’s Orion browser which looks interesting.
This browser is helpful on iOS because it can run Firefox or chrome extensions. Ublock origin works great. I don’t see any ads.
uBlock Origin actually doesn’t work at all on Orion, it’s just that the browsers built-in ad blocker is very good.
Thanks I didn’t know about that one and I thought I went through all the alternatives. Currently I’m primarily watching YouTube vids through invidious in safari but will use brave when I watch my saved playlists.
Honestly had no idea this existed, cool!
This is why I use Brave on iOS devices. It is the best option I found. Others mention Adguard home and pihole. They just don’t work as well at blocking ads.