New stupid/greedy move from Brave Browser - page 3.

Maus0728

legendary

Activity: 1904

Merit: 1563

I am an avid fan of using Brave browser from my laptop and Android phone but it seems they broke their stated mission at the very first place.

Found some ironic comment from Brave:

Quote from: https://twitter.com/BraveSampson/status/1269358758813224963?s=19

We're making changes here, but just to clarify, this feature was inline with similar behaviors in browsers for quite some time. Default search deals and more; 10 years ago Stack Overflow experimented with affiliate link-rewriting (we didn't go that far). But, we're reverting.

They also manage to put referrals from ledger, coinbase and trezor:
https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/9302

julerz12

legendary

Activity: 2562

Merit: 1177

Telegram: @julerz12

I tried it out myself just now. Typing Binance.com, it doesn't really "redirect" you to the Binance referral link. The ref link only shows up in autofill.
But I guess that wasn't really the point. The fact that they've added this into their code without telling anybody about it is fishy.
This is indeed such a stupid and "cowardly" move from Brave. LMAO. Back to Firefox. Cheesy

aioc

hero member

Activity: 2926

Merit: 567

Quote from: carlfebz2 on June 06, 2020, 04:17:48 PM

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on June 06, 2020, 01:44:13 PM

Such a shame that such a promising project sold out their users for profit, just like the centralized exchange they partnered with.

All things do have corresponding price and a good project that we do believe on would turn out to the other side since they do have been paid up well.

They would be willing to ruin up its users trust because of it.Im not really that surprise though and actually this is a good find and im trying on other

exchange links but i didnt find any ref-code aside from Binance and same as you said that this one wont be the last.

Maybe they are experimenting, they can make big money from those referrals, is their coin not enough for them to make money that they are resorting to this, soon we will have all links with their referral links on them, there are other browsers, I'm using Becent, Opera and Edge but they are not implementing this, this can ruin their reputation.

ChuckBuck

hero member

Activity: 1372

Merit: 783

better everyday ♥

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on June 06, 2020, 02:25:31 PM

Just because Brave isn't as bad as something like Google Chrome, which is literal spyware, doesn't mean it is a good choice of browser. As tomahawk9 has said above, if you want privacy, you should be using Firefox as your browser (Tor is obviously superior, but most people will refuse to use Tor as their daily browser and only use it when the specific need arises).

Myself also a regular Tor user, but I only use it at work, with daily activities or forum activities. Tor doesn't seem necessary, and I believe a lot of people think the same way I do, so not many people use Tor every day Cheesy

carlfebz2

hero member

Activity: 2926

Merit: 722

DGbet.fun - Crypto Sportsbook

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on June 06, 2020, 01:44:13 PM

Such a shame that such a promising project sold out their users for profit, just like the centralized exchange they partnered with.

All things do have corresponding price and a good project that we do believe on would turn out to the other side since they do have been paid up well.

They would be willing to ruin up its users trust because of it.Im not really that surprise though and actually this is a good find and im trying on other

exchange links but i didnt find any ref-code aside from Binance and same as you said that this one wont be the last.

NeuroticFish

legendary

Activity: 3668

Merit: 6382

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Quote from: tomahawk9 on June 06, 2020, 01:57:36 PM

I've never liked Brave Browser, but this should be the final nail in the coffin for most users (crypto users at least). Fuck Brave Browser!

I did like its speed and in-built ad blocker.
I did hate the fact its sync doesn't work and I was almost getting back to Chrome (actually I did get back on my phone).

Quote from: tomahawk9 on June 06, 2020, 01:57:36 PM

Quote from: NeuroticFish on June 06, 2020, 12:26:00 PM

Yep, the wonderful privacy browser even myself started using it, have done it again.

Well? You are going to stop using Brave after this, right?

I am coming from Chrome, so Brave is not worse Grin

at least not yet.
But most probably I'll give another chance to Firefox, although I stopped liking it after it has disappointed me many many years ago.

Edit: Yup, I'm going for Firefox again. Bye-bye Brave.

shield132

hero member

Activity: 2352

Merit: 905

Metawin.com - Truly the best casino ever

The most curious thing is that Brave Browser states:

Quote

Get unmatched speed, security and privacy by blocking trackers.

When the browser itself redirects me to their referrals, how is my privacy protected? They already track me when I use their ref link.
This browser isn't different from others for privacy, sadly, marketing purposes everywhere. How can browser show me "relevant" ads and at the same time offer anonymity?

Also, don't forget that this browser received $7 Million from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. To make it more clear, Peter Thiel is the chairman of Palantir Technologies, a company that specializes in big data analysis. And for me, it sounds illogical.

enhu

legendary

Activity: 2492

Merit: 1018

They wasted the project by selling Brave to binance, they could have created their own exchange for bigger profits if that is what they want. Not this ref link as they are just dust from BNB.

Quote from: JeromeTash on June 06, 2020, 02:35:11 PM

As soon as they started their KYC bullshit, I stopped using the browser. Binance acquiring them was like the last nail on the coffin to the once promising privacy based browser for me. I uninstalled it sometime back and even forgot about it.

Nice discovery OP. I guess my instincts were somehow right.

That is not the case for some users since they more got into it since they tried earning BAT while they keep browsing the internet. The lockdown also locks them up in using Brave browser while browsing facebook.

JeromeTash

legendary

Activity: 2366

Merit: 1272

Heisenberg

As soon as they started their KYC bullshit, I stopped using the browser. Binance acquiring them was like the last nail on the coffin to the once promising privacy based browser for me. I uninstalled it sometime back and even forgot about it.

Nice discovery OP. I guess my instincts were somehow right.

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18771

Quote from: tomahawk9 on June 06, 2020, 01:57:36 PM

EDIT* here are some "about:config" that everyone should use in FF: https://www.privacytools.io/browsers/#about_config

Here is another good source regarding about:config tweaks for Firefox: https://gist.github.com/0XDE57/fbd302cef7693e62c769
And if you really want to delve in to hardening up your Firefox, look here: https://12bytes.org/articles/tech/firefox/the-firefox-privacy-guide-for-dummies/

Quote from: ChuckBuck on June 06, 2020, 02:10:54 PM

At least, users lose part of their privacy (may lose more in the future), but it's still better than losing all personal data when using other browsers, right?

Just because Brave isn't as bad as something like Google Chrome, which is literal spyware, doesn't mean it is a good choice of browser. As tomahawk9 has said above, if you want privacy, you should be using Firefox as your browser (Tor is obviously superior, but most people will refuse to use Tor as their daily browser and only use it when the specific need arises).

ChuckBuck

hero member

Activity: 1372

Merit: 783

better everyday ♥

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on June 06, 2020, 01:44:13 PM

The response from Brave seems to be "We are going to keep doing it, but we will do it in a way that you don't notice". Fully expect this kind of behavior to expand to other sites.

Thanks o_e_l_e_o, you helped me to better understand this situation Cheesy

It seems I have judged subjectively, ignorance when reading the OP. In terms of users, no one likes being controlled when accessing any website, they have acted without consent from users. But if you stand on the perspective of a business, profit is required to continue operating and maintaining. It is understandable that they will continue to do it. What interests me is "Have they get any other profits if they don't do it?" It will say their greed, yes or no, very clearly Cheesy

For me, it is better if they ask the previous user and such links only occur when the user has agreed.

In another case, if they continue to do it without the user's consent, I still don't think it's too bad when using their browser. At least, users lose part of their privacy (may lose more in the future), but it's still better than losing all personal data when using other browsers, right?

cabron

hero member

Activity: 2800

Merit: 595

https://www.betcoin.ag

Making money would be easy for them that way so I guess its going to be its normal behavior after all they partner up with binance. But it shouldn't be this bold though.
They could have been transparent to it. Possibly letting people know that registering through them could receive more benefits or so.

I'm not a Brave user but as far as I know, hackforum.net participated in developing the browser. Just so you know too.

tomahawk9

hero member

Activity: 2086

Merit: 994

Cats on Mars

I've never liked Brave Browser, but this should be the final nail in the coffin for most users (crypto users at least). Fuck Brave Browser!

Quote from: NeuroticFish on June 06, 2020, 12:26:00 PM

Yep, the wonderful privacy browser even myself started using it, have done it again.

Well? You are going to stop using Brave after this, right?

Everyone, please, don't fall for the Brave browser astroturfers and shills, if you want a to use a web browser for privacy reasons, just use Firefox + some addons and optimal "about:config" configurations (this is important, the out-of-the-box FF isn't that secure without these features). Not enough? Use Tor browser. Still want more? Whonix or Tails.

EDIT* here are some "about:config" that everyone should use in FF: https://www.privacytools.io/browsers/#about_config

o_e_l_e_o

legendary

Activity: 2268

Merit: 18771

I suspected Brave would continue down this path after they accepted money from Binance to have their widget embedded in to every instance of Brave browser. Now they are getting paid by force re-directing their users to URLs they did not enter.

Brave gets worse and worse with every update. Every time there is a hint of some profit to be made, another piece of their users' privacy falls by the wayside. No ads (except from those companies who pay us). No tracking (except from Facebook, and Twitter, and anyone else who pays us). No privacy invasion (except full KYC). No third party code (except from Binance, and anyone else who pays us). If a three letter agency offered to pay to place a unique identifier in every browser instance, Brave would jump at the chance. But you can earn a few hundred sats a day (that you can't withdraw without KYC), so that makes it OK?

The response from Brave seems to be "We are going to keep doing it, but we will do it in a way that you don't notice". Fully expect this kind of behavior to expand to other sites.

Such a shame that such a promising project sold out their users for profit, just like the centralized exchange they partnered with.

bL4nkcode

copper member

Activity: 2142

Merit: 1305

Limited in number. Limitless in potential.

Great find, even typing the .com domain redirects to their referral link as well.

After asking its publishers for KYC to move their rewards and now this. So this is something what they called privacy browser Embarrassed

Although, while typing the url you can choose the binance.us on the recommendation instead of the one with ref link and it will redirect you to the url without their ref.link.

ChuckBuck

hero member

Activity: 1372

Merit: 783

better everyday ♥

Quote from: NeuroticFish on June 06, 2020, 12:26:00 PM

When you want to go to binance.us, Brave redirects you to a REF LINK: binance[.]us/en?ref=35089877

Oh wow, an astonishing finding! Damn browsers! It is like the virus that works in the background of your computer Undecided

And now, the price to pay for privacy is being taken advantage Undecided

I don't use it, but I feel resentful when the people who develop them make them a damn virus. It really made me feel uncomfortable Angry

Jitney referral links!

Saisher

full member

Activity: 2324

Merit: 175

Damn you are right when I tried to type Binance.us a referral link shows up and I though it was cached when using the search engine for Binance I clean my computer regularly and haven't made a visit to Binance lately but sure is embedded in the browser.

Wow they are exposed, good job for exposing them, I wonder are they doing this since we installed the browser, such cheap trick.

NeuroticFish

legendary

Activity: 3668

Merit: 6382

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Yep, the wonderful privacy browser even myself started using it, have done it again.
When you want to go to binance.us, Brave redirects you to a REF LINK: binance[.]us/en?ref=35089877
And it's not the only site where it uses ref links:

See more (and cry) :
https://twitter.com/fluffypony/status/1269286972805255169
https://twitter.com/cryptonator1337/status/1269201480105578496

Just to make it clear, I didn't find this myself, I've seen the info in the linked tweets.

Topic: New stupid/greedy move from Brave Browser - page 3. (Read 1364 times)