cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/5572424

This might have been discussed to death by now, unfortunately I couldn’t find any discussion on it on Lemmy. Though I would love to be corrected on that!

How does an always on incognito Chromium with uBlock Origin on medium mode (and other hardening/privacy settings enabled) compare to Brave (with e.g. Privacy Guides’ recommended settings) with respect to security and privacy on Linux[1]?

Commonly heard whataboutisms:

  • “With the looming advent of Manifest v3, this discussion might not be very relevant for long.” I’m aware.
  • “Just use Firefox/Librewolf or any other privacy-conscious browser that isn’t Chromium-based.” I already do, but some websites/platforms don’t play nice on non-Chromium-based browsers due to Google’s monopoly on the web. Sometimes I can afford to not use that website/platform, but unfortunately not always.
  • “Brave’s [insert controversy] makes them unreliable to take services from.” Honestly, I think that if both solutions are as effective that a reason like this might be sufficient to tip the balance in favor of one. Because ultimately this all comes down to trust.
  • "Just use Ungoogled Chromium." Some more knowledgeable people than me advice against it. Though, I’d say I’m open to hear different opinions on this as long as they’re somewhat sophisticated.
  • “Just use [insert another Chromium-based browser].” If it has merits beyond Brave and Chromium with respect to security and privacy, I’ll consider it.

Thanks in advance!

  1. I can be more specific about which distro I prefer using, but I don’t think it matters. I might be wrong though*.
  • t0m5k1English
    4•9 months ago

    I’ve used brave since it came out. I use tampermonkey, edit this cookie and bitwarden extensions. Additionally I use pihole/unbound+roothints.

    I tend not to let Brendan’s controversies affect my choice because if I did I’d have to avoid JavaScript.

    Brave provides me with a more secure chrome with extra bells and whistles. I’m a heavy user of app windows as I refuse to use electron based apps due them being pure chrome. When other browsers do this with the same protection as brave I’ll consider moving.

    • @qwert230839265026494OPEnglish
      1•9 months ago

      Brendan’s Brave’s controversies

      I assume?

      app widows

      A google search didn’t give me any useful pointers. Did you perhaps meant to convey PWAs?

      • t0m5k1English
        3•9 months ago

        I mentioned Brendan specifically because people like to lump in his flaws as reasons for not using brave in these discussions.

        Yes I was referring to pwa’s, ssb’s, app windows, whatever you want to call them. Firefox used to have xulrunner and prism to provide them but now Firefox doesn’t provide a way other than a JavaScript popup via bookmarklet.

        • @qwert230839265026494OPEnglish
          2•9 months ago

          I mentioned Brendan specifically because people like to lump in his flaws as reasons for not using brave in these discussions.

          True. His name didn’t stick with me as his controversies and the fact that he is co-founder and CEO of Brave weren’t necessarily reasons I would forego Brave for. Feelings have to be put aside IMO in favor of merits.

          Firefox used to have xulrunner and prism to provide them but now Firefox doesn’t provide a way other than a JavaScript popup via bookmarklet.

          It’s really unfortunate that Firefox did this. This is actually one of the reasons why I like to have a Chromium-based browser around. I might eventually switch over to Epiphany for that.

          • t0m5k1English
            1•9 months ago

            I’ve not used GNOME for over a decade and have not used GNOME web(epiphany) for even longer lol. I’ll stick with brave as it fits my needs.