The Brave Browser is my new favorite thing on the Internet.

awesomianist (64)in #steempress • 6 years ago

"You are not a product. Why be treated as one?"

_{Full Disclosure: This article is part of my Brave Browser referral campaign which includes referral links should you decide to install Brave Browser. When you switch to the Brave browser and use it for more than 30 days, they give me about 5 USD in Basic Attention Tokens! It’s super helpful.You may install the Browser via my referral links here. Of which similar links will appear throughout the article.}

In case you haven't started using it the Brave Browser, You're missing out. There is a new browser in town, and it's fast, secure, no-ads, and it even pays you (if you want). This new Browser is sated to leave every other browsers in the dust and change everything about how we as users surf the web and what was done with our data.

The Brave Browser is a project founded by Brendan Eich (The same man who invented Javascript and is the co-founder or Mozila) seemingly did his magic again with the business of internet browsing. Pushing limits where once thought unbreakable.

It's some pretty groundbreaking stuff. One that might fundamentally change the way we interact with the internet. And it's something all of us can participate as end users for free. Take a look at their official video introduction;

With the status quo of big internet companies owning our data and knowing everything about our online behavior, it's almost as if we take for granted the huge influence they have over us and how our personal information is being peddled to the highest bidder for all sorts of purpose. From benign advertising all the way to the nasty stuff. Okay, say you're not a tinfoil hat wearer and you don't bother about websites tracking your behavior.. The Brave Browser is a still massive upgrade to your browsing experience that it alone has enough merits to warrant a try.

On top of fundamentally changing the whole incentive structure to how websites caters ads, there are a few noteworthy features we ought to take heed of.

It's fast, like crazy fast.

_{Data from official Brave Website}

Statistics shows more than 50% of a webpage's data are spent loading ads because of how prevalent ads are. Not only this increase unnecessary load time, often times many people have to pay for those data loaded that serves no other purposes than to profit the advertisers and websites. By doing away with loading ads, browsing on Brave allows you to load only the useful parts of the websites while still making the experience seamless.

I've personally used brave to browse websites and to tell you honestly, the changes are more than noticeable. I've never seen websites load faster even with ad-blockers.

Brave have even been so "brave" (pun, hehe) as to let you know the page load time of every single page you've been to right next to your url. Showing you speeds that you didn't think was possible for the websites you've been to.

A nifty info for you to look at every now and then. And for me, an occasional source of marvel as I go about my tabbing and doing stuff online.

Brave has a mobile app too, both for Android and iOS. And if you think fast Brave browsing is amazing on desktop, boy have I good news for you. Just look at it yourself;

Ad and tracker Blocking

As mentioned above, having Brave Browser is akin to installing an ad-blocker on steroid for free.

We all what ads are, pesky annoying space waste and infuriating popups and wants to shove their "Limited Offer" at your face in hopes of them wearing you down and succumb to their marketing machine. Trackers however are much more malignant. You should be as mad as Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation if you understand what websites are doing to your privacy in the name of ads.

Many websites tell you they have Cookies, Trackers though, are Cookies with Cocaine. For the uninitiated, trackers (or tracking pixels) are 1x1 pixel image on a website that "belongs" to another website, typically social media. So since the website has a "part" of Facebook, Facebook can use its cookies on your website to know what you're doing there.

Doesn't sound that bad, until you put two and two and realize Facebook knows literally every website you went to as long as those websites have trackers coded on them. Even if one has "nothing to hide" (which will never be a valid argument against privacy, ever), I personally feel unsettled that someone is watching over my shoulder seeing everything I do on the internet. Anyone who wants to challenge my opinion can invite a stranger to look over their shoulder every time they go online, yes, even at 3am on the bed.

Asides from blocking ads and trackers, Brave Browser also has HTTPS Everywhere built-in. Where it automatically upgrades the website you're on to a much more secure HTTPS version. In case you are using other browsers and never heard of HTTPS Everywhere, install that plugin NOW! Data you sent and received over normal http are no longer as secure as before, hackers (and ISP) can intercept your unencrypted data. Ideally you'd use Brave Browser of course!

You may not be a privacy nut and you think, in the words of Gary Vaynerchuk: "What are ads and trackers gonna do, give me better ads more relevant to me?" Cool /s. But people just feel much more comfortable going on to a website with no ads that learn nothing about them. Don't you want no-ads?

What's in it for website publishers?

Some websites rely on ads and trackers to make money and keep the lights on, I understand. (Not kristiankho.com though. This website will not be powered by unwarranted ads, promise.) So what does Brave offer them then? Would Brave destroy websites that is ad-reliant and run them out of business? on the contrary. Website Publishers, and even content creators (currently Youtubers and Twitch Streamers at the time of writing) benefits from their viewers and readers using Brave Browser. This reason, disregarding other features of the Brave Browser, is the reason why I know that Brave is the future.

I'm sure many of you who have in the cryptocurrency space have heard of the Basic Attention Token (BAT). Famous for raising $36 Million USD in the span on 30 whole seconds. This is what it's used for! Using the Brave Browser, you can contribute to Verified Publishers when you go on their websites or content online, without doing anything. By enabling Brave Payments, you will anonymously send set amount of BAT to your favorite publishers.

In the near future, there is even the option to view better ads if you want to (Brave have been sure that users only get to see ads if they opt in).

This is where it gets interesting. When this system comes to play, both users and publishers get paid in BAT when users sees ads on the publishers platform. This method of advertising even benefits advertisers who will be less vulnerable to advertising fraud because of the blockchain.

This creates a transparent and efficient Blockchain-based digital advertising market. Win-win-and-win. A much needed disruption to the way advertising gets done on the internet.

The Brave Browser.

What are you waiting for!

If you haven't used Brave Browser and see how perfect it is for you? I highly recommend you give it a try. You can download it here with my link! Pursuant to this, I'd like to announce that Kristiankho.com is now a Verified Brave Publisher!! As a Steemian who is using Steempress on my website as well, I can see how you my dear readers can support me without me needing to rely on ads!

It's a paradigm shift on how writers like myself can create content and get paid for my work, all without need any middlemen or ad agencies. And I fully welcome you on board.