Former Mozilla CEO and JavaScript creator Brendan Eich has resurfaced in the news this week with the launch of a new company called Brave Software. What’s the new startup focused on? An open-source web browser of called Brave. The browser, version 0.7, is available now for early adopters and testers on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
According to Eich’s blog, the browser blocks ad-click conformation signals, impression-tracking signals and signaling/analytics scripts. On a Web page, Brave will insert a few new “clean” ads into standard-sized spaces that are found by a cloud robot. He also said that the browser will target ads that are based on “browser-side intent signals phrased in a standard vocabulary.” The use of re-identifiable cookies and persistent user IDs will not be permitted.
“The browser sees everything you do, including actions to stop that annoying phenomenon of retargeting where an ad chases you around the Web, often for something you just bought or decided not to buy,” Eich writes. “We keep user data out of our cloud Brave Vault by default. It’s better for you and us that we don’t store any of your data without your permission.”
Essentially, Brave promises faster browsing because it blocks trackers and intrusive ads. It also promises safer browsing due to its ability to block third-party tracking and “malvertisement,” and directing traffic to HTTPS sites automatically. Users of Brave can also either see ads that supposedly “respect your privacy,” or pay the sites directly for ad-free browsing.
Eich told Business Insider that by inserting new “clean” ads onto a web page, existing publishers get a better deal because the “adtech middle-men” have been eliminated. Publishers will receive 55% of the revenues, Brave Software will get 15% and the ad supplier will get 15%.
Surprisingly, around 10-15% of the revenues will go directly to the Brave browser user. This money that the end-user receives can be used to pay publishers via a Bitcoin wallet. Thus, the browser will block all ads on "paid" websites.
Eich says that Brave is based on Chromium and uses Electron, which is a tool found within GitHub’s Atom text editor. He told VentureBeat that the company could have based Brave on a current browser, but that would have brought less “impressive” performance gains and limited functionality. Besides, developing a new browser is more impressive given Eich’s background with JavaScript and his gig at Mozilla.
“We are a browser-based ad-tech platform, with high precision and privacy,” Eich says. “Brave is the only approach to the Web that puts users first in ownership and control of their browsing data by blocking trackers by default, with no exceptions.”
To download Brave now, head here.
From maximumpc
