Brave Browser Claims Google Tracks Users With Hidden Web Pages

[engine]

Brave Browser has submitted data to the Irish Data Regulator in the E.U. claiming Google uses hidden web pages to skip past E.U. privacy regulations, according to a report in the Financial Times.

According to Financial Times, Brave‘s chief policy officer Johnny Ryan discovered Google‘s alleged secret web pages after tracking his data as it was traded on Google‘s advertising exchange Authorized Buyers, formally known as DoubleClick.

Ryan’s evidence reportedly shows Google had “labelled him with an identifying tracker that it fed to third-party companies that logged on to a hidden web page.”

[thenextweb.com...]

[tangor]

More commentary here:
[theregister.co.uk...]

[engine]

It'll be interesting to see if this actually gets anywhere.

Tracking really is something people are finally waking up to, and big business is well aware of that, and becoming much smarter with the techniques.

[bbc.co.uk...]

[tangor]

These issues are becoming more newsworthy with each passing month. EU and USA governments are digging deeper with each "news cycle".

[lucy24]

Darn it, I saw the topic header and thought it was a new Disney movie about the Little Browser that Could :(

[Milchan]

Found this thread after doing a search for Brave on Webmasterworld - interesting for stuff.

I have just started using Brave , after a period of using firefox for a while to replace chrome after many years due to privacy issues. Firefox is good but seems to fail in a few areas but after a few days of using Brave I have just made it default browser and it seems like it is a really good option. It is so similar to chrome so instantly easy to use yet seems faster than any other browser Ive used plus the privacy features are even better than firefox. If you havent tried it I would recommend you give it a go.

[dstiles]

I have half a dozen browsers on my linux panel. Almost never used is firefox, which until a couple of years ago I used exclusively. I now use Pale Moon for most things with Waterfox as a fall-back - a few forum sites, for example, do not work properly with Pale Moon. I also have Basilisk and Sea Monkey which I use mostly for local and specialist purposes.

I've had Brave installed for several years but although it seems to work well enough I seldom use it and would not consider it for everyday use. I accept it probably has excellent privacy and security but I need better tab control, better webmaster tools and the ability to specify a "home" page. The fact that it gets extensions from Google is not something I would be happy with, either. I keep as far away from Big G as possible.

Having said all that, I do from time to time use Brave and it seems to work well enough. Just not for my day-to-day browsing.

[Milchan]

You can specify a home page with brave and for the webmaster tools is one of the reasons I like it , as they are identical to Chromes (I found Firefoxes tools awkward to find things , especially with CSS). Not sure what additional TAB controls you would need so cant comment on that one. I steer clear of the extensions for the reason you mention and also from google for , well that is obvious to you why im sure. Good thing is that there are lots of options and people can just which tool they prefer or best suits them , also not sticking to a single one - just wish more people knew about the alternatives and reasons they should consider or not consider them but most standard users just use what they are given without a second thought.

[dstiles]

I hadn't found the Home page setting, Milchan. I have now but find it confusing - Continue seems logical for startup: on firefox-like browsers this is what I expect to load the previous windows and tabs sets (I often have a dozen or more windows open and up to 20 tabs per window).

The tools were more limited than I would like - eg I need to view response headers and various other things from time to time. I use the Web Developer Tools in Pale Moon for that - they are quite extensive and allow a whole load of developer views. On the other hand, what is there looks good.

Tabs - if I close a tab I expect it to go to the last one used. I also have the tabs coloured to denote Loaded, Current Tab etc. I find TabMixPlus invaluable.