The Brave Browser

A number of USV folks are using the Brave browser on their phones and thinking about using it on desktop too.

We are not the average internet users at USV. We tend toward early adopter.

So I polled my twitter followers (which also skews early adopter) to see how many of them are using the Brave browser:

I don’t want to bias anyone who wants to complete the poll, so if you want to see the current results, pls complete it and you will see the results after you do that.

It’s interesting. I will say that much.

#blockchain#crypto#Web/Tech

Comments (Archived):

  1. kidmercury

    i been using it on desktop for past few months, i didn’t know they had a mobile version. i doubt i will download it on mobile yet. while i like the product quite a bit, there are many web sites where it doesn’t work so i’m still relying on chrome for approx 15% of my desktop web experience.also, i don’t use the crypto aspects of it at all. i see it as potentially quite convenient for those who do, given the integration with metamask and such. but i think that is mostly because the crypto products out there mostly dont have a compelling use case for me personally at this time. even if there are crypto products out there that i would find compelling, i’m not sure this type of integration is really a sustainable, defensible advantage.i must also admit that i felt a bit torn as to whether i should use the product at all, given the founder of brave, brendan eich, actually donated money to support prop 8 (banning gay marriage). i ultimately decided it was his political choice and that i should respect that accordingly, but i still am uncomfortable with that line of thinking, as if he is going to spend money on initiatives that in my opinion run against providing basic civil rights then i am not particularly interested in helping to line his pockets.

    1. awaldstein

      hmm…I did not know that fact about prop 8.and while in abstract it shouldn’t matter for all the reasons I can list it does and I’ll need to rethink this.i do think that we should put our money where our ethics are.

      1. Pointsandfigures

        Exactly. Seeing the active discrimination by Facebook Google YouTube(Google) and Twitter makes me open to using other services

        1. awaldstein

          each to their own.i do not however as you know think that creating a service that leans towards your political persuasion is the same as supporting someone who is against basic human rights. not the same to me.call me an idealist but i believe that opposite sides of the political fence can still be ethically above water. it is true with friends of mine.doesn’t bother me nor do I really see it in the social nets as you describe it.

          1. Pointsandfigures

            Yesterday Google banned add for a Bible camp. Bridge too far. Tolerance is a nice thing

          2. obarthelemy

            Not quite. They apparently refuse to do business with https://www.britannica.com/… So not “a Bible Camp”, but a rather extremist and intolerant (incl. of other churches) church.

          3. Pointsandfigures

            Nope. Missouri Synod Lutheran denomination. Certainly more conservative than the Calvinist denominations. But not extremists

    2. LE

      You know what. I don’t agree with mob mentality and witch hunts. That is that people can’t recognize that others might differ on what they think is right and wrong and will chastise anyone for what they feel if it’s different. That doesn’t sit well with me. As if ‘oh sure obviously you have to agree with gay marriage and if you don’t you are clearly a cretin fuck you get with it’. I have no problem in particular with gay marriage but I do take a big issue with peer pressure to get everyone to accept the same way of looking at the world. And no despite that it’s called ‘civil rights’ I don’t see it as the same as back in the 50’s … you know those civil rights or similar. The only thing I hate more is people not even wanting to discuss things because it’s just so obvious whatever they are pushing on others is right.2nd news flash. Not everyone is bothered by ads. Some of us realize that it’s the price to pay for free and are ok with others earning a living in that way. [1] Ditto for tv commercials and all that jazz. You know what is annoying to me? When I go to my local newspaper and have to sign up or get a subscription to read the content occasionally. I’d rather they can make money off of ads.[1] Similar concept – grow up and realize that junk mail has both a down but a very big upside and just throw it out if you don’t like it and stop whining. Or tv commercials.

      1. obarthelemy

        But there’s a difference between being privately anti gay marriage, and using the money gotten from a business to support anti gay propositions. That makes the business anti gay marriage.

        1. LE

          using the money gotten from a business to support anti gay propositions. That makes the business anti gay marriage.How so? So if someone earns money from a business that is different than casino winnings or inherited money or money earned as an employee?Oh I understand. You are saying if you know that someone runs a business and makes money from it and that they spend that money they earn on things that the mob finds undesirable then you don’t want to patronize that business.Sure because that’s low hanging fruit of effort. My guess is nobody takes any time at all to vet the people that they do business with and how they spend their money to make sure that somewhere in that chain nobody is doing something that they think is wrong. That would take to much effort and isn’t ‘caring theater’.Next time you need some work done around your house and finally get a good person at a fair price to do that work make sure to have him/her fill out a form citing all of their political beliefs and what type of person they are.

          1. obarthelemy

            You keep saying “the mob” but I see no mob. I’m an individual, and if I know a business or its owners use the business’ money to do something I sharply disagree with, I’ll try to direct my business elsewhere. I’m not seeing mobs outside of businesses, nor frequent large-scale boycotts.It is indeed a very low-hanging fruit. I’m all for going for those first, and I’m no good at activism, I’m more of a laisser-faire type. I don’t spend time vetting people, but when I’m aware of an issue, I act on it. I think one needs to strike a balance between utter apathy and frantic activism, and this is mine.Again, I’m OK with people I disagree with, I’m just not OK with them funneling my money to causes I object to.

          2. LE

            I’m not seeing mobs outside of businesses, nor frequent large-scale boycotts.Mob was outside Starbucks in Philly based on what essentially 1 employee a manager did and an impossible to define policy irl. Also calls for a boycott. That is the ‘mob’ mentality.There is also the mob here in the comments at AVC. I’m just not OK with them funneling my money to causes I object to.I am against a large portion of what the NYT’s point of view is on many subjects (and the thinking they support) but I still subscribe (pay them money) as well as read the paper.

          3. obarthelemy

            There are some mobs. it doesn’t mean everyone who does something you disagree with is part of a mob. You probably like to think so to de-humanize them and dumb then down, but that’s not appropriate.And I’m not aware of the NYT giving money to political causes. That’s the line I’m personally using. Though I’m lucky to not be in your spot, I’d struggle with the idea of giving money to a newspaper I mostly disagreed with. Isn’t there a lesson in the fact that papers that agree with your point of view are otherwise lacking ?

          4. LE

            And I’m not aware of the NYT giving money to political causes.The NYT has way way way more power than anyone who simply gives or can give money to political causes. They are a paper of record and have tremendous and widespread influence. Money alone can’t buy that type of influence and power over people. And their influence trickles down to other media as well. You do know this, right? Ditto for a show like 60 Minutes or the Nightly News.Isn’t there a lesson in the fact that papers that agree with your point of view are otherwise lacking ?No I like to hear what others think even if I don’t agree with it and even if it bothers me.

          5. obarthelemy

            I think there’s a difference between a newspaper expressing opinions (it’s their job, besides reporting facts which imho is an opinion too since you get to pick the facts you report on), and a browser maker giving money to specific political causes (it’s not part of their job). I’m surprised you draw a parallel/equivalency between the two, it’s different on at least 2 levels: the money part, and the “their job” part.

          6. LE

            and a browser maker giving money to specific political causes (it’s not part of their job)Eich is not the ‘browser maker’. Mozilla is the browser maker. Eich was the CEO. He gave $1000 per this. Literally 10 years ago. So I guess he is branded for life now by … the mob.http://www.slate.com/blogs/http://projects.latimes.com…Consequently neither Mozilla or Brave gave money (they are the browser ‘makers’).100% amazing to me that someone gives money to a cause that I will add is also supported (according and if correct the LA Times) by many many others (in California no less) and ends up being forced out by…the mob. And people will not patronize other companies that he founds and/or is involved with.

          7. obarthelemy

            Do you think I should be forced to pay for his political/social views that I object to ?

      2. kidmercury

        i’m not sure if you’re talking to me personally when you say grow up and stop whining or if you are venting more broadly. either way, i can only lol and smh at such an unnecessarily aggravated response.

        1. LE

          The word ‘grow’ doesn’t appear in my comment. ‘Whining’ appears in a footnote about junk mail as part of a broader rant.Also you, of all people (ie kook views), should understand where mob mentality leads.

          1. kidmercury

            “grow” does appear, just to be clear, unless you edited it out. shortly before “whining.” but if you want to be upset, that is of course your choice.

          2. LE

            Not you personally. I love you long time. I want to be clear that I was not targeting the grow up/whining toward you but ‘youse’ in other words the collective group of people that complain and whine about pc type things are.

      3. cavepainting

        You are right about junk mail. I was once hired to evaluate the patents and product of a startup who aspired to eliminate junk mail.What I discovered astonished me. Direct mail aka (junk mail) had the best returns for marketers, some times resulting in CTRs of higher than 4%. And on the customer side, many people – especially older demographics, or living in rural communities, and even some urban dwellers- liked the experience of receiving mail and sorting through them.And direct mail worked for marketers because of the form: People could touch, feel, and see what the message is. It represented a vestige of life before computers and is in fact a very unique marketing medium.Of course, that does not mean large swathes of consumers do not hate junk mail. They do, but the truth is more complicated and cannot always be simplified into a sound byte.

        1. PhilipSugar

          You realize the USPS rolled this out nationwide: https://informeddelivery.us…Informed Delivery is a service from the United States Postal Service that scans the outside of your mail and shows you the images each morning before the mail is actually delivered.

          1. cavepainting

            yes, i am very familiar with it. USPS is rolling it out very slowly. Also, the value of it is very questionable unless I am expecting a specific mail and am anxious about getting it.Some countries like Norway and Australia have attempted a digital version of their postal services with mixed results.

          2. Donna Brewington White

            This would be very helpful for my PO box which I only check periodically — or if I am expecting a check.:) Most clients now pay online.

        2. PhilipSugar

          Sorry for two replies. You left out one other reason. Junk mail has a filter junk email does not….cost.That improves the quality.

          1. cavepainting

            Yeah, very true. every direct mail piece costs anywhere from 50 cents up to a few dollars and you really have to prove ROI. Digital has no filters of any kind.

        3. Donna Brewington White

          A marketing expert in my industry is recommending that we (recruiters) begin using paper mail more often because it has become rarer.

      4. Erin

        How many think tanks and activist groups grew out of the political right in the 1970’s to promote corporate values to conservative-minded people who were shaken by all the protests going on? I got a list of at least 20 in my last PSCI class, but there are probably more. If you’re looking for a definition of a mob, here it is: When I was growing up, my family was heavily influenced by one such organization- Focus on the Family- a right-wing Christian organization dedicated to mobilizing the right, and as a teenager, I remember we would get updates on which companies we couldn’t buy from anymore because they “supported gays” (Levi’s Jeans) or “supported abortion” (Esprit clothing, or the UN). Two decades later, I still haven’t stepped foot in a Levi’s store- that’s what happens when an organization claiming to represent God’s opinions tells you something is from the devil. That’s why I like the left better- yes, we still demonize how businesses spend their money, but at least there’s a bit more critical discussion around it.

        1. PhilipSugar

          The weakest argument ever is saying well the other “side” is worse.How did we get here?Politicians that are almost all Lawyers, and News Media that think they are with no morals.Could you imagine saying: Well I robbed 20 stores, but look I am better than him who robbed 40. No you robbed 20 stores. What I did is irrelevant.

        2. jason wright

          The further to the left one looks the fewer zealots one finds.

    3. Matt A. Myers

      Brave.com has a majestic lion on its landing page – being primed with the news that he donated to banning gay marriage – made me wonder if he’s into hunting as well.

      1. PhilipSugar

        Ok, this is the kind of thinking that just takes a valid point and dilutes it and wipes it out. Makes people like LE take the opposite side because when you see it you think, if I give an inch, people like you will take a mile. I was going to say I don’t think he has a point, you proved to me he does.Why lion? Ever seen the Wizard of Oz or Lion King???? What is the word associated with Lions???? Bravery.Next you drive by hunting. Want to know how many reported deer hits in PA a year???? 115,000 reported. Probably only one and three go reported so you are talking 1,000 a day 1 a minute. After you take away my hunting, are you going to take away my fishing?, then make me go Vegan because you want to impose your values on me?Now I think the same for imposing his values on gay people. But do I hold your views against your company and all of your employees because you did something ten years ago, that is freedom of expression, except for the fact that it is trying to prevent somebody that doesn’t share the same values AND does not affect you.I am on the record I don’t see how you can not be for gay marriage, much less try to ban it.1. Not letting two people express their love and commitment is evil.2. We all agree marriage is good. Good times and bad, we lament its demise in the family unit, so we don’t give that to gay people?3. What you do in the bedroom is none of my business nor is what I do in mine yours. I want to get spicy with my wife? None of your business.4. Many religions don’t let people that don’t share their beliefs get married in their church. I can’t get married in many. But you want me not to get married? No you are ok with that.5. Hurts the “sanctity” of marriage?? Then your marriage sucks.6. If for just this one point, just this one, I pretend I hate gay people (probably are afraid I might be or am gay) I should want gay marriage. When you go out and see tons of single straight people you see much more public displays of affection.

        1. LE

          There is one difference between the ‘gay’ thing and animal hunting and killing. (Or marrying outside of religion).Traditionally I think families and parents are against that because it breaks up the traditional comfortable family unit they are used to. Ditto for marrying outside your religion. So if you are a parent there is actually a basis to not want to have gay kids (no grandchildren possibly) and/or general un-comfortableness with something that feels different than you were raised or used to. Makes sense, no? (Doesn’t mean it’s right but makes sense). Ditto for marrying outside the religion. If you are used to having a holiday with people of your own religion then it doesn’t feel the same if people are there who aren’t of the same religion possibly. So that is what I say is the ‘basis’ for that. And if your kids are gay and don’t have a partner of the opposite sex it will impact many things in your life. Look I wouldn’t want my kid to marry Marc Zuckerberg (who would say that?) because quite frankly I’d never see them and he would control everything (I speculate). And he is to well known. Imagine being his father and still doing dental work. The saying ‘be careful what you wish for’ is appropriate.Now hunting that’s different. That’s a ‘what’s it to you’. Like how does it impact you personally if I hunt? How does it impact you if I decide to boil a lobster alive or crabs? What’s it to you? There is not the same basis for trying to control in that case.The strangest thing about people is how they will pick a fight with someone they know (friend or relative or coworker) for something ephemeral that doesn’t even impact them personally and ruin a friendship with someone they actually deal with.

          1. Matt A. Myers

            Another difference, as I stated in my reply to Phil, is being gay or bisexual isn’t a choice – whether you believe that or not; it’s possible too that someone’s asexual and would do sexual activity with the same sex, however perhaps they’d otherwise be straight or gay or … I don’t know anyone asexual, and I’m not, so I don’t have any point of reference or understanding of that perspective of life – maybe asexual individuals will do sexual activity simply to interact with others, even if it’s not involving the same kind of pleasure as it gives to others.And with hunting, there are circumstances where you don’t have a choice, like for survival – however otherwise you do have a choice; you may try to argue you don’t have a choice, though ultimately most people like do have a choice in not needing to consume meat.I currently eat meat, and I have come to the conclusion that I need to – because I find it grounding, and why I have difficulty with grounding is because the chronic pain I have leads me to using thought/thinking/”being up in my head” as an escape, a coping mechanism, and so if I can be more grounded then I am more anchored; if I don’t eat meat, and I don’t understand all of the mechanisms at play here, then I more sharply feel the pain I have – and so I can dull it out ever so slightly with consuming some meat; I have been vegan for a period of 6+ months, and I’ve done a water-only fast (+ a few vitamins) for 10 days too, so I have those contrasting experiences to eating meat.I do actually feel better and have more energy when I don’t consume meat – except for feeling the sharpness of pain more clearly – and so if I could I would be vegan; I’m allergic to egg whites, and dairy gets me stuffed up so I can’t breathe as easily which I don’t like – and I end up getting pimples from dairy for a month or two after eating it, otherwise I’d probably eat them too.

          2. PhilipSugar

            I don’t understand how that affects banning gay marriage.You can not like marrying outside of religion or gay marriageDoes it affect your family? Only if you want it to.But that simply is not the argument.Yes if you want to not recognize your child’s gay marriage or outside religion marriage that is your right. (don’t agree at all but it’s your right)Now where the problem comes in is saying that you want to ban others from doing it.But here is your point which I do agree with, which is you start getting thought police, and those thought police try to enforce their politically correct views by mob rule.

        2. Matt A. Myers

          Not sure how it dilutes anything – I can only assume you came to that conclusion from your own starting assumptions.I wasn’t questioning a logical associating between having a lion on the cover and the association to the name of “brave.” It simply prompted me to think about other things I wouldn’t support a founder for believing in/supporting – it’s part of how priming works.My curiosity if the founder was into hunting was meant as an opener relating to the problem I have with trophy hunting, i was wondering his views on hunting.It’s true I wasn’t detailed, I said hunting and not trophy hunting, a simple asking for clarification may have been a better start; perhaps you’re okay with trophy hunting, and we’d likely need to start off by defining what we mean by trophy hunting, as should perhaps everyone who is mentioning something should reference the definition/belief they have related to it – especially with topics like this that seem to get heated emotionally.You made a lot of assumptions about what I wrote. Where did I say I want to take away your hunting?Now that you mention vegan too, and your response is feeling more reactionary – those are the same thoughts that @feelthevern:disqus had in his bigoted/hateful response to me: https://avc.com/2018/04/the… – hopefully that’s not you; I have no way of knowing, and I am simply writing out an observation. Reading my reply to them may be worthwhile as well.Also, being gay or bisexual – whether you believe it or not, it’s not a choice. In some circumstances killing animals isn’t a choice either, e.g. for survival. You can make assumptions about what I mean by “in some circumstances”, or if you want you can do an exercise to figure out and decide what all possibilities you could see that meaning, and then we could potentially get in a dialogue about that – however I’m not currently going to write out all of the nuances for this.Re: Prop 8 and 10 years ago – Has the founder publicly stated differently on the issue (do you know of such, or do you assume it’s simply not relevant because it was 10 years ago?), and hopefully supported his new understanding with why/how he came to that conclusion – to help us believe it’s genuine and not a simply a shallow statement to gain support back?If so, no one’s posted that here – and I agree it’s a problem if he has and no one has learned that information prior to posting it.Also, I’m not going to pass judgement until if I need to in regards to Brave.com or anything that founder does. I didn’t make the assumption the founder’s into trophy hunting, that’s why I wrote about it and asked – because I care about knowing the truth, and I don’t like assumptions.It seems you and others have made assumptions that I did pass judgement simply by starting a line of questioning/line of thought. Unfortunately most people would engage emotionally in response or not spend the time responding, which isn’t good for anyone, to help bring clarity, calm, and learning to an emotional situation. “Fortunately” I have time to write because I use it as a distraction from chronic pain.

          1. PhilipSugar

            Don’t believe in Trophy Hunting, Don’t believe being gay is a choice.

      2. FeelTheVern

        Man. Get over it. Not everyone is going to mirror your vegan, yoga, NRA hating, hunting hating, homosexual life choices. Do I hate the companies you’ve “created” and the technology you’re responsible for simply because I see your belief sysyestem as irrational? i’ll hate them for the same reason others hate them – there’re not good.By the way, who are you? What have created that’s on par to brave.com?

        1. Matt A. Myers

          @fredwilson:disqus @wmoug:disqus Is this acceptable here at AVC? Can something be said to this “anonymous” person regarding this behaviour? FeelTheVern may want to call me some names for being an adult and seeking some accountability and support from moderators/community leaders. I’d prefer a written response to this person, as opposed to deleting their post or banning/blocking their account, and so dialogue can be kept open in this thread.FeelTheVern – You’re a coward who can’t even use their real identity to post this hate, eh? There’s a small chance you’ve been a lurker and don’t have any account you use on Disqus, though I have a feeling that’s not the case.You also made a few assumptions. You might want to learn to manage your emotions so instead of reacting like you did, you can instead respond – and so you can get better at critical thinking, which will help the success you reach be much greater in all aspects of your life.I don’t hate hunting, which I won’t go into depth of my beliefs here with you now – trophy hunting, I have a problem with.I do currently eat meat as well. And I don’t have a problem with guns either – however someone who’s reactionary like you, and doesn’t want to be accountable for their words by hiding your real identity – leads me to believe you wouldn’t want to be accountable for your reactionary actions either, so perhaps we should be concerned with someone like you owning guns. If your reaction to me saying this is anger and/or denial, then my point stands, until you learn how to manage your emotions and develop a practice of non-violence (towards others and towards yourself), which includes developing understanding and therefore compassion, where – as the easiest example – you wouldn’t call someone gay (“homosexual life choices”) or even use their sexuality as part of an argument/attack; you might believe people have a choice if they’re gay or bisexual as well? I don’t want to assume, so I’m asking.I can’t wait until there’s an internet and platform where bigotry like this is accounted for, and people who behave badly like this – who try to do so in private – are supported in understanding things differently, and if it persists then excluding as a form of “time-out” until they learn better behaviour; yes, this kind of behaviour of yours is childish – which is why you’re too embarrassed to connect your real identity to it, you just don’t realize that’s what those impulses are telling you and/or you’re scared – likely afraid of being judged or fear of ridicule.Another lesson to learn is everyone’s equally important, so it doesn’t matter what I’ve done in comparison to anyone else. Did you control where you were born, who your parents were, what colour your skin was when you were born? Did you control your life’s path and why at this stage of your life you have tendencies of a hateful bigot? No, you didn’t – and so that’s why forgiveness is important, I’m not angry with, and I wouldn’t hold it against you if you showed that you were changing for the better.It’s kind of funny too, ironic, as I was simply expressing my thoughts and wondering the founder’s stance on hunting – yet, you’re the one who’s having trouble “getting over it” – getting over that other people have differing views, and instead you react to spew hate.Also, I never said I hate Brave.com nor the technology nor the founder, however yes – I have a choice as to if I want to support someone financially or otherwise by using or not using their product or service, and so a curiosity arose in my mind – wondering what the founder’s stance was on hunting – which would help inform and influence my future decisions.So yeah, as I always try to be helpful where I can — you might want to explore starting a yoga practice to help increase your self-awareness, including developing a tool/skill to help you manage emotions that clearly overwhelm you and make you act out (react out), likely a good idea to remove irritants from your diet (no wheat as there’s an opiate structure in it, and I’d recommend doing a food sensitivity test through bloodwork to check for 120+ foods to see if your body/system gets irritated by anything) — and recommend removing anything that numbs your body from feeling things properly (tobacco, weed, alcohol) – at least until you develop a deeper self-awareness. It’s just a suggestion of what will help you develop your self-awareness and give you skills to better manage emotion. You can just say “fuck you” and not develop your awareness. If you already feel like you’re on a path of healing and developing compassion and self-awareness, feel free to ask me specifics and I’ll do my best to help you navigate or double-down on your efforts.Oh, and if you feel called to it, I would recommend finding an Ayahuasca ceremony to attend – which will help accelerate your learning and understanding, it will help break down the ego mind coping mechanisms and construct that the environment and context you were born into was imprinted and evolved from. I’d recommend doing two ceremonies, two nights in a row, e.g. Friday and Saturday night, as you’ll get deeper into the process. Depending where you live you can probably find a ceremony within a few hours drive, no need to go to Peru, Brazil, etc. Do whatever research on it that you feel necessary, or dismiss it – like you likely will.I know you aren’t genuinely asking who I am, so I won’t respond with my life situation.

  2. Frank W. Miller

    Wow, what an interesting experiment. I had to dig a bit but it seems to be focused on privacy. There’s a partnership with DuckDuckGo (which is a USV investment iiirc). A disclosure on that would have been nice.There’s also an interesting use of a token called a BAT that attempts to siphon off some of the ad revenue and usage of its built in ad blocker to return it to the user of the browser using a blockchain to implement that from what I can read.Here’s a great example of what I’ve been trying to get across. I’ll be looking at the technical details a bit closer since it seems like a really interesting set of knob settings on the blockchain. I await to see how humans end up using it. I have a feeling it won’t be the way the developers intend but it will definitely be interesting to watch.

  3. JLM

    .I use three different browsers — Chrome, Edge, and Brave.I also use two ad blockers plus Ghostery.Chrome has some compatibility bugs which I simply cannot get fixed. As an example, on this website, AVC.com, I cannot get it to behave with Disqus when I try to load pictures. No problem loading pics with Edge.Edge is my fallback.Brave – using since Jan 2018 – has as one of its value props comprehensive, built in ad and tracker blocking. That feature works and works well. It also has some bugs. There are two sites I use which simply never come up on Brave and work just fine on both Chrome and Edge. WTF?The problem is there are some sites on which you do not want to block ads and trackers. As an example on your own websites. Brave has no way to opt-in and opt-out on a site by site basis. Ghostery does.Brave is faster, but in my case with 1Gig service, it is not a discernible advantage.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

    1. Erin

      I use Ghostery too, but when I click on AVC’s blogpost from my inbox, I am taken to the article, without the comments. I have to copy and paste the address of the blog post into the Chrome browser to see the comments. That’s dumb.

      1. JLM

        .Go to your Ghostery settings and make AVC.com a “trusted site.”JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

      2. JLM

        .Even easier, go to AVC.com, click on Ghostery, click on Disqus, allow Disqus on that site.AVC.com only has Scorecard Research Beacon, Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Twitter “button”, and Disqus.That is not very much.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

  4. Sid

    One more option needed: I was using Brave but stopped.I stopped due to several issues.

    1. Anne Libby

      Same here, in my case it was a bit wonky and didn’t work everywhere. Went back to Firefox.

  5. obarthelemy

    I’m using Firefox, which is AFAIK the only browser that runs on Mobile the exact same addons as on Desktop: the EFF’s Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin, and Dark Mode for me.It works fine on Desktop. Used to be my most crashy app by far on Android (once a week ?) but it’s been much better recently.I’d rather stick with one of the main browsers unless a minor one has a really cool feature. I used to run Opera, but it’s lost any originality/UI advantage. And I’d much rather use the same browser on desktop and mobile, which rules out Vivaldi and until recently Edge. I’ll have a second look if Firefox ever screws up, right now that addons thing has me hooked.

  6. Pointsandfigures

    I use it on both. Trying to figure out ways to quit Google in all its forms and stay away from other big firms. Duckduckgo for search. Chrome SuperSlow on my Mac. Also use Safari

  7. Nick Hencher

    Big fan, I like what they are doing and the ecosystem opportunities around it. I don’t think they have got it quite right yet but they are moving in a good direction with micro payments etc

  8. William Mougayar

    I heard they are at 2M MAU now.We have Brendan Eich at the Token Summit in 3 weeks talking about it.

  9. LE

    I am waiting for some enterprising attorney and plaintiffs to bring a lawsuit for tortious interference against browsers and/or products such as this.https://en.wikipedia.org/wi…It goes like this. Websites have contracts with advertisers or advertising networks that are based on people getting the content viewing ads. Products that block those ads are interfering with that relationship.If someone file a suit PR wise it would be the best thing that could happen to Brave. Most people have never heard of it. After a lawsuit is filed depending on how far it progresses it’s instant recognition.

    1. JLM

      .The most important proof of tortious interference is the existence of a contract, a formal relationship entered into by both parties.I don’t think that hurdle gets cleared in this instance, no?JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

      1. LE

        Well there is a formal relationship between the advertisers on a website and the website. And that relationship is being interrupted (insert latin legal word here as I am sure there is one) knowingly by the (in this case) third party who is openly advertising a way to interfere. Reminds me in a way about radar detectors not illegal in every state but in some states. Why should they be illegal anywhere?The issue to me is not that there is a product that will render a webpage without ads. The key point is a product specifically marketed to do that. I say ‘leg to stand on’ (winnable is a different point). So Home Depot can sell everything you need to make a bomb. But they can’t (w/o breaking some law I am sure) give you an end cap and instruction to make a bomb.Same shit, different time and ad interference:https://www.hollywoodreporthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wi….

        1. JLM

          .What you are talking about is a tort based on some element of the “fair use” doctrine. This is in the realm of copyright or telecom law.Classically, a tortious interference case implies a similar use.An example is you have an employment contract with Mr. Jones. I know you have a contract, I know it is important to you, I disregard your contract, recruit Mr. Jones, hire Mr. Jones, and enter into a similar employment contract with Mr. Jones.I have snatched Mr. Jones from you and entered into a similar contract with Mr. Jones.That is tortious interference.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

          1. Mac

            And, I think the plaintiff has to demonstrate that damages were suffered as a result of your interference.

          2. JLM

            .In every tort you have to provide evidence of damages to receive damages. You have to provide evidence of damages to receive punitive damages.JLMwww.themusingsofthebigredca…

        2. cavepainting

          If brave was the only browser in town, such a lawsuit may have some merit.But the customer has an abundant choice of browsers that do not stop ads. If customer chooses Brave. he is simply exercising agency about what kind of relationship he wants with the web sites he accesses.The website has choice too: To make its site not available to users accessing through Brave.

          1. LE

            The website has choice too: To make its site not available to users accessing through Brave.No they can’t. In most browsers you can change the ‘user agent’ that is the string of information that is sent to the website specifying what browser you are using.Here is the info for how to do it in (for example) Firefox. If brave doesn’t currently have this feature it’s trivial to implement it.https://support.mozilla.org…Here is how the user-agent appears in a website log (two examples below) so you can make that say whatever you want.”Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_12_6) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/62.0.3202.94 Safari/537.36″Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/49.0.2623.75 Safari/537.36 Google Favicon

          2. cavepainting

            Yeah, but what % of users even know about this or care to do it?Using brave is no different than using an ad blocker on Chrome.But your point is interesting in the sense that advertisers and broadcasters had enough leverage on Dish and DirecTV at some point to prevent ad skipping.Do they have the same leverage on publishers and are publishers willing to alienate a growing part of their customer base who want the freedom to view sites without ads? It is more a business question than a legal one.

  10. rich caccappolo

    Big fan of Brendan and his team. They are helping publishers see how blockchain and tokens and payments can be applied to digital content publishing.

  11. Sebastián Aldasoro

    I’ve been using it on my phone since their ICO and I love it. I will give it a try on desktop.

  12. jason wright

    i don’t use it. what’s brave about it?

  13. Heather Wetzler

    Wow – I never even heard of it – and downloaded it and am using it – it is SO MUCH Faster – love it

  14. kidmercury

    i’m behind on your updates because d.rip has so many issues that get in the way of a nice user experience. here is a screenshot of what happens when i try to login with brave — timely for today’s conversation i suppose! 🙂 anyway i will get it sorted out as i’m looking forward to learning from your crypto-escapades, as perhaps they will inspire me to get involved! https://uploads.disquscdn.c

  15. Evan Van Ness

    Brave is a must use on your phone, especially if you pay for internet by the byte or if you have data caps. All those trackers are expensive, using Brave stops them and makes the page load faster.On laptop/desktop, there’s some variation in how stable it will be for power users. I use it as one of my browsers — some media sites that take forever to load due to all the ad trackers load in less than a second.

  16. scottythebody

    I use it and it gives me the creeps. I can see the future where everyone has to exchange tokens for whatever they do and how it’s going to make it so most people have very metered experiences of the world because they are always worried about their budget. Don’t get me wrong because I think it is, so far, the best crypto user experience and has a ton of practical use cases already built in or available, but the whole thing just leaves me with a very skeptical view of the future that, were I in a worse mood, I’d lay out here in the form of a paranoid rant.

  17. Prathamesh Shanbhag

    I am a fan of the @Brave browser. The use case[BAT token to publishers/owners] they are building looks promising and deserves a try.

  18. faresg

    Don’t use it coz they don’t have extensions!

  19. Vendita Auto

    “Firefox” & Chrome if pushed

  20. david_kav

    Fred is usually spot on with his tips for early adoption. With more and more people beginning to question the motives and/or ethics of huge corporations like Google, It’s a great time to switch to a new search engine. It’s also a great time to invest in the search engine space. I personally am big on Yippy: https://www.yippy.com/ . Yippy also offers a Google Search Appliance Replacement Program for organisations that are looking for a GSA Alternative.

  21. Salt Shaker

    What’s the best way to get in touch w/ you? I’m working on a sports concept that may be of interest to you. Details to follow.

    1. falicon

      You (or anyone else) can email me at info at falicon dot com any time.Always love to hear about what other people are working on and thinking about (and love to help however I can). Thanks!

      1. Salt Shaker

        Thx….just sent you an email.