Brave Browser introduces privacy-friendly newsreader
Web browser Brave adds a newsreader to the new tab page. Compared to other web browsers, this news reader protects the IP address of the user and, according to the makers, it should better protect privacy-sensitive information.
Parent company Brave Software developed the news feed Brave Today with privacy in mind. Brave Today uploads news messages anonymously using a private content delivery network. The personalization of the news overview is done on the device itself. According to the company, a sensitive point lies in the loading of the images associated with articles. According to Brave Software, articles from most news feeds are delivered via a traditional content delivery network.
Via such a content delivery network, the images that a user requests can be linked to the IP address. In this way, the way is open to find out which articles appear in a user’s feed. Brave Software wants to prevent this by separating the IP address of the user and the user request in the so-called private content delivery network. According to Brave, it is not possible in this way for the company itself and third parties to intercept or retrieve privacy-sensitive information.
Brave Today has access to articles from over a hundred RSS feeds. Users can choose from a variety of categories including world news, technology and sports. A built-in algorithm searches for relevant articles based on browser history, user-selected categories and current events, among other things. The news selection is aimed at users from the United States. The news feed contains little non-English media. As far as technology news is concerned, Brave Software has chosen to include the usual websites such as Lifehacker, Gizmodo and The Verge in the news reader. Specialized technology websites are not included in the feed. Unlike many other news feeds, you cannot read the articles directly in Brave Today. When clicking an article you will be redirected to the website where the article can be read.
The Brave Today feed is also supplemented with messages from Brave Offers. This service refers to exclusive online discounts and discounts on products at, for example, Amazon, Coinbase, Privacy.com or 1Password. In addition, users of the news feed will also see advertisements through Promoted Content. With these two support services, Brave Software wants to help finance the development of the browser and its privacy-friendly technology.
Users of Brave Browser version 1.18.70 can use the new newsreader by opening a new tab page and then scrolling to the bottom of the page.