Hot Take Brave appears to install VPN Services without user consent

[CyberTech]

If you have the Brave Browser installed on your Windows devices, then you may also have Brave VPN services installed on the machine. Brave installs these services without user consent on Windows devices.

Brave Firewall + VPN is an extra service that Brave users may subscribe to for a monthly fee. Launched in mid-2022, it is a cooperation between Brave Software, maker of Brave Browser, and Guardian, the company that operates the VPN and the firewall solution. The firewall and VPN solution is available for $9.99 per month.

Brave Software is not the only browser maker that has integrated a VPN solution in its browser. Mozilla, maker of Firefox, entered into a cooperation with Mullvad and launched Mozilla VPN in 2020.

Update: Brave plans to address the issue in a future release. The VPN service will only be installed after a user purchases the VPN.

Full article

Brave appears to install VPN Services without user consent - gHacks Tech News

Brave Software appears to be installing VPN services on Windows devices without user consent during Brave Browser updates.

www.ghacks.net

 

[Jengo]

Lousy Brave.... so called privacy friendly, just install their own rubbish

 

[cofer123]

Again with the shady behavior that only gets "fixed" after everyone calls them out?

 

[Ink]

Full article

Brave appears to install VPN Services without user consent - gHacks Tech News

Brave Software appears to be installing VPN services on Windows devices without user consent during Brave Browser updates.

www.ghacks.net

Does this affect Brave users on Mac and Linux, or Windows only?

 

[Jonny Quest]

Lousy Brave.... so called privacy friendly, just install their own rubbish

lol..along with a Wallet

 

[CyberTech]

Does this affect Brave users on Mac and Linux, or Windows only?

Yes i think Windows only because they didin't mention others OS.

 

[brambedkar59]

Response from Brave Dev.

Spoiler

 

[CyberTech]

Updates

After Ghacks discovered these Brave VPNs had been installed, Brian Clifton, the company's vice president of engineering, made a post on GitHub. He stated that a future Brave browser update will "Remove the service registrations" so that these VPN services will not be installed when the browser is installed.

Furthermore, people who get a Brave browser upgrade and "who have this service installed will have the service removed." From now on, the services will only be installed when users purchase the Brave VPN subscription.

The Brave browser on Windows has also been installing VPN services; a fix is in the works

The Brave web browser for Windows has been discovered to also be installing VPN services as well. Brave says that a fix is in the works that will only install the VPN if a person buys them.

www.neowin.net

 

[cofer123]

Updates

The Brave browser on Windows has also been installing VPN services; a fix is in the works

The Brave web browser for Windows has been discovered to also be installing VPN services as well. Brave says that a fix is in the works that will only install the VPN if a person buys them.

www.neowin.net

Despite Brave's issues like this one, I have to give it to them that it's actually feasible to communicate with developers, unlike most other browsers.

I had a couple of bug reports addressed by actual developers, once on GitHub and then on the Brave community forums, where I could actually engage in chat with them and get the point across. One issue was fixed quickly, since it affected password extensions like Bitwarden and KeePass, while another took them several months to fix since it was low priority (white flashes when using dark themes).

This is orders of magnitude better than my experience with decade-old bugs left unfixed for Firefox, let alone even acknowledged by developers.

 

[vtqhtr413]

Brave no longer installs VPN Services on Windows for everyone - gHacks Tech News

Brave Browser 1.64 does not install VPN services for all Windows users anymore, only for those who use the VPN.

www.ghacks.net

Back in October, we reported that Brave was installing VPN services for all users on Windows. Most Brave browser users do not use Brave Software's VPN service, but they still got the VPN service installed on their machines without consent or any intention of using the VPN.

Brave Software responded to the allegations. It confirmed that the VPN services were installed on user devices on Windows. These were set to manual, which meant that they would not start unless started by the user. Furthermore, the VPN services would not submit any data to Brave Software.

The company promised to change the behavior in the future. Fast forward six months and the release of Brave 1.64. The latest release of the browser does not install the VPN service anymore on Windows. Brave notes in the changelog: "Fixed Brave VPN to not install VPN services until VPN is purchased or enabled."

 

[Morro]

Well, I just checked in Autoruns, and it is now yellow, so it seems it is gone. So I should now be able to remove it with a chance for trouble correct?

 

[oldschool]

Well, I just checked in Autoruns, and it is now yellow, so it seems it is gone. So I should now be able to remove it with a chance for trouble correct?

Brave VPN isn't installed here, without any action on my part.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Brave VPN isn't installed here, without any action on my part.

Was it deleted, uninstalled during an update, as it doesn't show up on my end either, in Services or Autoruns (Brave/VPN).

 

[oldschool]

Was it deleted, uninstalled during an update, as it doesn't show up on my end either, in Services or Autoruns (Brave/VPN).

I don't know for sure but I assume it was uninstalled with an update. They're pretty quick to change course in response to public outcry as shown by past events.

 

[cofer123]

They're pretty quick to change course in response to public outcry as shown by past events.

I would not call a six-months (at least, as some report the VPN showing up as far back as August 2023) response time as quick.

 

[oldschool]

I would not call a six-months (at least, as some report the VPN showing up as far back as August 2023) response time as quick.

No, I wouldn't either. I probably should have used another adjective or none at all. In any case, I don't see it as a big deal and they finally made things right. Look at MS and Google and tell me how they respond to criticism?

 

[Morro]

I guess I will remove it then, if it is gone with everyone, then it should not be a problem.