Facebook, Twitter Trackers Whitelisted by Brave Browser

spaceoctopus

Level 16
Thread author
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Jul 13, 2014
766
The Brave Browser promotes itself on being built from the ground up to provide enhanced privacy to its users. Yet, users voiced concern today after finding a section of the browser's source code that shows tracking scripts for Facebook and Twitter are whitelisted so that they are not blocked by the browser.
 

upnorth

Moderator
Verified
Staff Member
Malware Hunter
Well-known
Jul 27, 2015
5,457
The code to whitelist Facebook's hostnames was added over 3 years ago according to this commit and currently only has a priority rating of P5 on Brave's list of open issues.
 

oldschool

Level 81
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Mar 29, 2018
7,044
This is definitely not cool. I’ve passed on the adblocking/tracking feature and use Nano. I've uninstalled Brave from my IPad, and I'm going to dish out a ration on the Brave Community. I am quite sure I will not be alone. They're going to take a big hit on this, especially after their aggressive ad campaign vs other browsers.
 

Arequire

Level 29
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Feb 10, 2017
1,814
This is definitely not cool. I’ve passed on the adblocking/tracking feature and use Nano. I've uninstalled Brave from my IPad, and I'm going to dish out a ration on the Brave Community. I am quite sure I will not be alone. They're going to take a big hit on this, especially after their aggressive ad campaign vs other browsers.
It's false. They haven't whitelisted trackers, they've whitelisted scripts needed for the SDKs that allow Facebook/Twitter functionality on third-party sites via social icons/widgets.
 
Last edited:

oldschool

Level 81
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Mar 29, 2018
7,044
This is why it's always best not to look at the tile of an article and automatically take a conclusion from it :p. Always best to look at any links on the article to see what else you can find!

~LDogg

I read the article, as well as the reddit link, and I may not be clear on my take. If they aren’t blocking social widgets, they are still allowing tracking (via the widgets). Yes? Someone please expand on this and clarify. I like Brave and don’t wish to start bashing it.
 

Arequire

Level 29
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Feb 10, 2017
1,814
If they aren’t blocking social widgets, they are still allowing tracking (via the widgets). Yes?



If there’s a way to create custom rules to block the trackers we can do it easily
Because I’m not used it before
There isn't currently. The ability to add custom filtering rules is still under development.
 
Last edited:

oldschool

Level 81
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Mar 29, 2018
7,044


"... if you don't click on the widget, you don't get tracked as far as we know, ... " (my italics) This does not sound like certainty to me, and is at odds with what I have read elsewhere, maybe on Gorhill and other places. I will take this clarification with a grain of salt. I suppose all we are certain of is that things generally are uncertain in this world. Thanks for digging deeper.
 

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top