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Brave people asked us to include Brave as a Google Chrome alternative. In the original post, Brave was not included because it is based on Chromium.

What are your thoughts: Should we, or should we not include Brave in this image of Google alternatives? Why?

mastodon.social/@Tutanota/1133…


It's #CyberSecurityMonth! Time to #deGoogle 💪💪💪

What are your favorite privacy-first apps?

Check out our list:
tuta.com/blog/how-to-leave-goo…


in reply to Tuta

based on Blink, so reinforces Google's monopoly on web engines, and uses crypto and ad services... I wouldn't.
in reply to Tuta

Not only are they Chromium based and thus IMO shouldn't be included if vanilla Chromium is in the list, but they also have their weird crypto stuff and the CEO has A LOT of problematic views.

So that's a solid NO.

in reply to Tuta

I'm not really fond of including it due to the founders homophobic past.

The argument of not including it because it's Chromium falls short in my opinion as DuckDuckGo and Privacy Browser are included, which on Android use System WebView (likely Chrome WebView). WebView is a lot less secure then a Chromium based browser.

I believe Firefox based browsers are also less secure on Android due to not having Per-Site Process Isolation.

in reply to Tuta

Also, this is what Brave is actually about: basicattentiontoken.org
in reply to Aral Balkan

@aral@ar.al
> this is what Brave is actually about: basicattentiontoken.org

Why didn't you lead with this?

If the software itself respects the people using it, and does its job well, who cares if someone in charge has dopey opinions about some things? I mean, everyone has dopey opinions about something ....

I'm vegan. If I boycotted all software written by corpse eaters, I might feel righteous and pure, but I wouldn't be using computers much ....

@solstice @Tutanota

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Strypey

@strypey @solstice So no qualms about doing business with Nazis, then? Or do you actually have a line somewhere and it just happens to not be homophobia?
in reply to Aral Balkan

@aral @solstice It might make you sleep better at night to believe your personal morals beliefs are based on universal moral laws. But I'm sorry, they're not (see: meaningness.com/fixation-and-d…).

As I said, I think homophobia is dopey. But comparing it to a fascist regime that caused the deaths of millions of people is hyperbolic in the extreme. Just like the people demanding Nuremberg trials, to punish politicians for their pandemic measures.

in reply to Strypey

@strypey @solstice I didn’t compare it. I asked if you had a line. And if that line isn’t homophobia, what is it. But you know what, I’m so not in the mood to argue minutiae with you right now. With everything that’s going on, you thought: “Hey, here’s my hill. Why Aral called out the homophobia instead of the cryptocurrency play.” Ok, cool, you win. Goodbye.
in reply to Tuta

include @threemaapp as a video/chat alternative, too 👍🏼
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

#Chromium itself is not the problem. Look at #firefox. If you do nothing it collects your data. Use #librewolf which I miss here, and the story is different.
I also miss #mullvadbrowser and #firefox_focus. #invidious in the meantime is unfortunately almost useless. I miss #standardnotes #Threema, #magicearth, #KeepassDX, #strongbox.
in reply to Tuta

Brave is a valid option because it is one of the few (or only) open source chromium browsers that has a built in ad/content-blocker, uses proper anti-fingerprinting protections, has extra privacy features, and benefits from the chromium security. I underastand the concerns regarding the crypto crap, but those can be turned off. That being said it is a valid option, especially for newbies.
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

Here's some changes It'd suggest:
- Add @organicmaps to the gmaps alternatives. it's by far the easiest osm based maps app
- Add @ente auth for google auth alternatives. it's much more feature rich and it's foss
- add @kagihq to the search engines. They're privacy respecting * one small note is that they do utilize google as one of it's search indexes that it uses, so you'd still be giving google some money technically (had to mention it)
in reply to Tuta

Why are you recommending Authy, a very shitty service, but not Organic Maps and Obtainium for .apk updates?

For browsers there is Mulch and Mull from DivestOS, which are forks of Chromium and Firefox respectively or Brave. Either of which would be much better than Fennec, Privacy Browser, or Firefox from a privacy or security perspective.

in reply to Tuta

Personally I’d add it but mention (Chromium based) for transparency
in reply to Tuta

If its google alternatives, you shouldn't include Brave or Chromium. Hopefully we can add Ladybird to that list in a few years. 🤞

Maybe add Freetube as an alternative Youtube client ?

in reply to Tuta

Because most web developers don't seem to build websites with Firefox users in mind, there are a good number of websites that function poorly in Firefox.

So, for the users seeking an alternative that don't want to use Firefox, I'd say include an open source Chromium-based browser. There are none that are convenient, except Brave and Chromium itself. But Chromium would be defeating the purpose.

Unfortunately, the majority of people care more about convenience than anything else.

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

As far as the rest of this list is concerned. It's needed an update for a while now.

Play Store:
Aurora Store + Obtainium

Docs:
NextCloud + LibreOffice

GDrive:
NextCloud + pCloud + Filen Sync + Icedrive + Proton

Instant Messenger:
Matrix - FluffyChat, Element, Element X

Map:
Organic Maps

Password:
KeepassDX + OneKeePass

Authenticator:
KeePass clients can be used as authenticators.

YouTube:
FreeTube + Odysee (toxic though)
AND remove Vimeo

Web search:
Brave search + Startpage

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

What are your thoughts on mullvad browser? Any reason why you left it out?
in reply to Tuta

@adam_wysokinski /e/OS is an extraordinarily insecure operating system massively rolling back security even more than LineageOS already does. It completely destroys the security model and is always at least a year behind on providing full privacy/security patches. CalyxOS is problematic for security, LineageOS is far more problematic but /e/OS is an extreme form of that comparable to you recommending people use Windows 8 because it's not from Google.
in reply to Tuta

In your recommendations image #Fennec appears, and right now it is not a good recommendation, F-Droid recommends uninstalling it.
in reply to Tuta

Some recommendations:
- Add ente auth from @ente instead of Authy.
- Add proton pass from @protonprivacy to the password manager section.
- Add mullvad browser from @mullvadnet to the browser section.
- Also add @brave too since even if it is based on chromium it is still better than using chrome.
- Add divestos.org/ to the alternative os section.
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

What’s wrong with Chromium? Browsers based on it use a robust sandbox and enhanced security measures. According to @GrapheneOS recommendations, we should "avoid Gecko-based browsers like Firefox as they're currently much more vulnerable to exploitation and inherently add a huge amount of attack surface".
grapheneos.org/usage#web-brows…
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

Brave is in bed with crypto nonsense, so it should not be suggested.
By the way, Vivaldi should totally be suggested.
in reply to Tuta

Your current list includes 5 web browsers where 3 of them completely lack even a content sandbox due to being based on Firefox for Android and the other 2 are based on Chromium. DuckDuckGo and Privacy Browser are WebView-based browsers using the system WebView implementation, which is provided by the OS with a Chromium-based browser engine. On Android operating systems including the Google apps and services, DuckDuckGo and Privacy Browser are directly using Google Chrome itself.
in reply to Tuta

Are these recommendations really the best idea?

Don't get me wrong, your intentions are probably good, but inherently as a privacy project - and direct competitive to some alternative services which you will not be able to list while being great choices - you will not be an objective source for these recommendations. A lot of these services are either outdated, or there are much better alternatives for them, many of which are completely missing.

This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

please add Obtainium to install/update/track APKs from GitHub, F-Droid and other multiple sources
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
in reply to Tuta

why authy! It can't even be used on a non google operating system!
in reply to Tuta

I have been using Brave for a long time. What's wrong with it?
in reply to Tuta

Chromium shows that the browser itself is alright, it's the figurative "last 5%", where Google adds proprietary features to create Chrome, that taints the well.

Also, for people who are trying to promote cancel culture towards Brave, there are also great people at Brave, such as @bcrypt.

@yan
in reply to Tuta

Here are some other recommendations:

  • Browser: LibreWolf, Mullvad Browser (desktop only), Mull browser (Android only)
  • Video Call/Chat: @mollyim
  • DivestOS
  • Play Store Alternative: @accrescent
  • Maps: @organicmaps
  • TOTP 2FA: @ente Auth
  • YouTube frontend: @FreeTube
in reply to Tuta

@brave has a great ad-blocker and is FOSS. But I think it would be better to consider the following alternatives on this list. For Youtube: @peertube . For Android: @e_mydata (Android-based) and @ubports (not android-based). For Chat: @threemaapp , @simplex , @session . For productivity office: @libreoffice . For app stores: @uptodown , Aptoide. For search: @StartpageSearch . For email: @protonprivacy , @hellomailo .
in reply to Tuta

No cos it's run by a homophobe, it contains shady crypto nonsense that add their own ad service, and it's overall controversial, making it safer for you to not include them.
Their ad system makes a lot of money to Brave, but it does not to the users nor to the websites. I'd say it's scummy. Apparently the broswer also automatically added affiliate link to purchases. Affiliate links enable tracking.
in reply to Tuta

Google is gonna hate you for advertising NewPipe. 😹

Also, why did you not list Qwant as a search engine?

in reply to Tuta

I prefer not to include it, has been on the news for bad situations