This might have been discussed to death by now, unfortunately I couldn’t find any discussion on it on Lemmy. Though I would love to be corrected on that!


How does an always on incognito Chromium with uBlock Origin on medium mode (and other hardening/privacy settings enabled) compare to Brave (with e.g. Privacy Guides’ recommended settings) with respect to security and privacy on Linux[1]?

Commonly heard whataboutisms:

  • “With the looming advent of Manifest v3, this discussion might not be very relevant for long.” I’m aware.
  • “Just use Firefox/Librewolf or any other privacy-conscious browser that isn’t Chromium-based.” I already do, but some websites/platforms don’t play nice on non-Chromium-based browsers due to Google’s monopoly on the web. Sometimes I can afford to not use that website/platform, but unfortunately not always.
  • “Brave’s [insert controversy] makes them unreliable to take services from.” Honestly, I think that if both solutions are as effective that a reason like this might be sufficient to tip the balance in favor of one. Because ultimately this all comes down to trust.
  • "Just use Ungoogled Chromium." Some more knowledgeable people than me advice against it. Though, I’d say I’m open to hear different opinions on this as long as they’re somewhat sophisticated.
  • “Just use [insert another Chromium-based browser].” If it has merits beyond Brave and Chromium with respect to security and privacy, I’ll consider it.

Thanks in advance!


  1. I can be more specific about which distro I prefer using, but I don’t think it matters. I might be wrong though*.
    • qwert230839265026494@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      1 year ago

      Chromium vs Brave? Firefox.

      “Just use Firefox/Librewolf or any other privacy-conscious browser that isn’t Chromium-based.” I already do, but some websites/platforms don’t play nice on non-Chromium-based browsers due to Google’s monopoly on the web. Sometimes I can afford to not use that website/platform, but unfortunately not always.

      😅. Thanks anyways 👍.

  • jsdz@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Having read that hit piece aimed at Ungoogled Chromium, I will continue to use it for the rare occasions when I need something other than Firefox. It makes a few good points that security-conscious users should be aware of (although which of them still apply at present is unknown to me) but it does not look anything like what I would expect from an unbiased and diligent reviewer.

  • librecat@lemmy.basedcount.com
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    1 year ago

    Even though I don’t agree with some of the points, I would still hope to see discussion rather than unexplained downvotes.

    • XTL@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      Brave is a series scammer and somebody keeps spamming posts about it all over.

      • qwert230839265026494@sh.itjust.worksOP
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        1 year ago

        Thanks for chiming in. Has there ever been definitive proof that it’s inferior to say Chromium (or any other Chromium-based browser for that matter)?

  • Rocha@lm.put.tf
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    1 year ago

    I believe Brave is the most private chromium browser, at least with the installation defaults.

    As for the controversies with the company, there were some at the beginning stages, but I haven’t heard anything new in quite a while.

    Regarding the crypto, vpn, etc bloat, I use Brave on all my devices and all I have to do is hide that stuff after the installation and I’ve never been bothered by pop-ups or similar annoyances. I don’t think it’s more annoying to remove than having to remove the recommended sites and Pocket with Firefox.

    Since you want private browsing, I would also say that a big plus for Brave is that it has built-in Tor browser.