The increasingly popular privacy-focused browser Brave is officially saying goodbye to Google as its default search engine, replacing the world's most popular search engine in favor of "Brave Search," the company announced in a blog post.
Brave Search is Brave's answer to customers wanting a "privacy-preserving" search engine, and it's built using Brave's own "independent index, and doesn't track users, their searches, or their clicks." Brave users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada will automatically have Brave Search set as their default search engine in the address bar instead of Google. Brave Search is also replacing other default browsers, such as Qwant in France and DuckDuckGo in Germany.
Today's Brave desktop browser update (version 1.31), as well as the Brave Android app (version 1.31)* and the Brave iOS app (version 1.32) all automatically offer Brave Search as the default for new users in these five countries, with fully localized versions in non-English geographies. Brave users can easily choose a different search option if they prefer by managing their search engine settings. Brave Search is also available in any other browser at search.brave.com.
Users in all countries will still be able to revert their default search engine back to Google or DuckDuckGo, but Brave is hoping the majority won't. Brave Search does not display any ads in its current form, but the company announced plans this week to change that. Brave says that the free version of its search engine will "soon be ad-supported," with the company planning to offer a premium ad-free plan later down the line. Brave launched Brave Search in beta earlier this summer.
They'll market themselves as "privacy focused" by blocking ads, then they will release their own ads to make money.
Anyone who actually falls for this is an idiot.
"privacy focussed" doesn't mean blocking ads, it means keeping your details private and not exposing and sharing them with anyone, so I suspect you won't get targeted ads you'll just get generic ads. They've got to pay for their servers, developers, electricity somehow you know, they can't do it off of good will and unicorn wishes.
I sometime get tired of the self-entitled "I expect you to give me stuff for free" mentality.
I've tried Duckduckgo and all the other alternatives. They all suck compared to Google in terms of search results.
Do I like Google? Not at all. Do I want the best search results? Absolutely.
An interesting feature of DuckDuckGo is if you type a “g!” before your search term, DDG uses Google search thru their own server, as a layer of search privacy contraceptive.
You can also specify other search engines, like “y!” for the true renegades who still use Yahoo!
I wonder why Amazon hasn’t dabbled with a search engine? They seem to have all the infrastructure in place, and already deploy one for their own webshop. It would be the perfect vehicle for placing ads for their own retail operation.
If I was a shark like Amazon exec with an eye towards a fat promotion, I’d be waiting for any Google stumble to launch that proposal.
Thursday March 24, 2022 3:01 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Twitter has bolstered its search feature for direct messages so that users can now search their inbox using keywords and names to find the specific message they are looking for.
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Apple requires all apps that browse the web in iOS and iPadOS to use its own browser engine, WebKit, but amid accusations of anti-competitive conduct, should it continue to effectively ban rival browser engines?
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With the App Store now home to nearly two million apps, Apple appears to be testing a new feature to make search results more contextual.
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Wednesday January 12, 2022 3:28 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple in November settled a long-running lawsuit over employee bag checks, with the Cupertino company agreeing to pay $29.9 million to employees who were subjected to off-the-clock bag searches, and now details about the settlement are available on Apple's website.
California employees first sued Apple in 2013, and in 2015, the case escalated into a class action lawsuit. Employees claimed...
Twitter on iOS is now rolling out the ability for users to more easily search for tweets from a specific account, using a new search field that appears on an account's page.
The feature, which was first spotted on Twitter, offers users a much easier way to search for tweets from a specific user. While the ability was previously possible using the standard Twitter search field, the new search ...
A new report has highlighted how three top prominent executives initially found themselves at odds in early deliberations about Apple's App Tracking Transparency framework.
According to the report from The Information, the executives who disagreed over how far Apple should go in protecting user privacy in digital advertising included Apple's Craig Federighi, who oversees software...
Wednesday October 6, 2021 2:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover
A bug in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 is preventing Safari from loading AMP links for Google search results, but the issue is not intentional and Google is preparing a fix that's set to be released in the near future.
Developer Jeff Johnson today published a blog post speculating on whether Google had intentionally disabled AMP links for Google search results in Safari on devices running iOS 15 (via ...
Thursday February 3, 2022 12:30 am PST by Sami Fathi
Facebook has said measures being taken by Apple on iOS that make it harder for platforms and apps to track users across other apps and websites will cost its business $10 billion in 2022. Facebook yesterday reported $33.67 billion in revenue, and while higher than expected, earnings per share were shy of analyst expectations. Facebook, renamed to Meta, also offered lower guidance for the...
Apple has "started to record" its virtual September event, where it's expected to announce the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 8, and a new "rugged" Apple Watch model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the event, which is expected to take place in the early part of September, is already under production, implying...
The standard 41mm and 45mm models of the Apple Watch Series 8 will feature the same design as the Apple Watch Series 7, according to Twitter user @ShrimpApplePro, who was first to reveal that iPhone 14 Pro models would feature a new pill-and-hole display.
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The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models are rumored to be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color. Most expectations about the iPhone 14 lineup's color options come from an unverified post on Chinese social media site Weibo earlier this year.
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With the fifth beta of iOS 16, Apple has updated the battery icon on iPhones with Face ID to display the specific battery percentage rather than just a visual representation of battery level. The new battery indicator is available on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, with the exception of the 5.4-inch iPhone 12/13 mini. It is also available on the iPhone X and the iPhone XS. Battery percent...
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A new rumor claims that the next-generation 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro will feature a new four-pin Smart Connector, an update from the current three-pin connector in the iPad Pro.
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Top Rated Comments
I sometime get tired of the self-entitled "I expect you to give me stuff for free" mentality.
You can also specify other search engines, like “y!” for the true renegades who still use Yahoo!
I wonder why Amazon hasn’t dabbled with a search engine? They seem to have all the infrastructure in place, and already deploy one for their own webshop. It would be the perfect vehicle for placing ads for their own retail operation.
If I was a shark like Amazon exec with an eye towards a fat promotion, I’d be waiting for any Google stumble to launch that proposal.
Do I like Google? Not at all.
Do I want the best search results? Absolutely.