As a software system ship’s company in the web browser space , Brave ’s made a name for itself by put userprivacy firstand monetization second . But now , some of its users are pointing out that the assurance might be a spot double-dealing . As firstpointed outby the folks over at Decrypt , Brave has been restfully redirect its exploiter from particular cryptocurrency sites , over to affiliate URLs that Brave , in turn , can use to track exploiter and cream off revenue .
The news came to light this preceding weekend when one Twitter userpointed outthat , upon typing the URL for the cryptocurrency rally Binance into his Brave search bar , the web browser app mechanically reformatted the original URL—”binance.us”—into the affiliate - friendly “ binance.us/en?ref=35089877 : ” a link that directs the oddment - user to the exact same destination , but the latter ensures that Brave gets acommissionfor concern that user to that especial site .
harmonise to Binance’sblog postexplaining its affiliate programme , the commissioner ’s cut can be “ up to 50 % ” of each trade a exploiter might make .
Graphic: (Brave)
So when you are using the@bravebrowser and type in " binance[.]us " you end up getting redirected to " binance[.]us / en?ref=35089877 " – I see what you did there matt-up 😂
— CR1337 ( @cryptonator1337)June 6 , 2020
There ’s really a name for these kind of URL - traverse tags : link decoration . It ’s a slightly - shady recitation that the the likes of of Facebook and Google , along with countless other companies havedipped intowhile looking for direction to track users in acookie - freeway . But as Decrypt points out in its piece , Brave never tipped off theroughly 15 millionpeople using its browsers each calendar month that these tag end were being added to some of their hunting price — get alone that these tags could ostensibly be used totrack themacross the web .
Not long after news of the Binance tracker came to light — along with similar trackersbeing addedto the URL ’s of several other crypto - centrical services — Brave CEO Brendan Eichannouncedon Twitter that adding affiliate links within a substance abuser ’s lookup barroom was a “ misunderstanding ” that the company is now “ decline . ”
But from his account , it seemed like it was n’t much of a error at all . Brave , as Eich explained it , is “ attempt to build up a viable business , ” both bygetting a cutfrom the ads that its users opt - into as part of the service , and through affiliate revenue via hunting — no different than “ all major browsers ” on the grocery , he explained .
“ When we do this well , it ’s a winnings for all parties , ” he tot up . “ Our users want Brave to live . ”
As far as gaffes in the digital seclusion sphere are concerned , this one is in reality fairly minor — Eich point out that the affiliate yoke auto - added onto a user ’s search terms were intend to identify the Brave web browser itself , rather than the item-by-item user . But it ’s a faux pas just the same , and a solecism from a company that has , until now , prided itself on being just a bitdifferentfrom the power- and data - hungry browsers currently on the market place . And if we can learn anything from these other companies , it ’s that Brave will need to findsome wayto recoup this now - lose revenue — with or without our consent .
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