[APP] [4.4+] Bromite - Chromium plus adblocking

[Ultramanoid]

OK, I found the ID given to Bromite and the fork. The files I copied match the fork ID but still nothing, I can't even enable history.

I give up and I'm trying Brave now. Seems good enough I guess. Until Bromite is officially updated hopefully.

For what is worth, Brave has some well-known white hackers on board as developers, and thus it is probably one of the most secure browsers out there. Not so keen on privacy though, and personally I seriously regret their bundling of cryptocurrency services with the browser -- will never be my choice unless for temporary use because of this, even it can be disabled, it should not be there.

Vivaldi is probably the most reasonable middle ground, better than corporate data-mining Chrome, full team and a stable company behind it, not the best at anything particularly, but good enough.

Projects like Bromite are great and laser focused, but relying on a single developer has obviously its risks as we see here.

It's sad that the browser wars are over. One browser to rule them all is not good for anybody. ( Yes, but Safari, but Firefox, but, reality is what it is. )

 

[Ultramanoid]

From csagan at GitHub, also for what is worth :

Update? · Issue #2575 · bromite/bromite

Is the project dead or paused? The App warns me im using an old Version and no update so far... Would be nice if someone could tell me whats going on. And thx for the great work so far

github.com

 

[Furious Froyo]

From csagan at GitHub, also for what is worth :

Update? · Issue #2575 · bromite/bromite

Is the project dead or paused? The App warns me im using an old Version and no update so far... Would be nice if someone could tell me whats going on. And thx for the great work so far

github.com

That was from last month. I've since moved on to Edge. I would love to have Bromite back, though.

 

[Ultramanoid]

That was from last month. I've since moved on to Edge. I would love to have Bromite back, though.

Updates are three months behind. That answer was given after two months, so it's relevant in that sense.

If you really prefer Bromite you can use the build from uazo, who is not some unknown stranger coming out of nowhere, but has been all along the main contributor to csagan's project.

 

[Ultramanoid]

Can't track down all posts on XDA where I've ever mentioned Brave as an alternative of last resort to Chrome, although I'm fairly sure I've always done it with reservations for many reasons, including the cryptocurrency nonsense, but given very recent developments I'm going to start saying loud and clear :

Stay away from the Brave browser.

Hope Bromite is released again regularly in an official manner.

( Vivaldi is from the old Opera folks, by the way. )

 

[Ultramanoid]

For those with the data import issue, a suggestion. I've been using for years the Linux build of Ungoogled Chromium at Woolyss. I just realized the Android build is done by the same person -- "Marmaduke" :

Download latest stable Chromium binaries (64-bit and 32-bit)

Download latest stable Chromium binaries for Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Android (64-bit and 32-bit)

chromium.woolyss.com

It applies all Bromite patches, it is always up to date with Chromium, and most likely it is not going anywhere anytime soon.

You could use that. Whenever Chromium is updated, that build is updated. Whenever Bromite patches are updated, it is updated too. No need to worry about either Chromium vulnerabilities or whether Bromite is released officially or not. You're always covered and safe either way.

 

[Ghisy]

given very recent developments I'm going to start saying loud and clear :

Stay away from the Brave browser.

Wait, what happened with Brave?

Edit: this?

Brave partners with **** to expand crypto purchases globally in Brave Wallet, with over 50 new assets and multiple payment methods.

For those with the data import issue, a suggestion. I've been using for years the Linux build of Ungoogled Chromium at Woolyss. I just realized the Android build is done by the same person -- "Marmaduke" :

Download latest stable Chromium binaries (64-bit and 32-bit)

Download latest stable Chromium binaries for Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Android (64-bit and 32-bit)

chromium.woolyss.com

It applies all Bromite patches, it is always up to date with Chromium, and most likely it is not going anywhere anytime soon.

You could use that. Whenever Chromium is updated, that build is updated. Whenever Bromite patches are updated, it is updated too. No need to worry about either Chromium vulnerabilities or whether Bromite is released officially or not. You're always covered and safe either way.

Not bad! Thanks for sharing!

The only thing I don't like is that, whenever I use Bitwarden, it doesn't recognize the website that's open in Chromium. I have to manually search for my login. A little annoying.

 

[Ultramanoid]

Wait, what happened with Brave?

Edit: this?

Brave partners with **** to expand crypto purchases globally in Brave Wallet, with over 50 new assets and multiple payment methods.


Not bad! Thanks for sharing!

The only thing I don't like is that, whenever I use Bitwarden, it doesn't recognize the website that's open in Chromium. I have to manually search for my login. A little annoying.

The forced cryptocurrency stuff is bad enough, but now they've added AI to their search engine which is spreading misinformation. ( This has happened with other AI, not exclusive to Brave, but others are not bundling said AI with a browser. )

At any rate, enough. Browsing or using the web does not need any of that at best, and it is actually harming the user at worst.

 

[Ultramanoid]

FWIW.

We need to know if this has been abandoned, for our safety · Issue #2610 · bromite/bromite

Preliminary checklist I have read the README. I have searched the existing issues for my problem. This is a new ticket, NOT a duplicate or related to another open issue. I have read the FAQs. I hav...

github.com

( I'm using Marmaduke's Ungoogled Chromium build that I mentioned above, which applies all Bromite patches to the latest Chromium. )

Other than Bromite or Fennec with uBlock Origin nothing gets even close to the safety of Brave, hrm.

Which browsers are best for privacy?

An open-source privacy audit of popular web browsers.

privacytests.org

 

[Ghisy]

( I'm using Marmaduke's Ungoogled Chromium build that I mentioned above, which applies all Bromite patches to the latest Chromium. )

Same here since you mentioned it! It's one version behind though (112 vs 113 for Chrome).

 

[asj0422]

I've since moved on to Firefox with ublock origin. I remember there was some issues with the Bromite dev and the grapheneos dev, who cut off Bromite from working with the project. I'm guessing that has something to do with Bromite not being updated anymore.

I stopped using Firefox since it had a crazy Bluetooth audio delay, but that seems to have been fixed more or less.

 

[Ultramanoid]

Same here since you mentioned it! It's one version behind though (112 vs 113 for Chrome).

I've since moved on to Firefox with ublock origin. I remember there was some issues with the Bromite dev and the grapheneos dev, who cut off Bromite from working with the project. I'm guessing that has something to do with Bromite not being updated anymore.

I stopped using Firefox since it had a crazy Bluetooth audio delay, but that seems to have been fixed more or less.

F-Droid's Fennec build of Firefox, which removes most of Mozilla's telemetry, plus uBlock Origin, is my recommendation above anything else on Android.

But whenever a Chromium-based browser is needed, Bromite or builds with its patches like the one I recommended, as well as the fork from uazo, are certainly the best option. It is a pity that all of these depend on a single developer each.

I wish Vivaldi paid attention to privacy and security since they're going to stick around and have a proper company behind it, but they focus on options and customization.

Brave has amazing white hackers on board and it shows, better at security than anything else out there. But it has other problems that can't be ignored and I would stay away from it.

 

[g000n]

Iceraven browser is what I use

GitHub - fork-maintainers/iceraven-browser: Iceraven Browser

Iceraven Browser. Contribute to fork-maintainers/iceraven-browser development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Ultramanoid]

Iceraven browser is what I use

GitHub - fork-maintainers/iceraven-browser: Iceraven Browser

Iceraven Browser. Contribute to fork-maintainers/iceraven-browser development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I've checked this and it seems to be essentially the same as F-Droid's Fennec except it has a main developer in China and no organization behind it, so while open source and cleaner than official Mozilla builds which are *loaded* with telemetry and garbage, again I would put it in the single developer bucket and stick to F-Droid's build for trust and reliability. Good to know it's out there anyway.

( And no offense intended by mentioning it's from China -- F-Droid's main Fennec maintainer is from Russia, but they put out open source transparent reproducible builds. )

 

[g000n]

I've checked this and it seems to be essentially the same as F-Droid's Fennec except it has a main developer in China and no organization behind it, so while open source and cleaner than official Mozilla builds which are *loaded* with telemetry and garbage, again I would put it in the single developer bucket and stick to F-Droid's build for trust and reliability. Good to know it's out there anyway.

( And no offense intended by mentioning it's from China -- F-Droid's main Fennec maintainer is from Russia, but they put out open source transparent reproducible builds. )

Why do people mention when devs are from China or Russia but nobody mentions when developers are from US, Canada, UK, Australia etc or any of the Five Eyes countries? the subtle russophobia and sinophobia has to end.

 

[IronTechmonkey]

Why do people mention when devs are from China or Russia but nobody mentions when developers are from US, Canada, UK, Australia etc or any of the Five Eyes countries? the subtle russophobia and sinophobia has to end.

To have concerns based on assessments of region and government of developer is not necessarily national-phobia. Yes, it is true that some people share such opinions in an ignorant and offensive way driven by political or cultural disdain for a given country, but I don't think that pertains to the people in this conversation who seem to be assessing their security landscapes based on reasonable criteria. No one is exempt from criticisms about invasion of privacy and many of us have similar concerns about the invasion of privacy that American companies (and government) commit. The nature of exerted control and privacy invasions committed by governments is different from those committed by corporations and are therefore reasonable things to consider when assessing individual or enterprise privacy and security. This is I suppose to the point of us seeking more secure browsing options.

 

[Ultramanoid]

Why do people mention when devs are from China or Russia but nobody mentions when developers are from US, Canada, UK, Australia etc or any of the Five Eyes countries? the subtle russophobia and sinophobia has to end.

I've explicitly mentioned I have no issue, I literally wrote "it's good to know" this build exists, and I use F-Droid's, the other "offender". You'd be hard pressed to find anyone on XDA or elsewhere more obsessed with privacy than me, I don't run Google's Android, or any of its services either. Neither am I a fan of any Western "social media" toxic garbage.

Not a fan of "the West" in general either. You're barking up the wrong tree.

Precisely to prevent criticism based on nationality I spoke of where these two browsers come from and why it is not an issue. Mozilla themselves have helped out F-Droid knowing full well who's building it.

At any rate we're off-topic, really. I was just commenting on the general browser situation since people come now and then to ask where's Bromite at, and what are the alternatives.

 

[lvints]

For those with the data import issue, a suggestion. I've been using for years the Linux build of Ungoogled Chromium at Woolyss. I just realized the Android build is done by the same person -- "Marmaduke" :

Download latest stable Chromium binaries (64-bit and 32-bit)

Download latest stable Chromium binaries for Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Android (64-bit and 32-bit)

chromium.woolyss.com

It applies all Bromite patches, it is always up to date with Chromium, and most likely it is not going anywhere anytime soon.

You could use that. Whenever Chromium is updated, that build is updated. Whenever Bromite patches are updated, it is updated too. No need to worry about either Chromium vulnerabilities or whether Bromite is released officially or not. You're always covered and safe either way.

Thank you for pointing out this browser.
I was in doubt in just one question, when there are updates will there be some kind of notification or should I access the site?

 

[Ultramanoid]

Thank you for pointing out this browser.
I was in doubt in just one question, when there are updates will there be some kind of notification or should I access the site?

There's no notification or auto-update, no.

See here : https://github.com/macchrome/droidchrome/issues/20

 

[Ghisy]

I just realized the Android build is done by the same person -- "Marmaduke" :

Download latest stable Chromium binaries (64-bit and 32-bit)

Download latest stable Chromium binaries for Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Android (64-bit and 32-bit)

chromium.woolyss.com

It applies all Bromite patches, it is always up to date with Chromium, and most likely it is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Has anyone using this have been able to disable the stupid tab groups? I've checked the usual flags but can't seem to find the right one.

A quick search online only points to older Chrome/Chromium releases.